Blumenstein Ultra Fi

Doc B. · 234012

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Offline johnsonad

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Reply #540 on: March 02, 2014, 09:49:19 AM
Clark and Molly, I would like to hear your impressions of the new Feastrex Alpha driver as compared to the whizzer style.  Kenji-san says he hasn't heard it and as far as I can tell looking around the net, there isn't any posting on it yet.

Aaron Johnson


Offline Natural Sound

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Reply #541 on: March 02, 2014, 01:56:15 PM
I MUST hear these!

Paul, please report back after hearing the new Orca deluxe. I value your opinion highly. Please take note of the Amplification when you make your analysis. Us 45 users are waiting anxiously.



Offline Clark B.

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Reply #542 on: March 04, 2014, 09:21:02 AM
Clark and Molly, I would like to hear your impressions of the new Feastrex Alpha driver as compared to the whizzer style.  Kenji-san says he hasn't heard it and as far as I can tell looking around the net, there isn't any posting on it yet.

Aaron, the older whizzered versions are brighter, and obviously more extended in the treble region.  They are pretty flat for a whizzer but ultimately slightly ragged (like all larger diameter FR's).  They make great bass, but are ultimately a little light on it.

The single cone Alphas sound very smooth and relaxed, even slightly veiled, make more and better bass, but need a super tweeter crossed around 8-10k in order to play fullrange.

Both styles are a lot of fun to listen to, so I'd recommend listening to both styles before choosing your favorite.  In our experience from people who have dropped by the listening room, some people prefer the Alphas, some prefer the whizzers.  The two different kinds of sound are like two sides of the same coin.

Our production model with Feastrex is such that we are the cabinet builders for any of the current or previous series of models.  In other words, the drivers themselves are to be sold separately by Feastrex and Feastrex distributors like Audio Feast (Kenji).  They are shipped factory direct to the end user and are then user installable into our cabinets. 

This keeps the total lead time down significantly because we are not waiting for (6 weeks) and then breaking in and handling the drivers themselves (another 6 weeks) before cabinet construction (another 6 weeks), unless it is a special circumstance and the drivers need to be sent to us for a special fitment or something.  By not OEM installing the drivers into complete speakers ourselves, it also keeps us from having to bank roll such huge amounts of money through our business upon which we have no mark up.  Also, it is the only safe way to ship such heavy drivers (cabinets separate from drivers)!

Our main focus right now is on reaching the numerous existing Feastrex owners who currently have their drivers in insufficiently nice cabinets.

Cheers!

-Clark


Offline johnsonad

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Reply #543 on: March 04, 2014, 09:43:13 AM
Clark, would you please post a freq sweep of the Alpha and whizzer version in your new cab? It's impossible to get any actual measurements from Feastrex or Kenji.

Thanks,

Aaron

Aaron Johnson


Offline Paul Joppa

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Reply #544 on: March 04, 2014, 02:57:54 PM
Clark, you're a master of diplomacy!

Paul Joppa


Offline Clark B.

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Reply #545 on: March 08, 2014, 03:49:09 PM
Clark, would you please post a freq sweep of the Alpha and whizzer version in your new cab?

Thanks,

Aaron

Sure, Aaron, no problem.    I'll get a chance to do that comparison soon when I'm moving the drivers around into some more cabinets over the next few weeks.  For now I am needing to just leave my main setup plugged in 24/7 and totally warmed up to give me useful data points for the fine tuning of the rest of the system.    They've been under alot of transition lately with the final cabinet construction.

In other news I am now running a DL301 MKII into an SUT -> Eros.  Its a great combo for the Orcas or Feastrex!

Clark, you're a master of diplomacy!

Thanks!  I do try.


Offline xcortes

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Reply #546 on: March 11, 2014, 11:53:18 AM
Couldn't pass on the sale. Ordered a pair of Deluxe Orca center channels and two Dungeness to stack them. Let's see what the fuzz is about.

Xavier Cortes


Offline Clark B.

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Reply #547 on: March 14, 2014, 11:38:19 AM
Thanks, Xavier!

Only a few folks have ordered the center channel/double sub combination so far.  I'm excited to see what you think of it!

-Clark


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #548 on: March 14, 2014, 12:12:42 PM
Hey Clark, I just today received my new Oppo 103D. We should finally be reveling in BUF surround sound glory this weekend.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Clark B.

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Reply #549 on: March 15, 2014, 10:06:00 AM
Aw sweet!  Can't wait to hear that upgrade myself!


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #550 on: March 16, 2014, 05:52:33 AM
Got it tweaked last night. Kicks ass!

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline xcortes

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Reply #551 on: March 16, 2014, 06:03:45 AM
Tell us about your audio path between the oppo and orcas please

Xavier Cortes


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #552 on: March 16, 2014, 06:34:55 AM
I got the oppo to take advantage of its great analog output. The system is 5.1. I might go 7.1 eventually but the chairs are at the back wall so I'm not sure how well that would work. Fronts are orcas and dungeness subs. Orcas are on angle brackets that Clark made, mounted on the side walls at 42" high, as my screen is only a couple feet narrower than the front wall. The sub will be a BUF sub, dead center under the screen, with a center channel orca on top. The BUF sub driver had an accident, so for now I am using another dungeness for the .1 channel. Surrounds are orcas, mounted at the rear corners about a foot above our heads and angled inwards and downwards.

Wiring is all Cat 5. Front are powered by a Stereomour, rears by a SEX amp, center by one channel of another SEX amp. Speaker cables for fronts go to subs so that the sub amp crossover gives a little protection to the orcas.

Delays are set in the oppo. .1 channel is crossed at 160hz. Stereomour has a Fix ahead of it to even out response of fronts. This means that amp has lowest gain, so it is set with volume maxed and rear and center amp levels controls are adjusted to match.

It's very satisfying, clean, smooth and with three subs will do the effects stuff quite well. Now that we have it pretty well complete we will have an open house so folks can come by and see how well Bottlehead and Blumenstein do HT.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline xcortes

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Reply #553 on: March 16, 2014, 07:18:38 AM
You set the volumes individually?

Xavier Cortes


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #554 on: March 16, 2014, 07:38:39 AM
One of the many great features of the Oppo is a built in volume control, so even with Bottlehead amps I have a remote attenuator. It also has a setup feature that plays pink noise thru each speaker and allows for individual speaker level and delay adjustment.

The Oppo is a really nice product, very well thought out and it's clear that image and sound quality are a priority. If one wanted to save $100 by leaving out the Darbee upgrade it probably wouldn't be missed too much, and then the price is not that much more than an upper end Samsung or Panasonic player. I suppose it might be nice to hear the super fancy 105 model, but even this 103 is a really nice step up from standard blu ray players.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.