Man Speakers from Blumenstein Audio

Clark B.

Clark B.

New member
Up till now, Paul Birkeland and I have been working very much underneath the radar on an "Mega Speaker" project.  The goals have been simple. 

- Full, flat frequency response and the best headroom possible from a single stereo amplifier. 
- Geared towards low powered SET's. 
- Woofer efficiency must match high frequency efficiency - no yucky rising frequency response. 
- Woofer is passively crossed. 
- The full range driver must have no crossover filtering whatsoever. 
- Excellent phase coherency.
- Point source from 100hz-20000hz.
- Total frequency response: 25hz-20000hz.  No joke!
- Yes, it does take a big cabinet to accomplish all of these initiatives.

What ever happened to those awesomely large speakers from the 60's anyways?  We figure - its been a few generations since those kinds of cabinets went out of fashion.  We are young, persistent, and passionate enough to bring a single pair of them back into style.  The sound they make is truly worth the footprint. 

Shown is the final "beta" proof of concept.  We'll have some nicer cabinets to demonstrate soon here.  At that point, we'll begin taking pre-orders for a mid-august shipping date.

Cheers!

P.S.  Taking name suggestions!
 

Attachments

Paul and I are both ~6ft tall

These "Megalodons" are actually somewhat similar in overall tone character to the Orca/subs at low volumes - I wasn't willing to give up the tonal delicacy and normal/nearfield volume enjoy-ability that our woodshop has become known for.

But these go lower (25hz vs 38hz), are more efficient (93db vs 89db), and have greater power handling (~40 WPC versus ~8 WPC). 

(Though Paul may wish to correct my numbers) 

Anyways, suffice it to say: Man Speakers.

Clark
 
We will have to test out that power handling number (on your set of drivers of course).  I'd imagine at 40 watts that I would be losing nails from the siding on my house, but that we could push them harder.

-PB
 
Very Cool!  I do love my Orcas as desk speakers but have been thinking about getting something able to fill out a bigger room with the same great sound.  My Firstwatt F5 is sitting around gathering dust and looks like a good amp to drive these big boys.  Still need to get a nice pre-amp to use with the combo.
 
Damn it Clark, you're supposed to be working on Tode cabinets!  ;)

If you could make those just a bit bigger they could probably work as a casket...that's the only way I'm talking my wife into a pair of those.

Doug
 
vladimirwolfe said:
Damn it Clark, you're supposed to be working on Tode cabinets!  ;)
Click to expand...

I did drop off a pair of Tode panels with a speaker mounted on standoffs for Clark so he could get the cabinet properly sized.

Though when I think about it, you may no longer want/need the standoffs if the plyboo cabinet is used (but I'd recommend some foam tape to keep the panels from rattling against the wood).

-PB
 
We are planning on using wooden crates on a pallet.  In my experience, its usually around $500-$700 cross country for a pallet.  Crates can be disassembled and stored for future use. 

We can also do local pickup, of course.

Just got ahold of the Tode on Friday, so I'll start putting this together this week along with our regularly scheduled order fulfillment.
 
Clark & Paul,

Thanks for the update on the Tode cabinet. It really was just an excuse for some gentle ribbing at Clark. I don't even have my kit yet so I'm not too worried.

Doug
 
I like the idea. I haven't owned BIG speakers since I was single. If you made a kit of sorts, then the customer could get the heavy plywood or whatever, locally. Besides, I love to roll my own.
 
With the smaller ones being called Orcas, maybe these should be called "Moby" ?

The only other big whale name that isn't too awkward would be, I guess, Blue...
 
Caucasian Blackplate said:
We will have to test out that power handling number (on your set of drivers of course).  I'd imagine at 40 watts that I would be losing nails from the siding on my house, but that we could push them harder.    -PB
Click to expand...

What a wonderful tool for the home re-modeler! Paul and Clark could rent the Man Speakers for demolition to contractors.

Cheers anyway, Hank in Eugene
 
Looks great!  Since the "devil is in the details" how about some more?  What drivers are used (I assume Feastrex for the widebander).  Cabinet dimensions?  Projected/target price?  Options?  Thanks.

Gerry
 
Making a kit out of a speaker like this would be like Bottlehead releasing a 1000V 20 Watt 845 kit.  It doesn't make a lot of sense for a whole lot of resons. 
 
Yeah, give them their due.. I am sure it will be a bargain at whatever price they settle upon. They have already established the "value" rep..... If I am not mistaken , the driver up top looks like the already established fostex in Clarks other speakers...... again if I am not mistaken.. (quite a few beers as I type).... Wax would appreciate.. :)
 
Hey everyone, thanks for all the encouragement and questions,

The target price range is around $10k for something that is finished much nicer than you see here in our final "beta" version.  Check out our "Past Works Gallery" for examples of some past projects through the years  (fast internet connection recommended!)

http://blumensteinaudio.com/past-works/

Up top on these cabinets is a Mark Audio Alpair 12P.  We've been working with the drivers for some time now, and have solved some of their issues in the cabinet you see here.  We felt confident enough in this "proof of concept" to move the project ahead.

We may try a pair with Feastrexes as well, as they may work quite well in this arrangement.  That iteration of the the "Moby" would be much more expensive as Feastrex drivers range in price from ~$5000-~$75000.  As you can imagine, the use of Feastrex drivers will significantly add to the price. 

I love the story of Moby Dick.  I'm totally obsessed with whales for so many different reasons. http://www.hulu.com/watch/280771

Or alternatively, we could be really Modern about the marketing and call them the "BLU" but with an umlaut.  Just imagining the commercials for it.  Some typical Seattlites in black jeans and turtle necks turning around the corners from hallways and then zooming right in on their mouths as the say "BLU, by Blumenstein" in carefully paced syllables, accentless, with a straight face.



Not sure on the options we'll offer just yet.  Except that they will most certainly not be a kit!  They are actually a rather difficult build.  There's alot of bracing going on inside them, so yet another disapointment is that they wont work easily as a casket, unfortunately ;)

Dims are ~ 22" wide, 48" tall, 14.5" deep.

The benefit of these enclosures is that they should work well right up against the back wall in most peoples' homes.  Hence my reference to 1960's audio.  Its actually a fairly efficient use of space when you consider the actual horizontal footprint and intrusion into your listening space versus the frequency response (and also versus the price). 

So yeah - because of these unique "space saving" features to these speakers, we consider them to be an entirely prudent, and indeed completely practical decision ;)

Cheers,

Clark


 
  My reasoning was more about shipping than anything else, but if the speaker is selling at a 10K level, then what's another few dollars for shipping anyway?
 
4krow said:
  My reasoning was more about shipping than anything else, but if the speaker is selling at a 10K level, then what's another few dollars for shipping anyway?
Click to expand...
And you could use the shipping crate(s) as casket(s)...

 
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