Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[williaty]

Clark, with the Fostex-based version, are you giving any thought to a "just add plywood!" version of the speaker? I know I'd pay a reasonable amount for a speaker kit that was everything except the wood so I could just cut it, glue it up, and assemble the hardware you supply to be assured that I'll end up with something that sounds good. That would resolve the lion's share of the shipping cost.

[Clark B.]

Doc and I were talking about an eventual Flat Pack version which would ship much more easily - for the domestic customers who want to get in on the action.  The cost of a Flat Pack would not be too much cheaper than the assembled Thrashers, but it would make a dent.  The shipping costs would be way less, however, because the volume of the packages to be shipped would be so much less. 

The drivers themselves are available from Madisound.  You can get them there at the same price as you'd be able to get them from me.

The design is a mathematical optimization of a 4X8 sheet of plywood into 12 panels yielding two boxes with maximum internal volume (with minimal wood loss into saw dust).  The dims are ~42", ~12", ~10.5".  Cut a 7/8ths of driver surface area hole in the front of the cabinet, then tune it (cover it up incrimentally) by ear.  If you've got the gear, (a good, safe panel saw system) then go for it!

-Clark

[williaty]

Ah, I assumed there'd be some internal baffling or stuffing, or passive electronics, or something that I'd be likely to mess up. If it's a simple ported box with no tube, then that's within my ability to handle.

[Clark B.]

Well, there's still plenty of subtlety in any good speaker build - often times especially so for the simpler kinds of cabinets (dotting the "i's" and "t's" of "simplicity"):  methods of mechanical decoupling of the driver from the baffle, rounding over the ports (decreasing turbulence), a balanced aproach to the placement, amount, and kinds of bracing - all factors that need to be geared towards acheiving a balanced frequency and impulse response.  In contrast to the rest of my products, the Thrashers' level of fit and finish is geared towards people who might want to take them places - the back yard, the back of your car, concert halls, and to not be bogged down with the necessity for "white glove" service.

-Clark

[Mike F1]

The thrasher sounds very interesting!

Any pictures of it?

Thx

Mike

[Clark B.]

Will be able to post some as soon as I'm back from NZ. 

Cheers mate!

-Clark

[Clark B.]

Here are some pictures of the prototype Thrashers ("I" and "II" versions) as promised.  New Zealand was absolutely amazing.  Molly and I are still working on getting some good photos up online.  probably the most stunning place was "pupu springs" which, despite the name, is the clearest, cleanest, most amazing looking water on the planet.  Well worth the trip for that site alone.  But there was so much more:  Kiwi birds, Wekas, Tui birds.  Such great people too.

I also had to "hermit in" for a week after the trip to get several customers' orders out: Joe now has a set of Bamboo Orcas and BUF Subs.  Jim and I were REALLY pleased with his Bamboo Orcas and SEX amp with Bamboo base combo.  Darren got some older Orcas and a Prototype model BUF Sub, and I've been putting together several sets of speakers for Tamara Murphy's Reading Room of the old Elliott Bay Cafe and her upcoming new restaurant "Terra Plata."  http://terraplata.com/  So needless to say, a little busy since we've been back.

This week, I'm gonna start making a run of "alpha" Thrasher Is and IIs (again, just the prototypes shown in pics) along side some bamboo Nagas and BUF Subs that are in progress...Being able to effectively juggle so many projects, the new shop is so nice!  

Cheers,

Clark

P.S. to all those I wished to see at RMAF this year, it does not look like I'll be making it afterall.  Very busy catching up from our honeymoon, etc.  I'll catch you next year!

[Jim R.]

Clark,

Good stuff!  Hey, if any of you guys who have the Orca/BUF sub combo and are using either the stereomour or se.e.x. amp with them tell us how you likee your setup?

I'm really curious about this setup for our bedroom and maybe possibly for the living room (which is only 14 feet wide). 
And if any of you guys have the Orcas stacked on a pair of BUF subs, that would be even more interesting to hear about.

Thanks,

Jim

[Grainger49]

Clark,

With my wood working skills/age your prototypes look better than anything I would cobble together.  I do have a friend who might help me make something that looked good but I have to travel 3 hours to get to his house.

I would love to hear you speakers sometime!  Anywhere around, Knoxville or Atlanta?

BTW, Doc's recommendation carries a lot of weight here.  (Naturally!)

[Clark B.]

Thanks!

Grainger: I have made some sales of stuff over the years down south, but it might be a little hard to track people down.  What I can offer is a guarantee that you won't be disappointed if you do get a pair.

The website is starting to finally take shape to include all the things I've been working on past, present and future.  I've been very busy between the orders in the shop this week and moving our apartment into a house (finally!)  Our house will have a nice demo space in some weeks as well, which will really facilitate introducing people to the sonic magic of these single driver designs and doc's amps.  I'll also cobble together a home theater system as well in some time - we've have had a number of people put them together with the Orcas and be really pleased.

Cheers!

-Clark

[Grainger49]

Clark,

So... where are you?  (I didn't look too far up the thread, I'm being lazy.)  I get to the North West coast about every other year.  Sometimes I get a side trip.  I'm assuming you are near Dan.

[Clark B.]

I'm in Seattle, the lovely North Wet, and of course, you are welcome here any time.

-Clark

P.S. Beulah/thrasher will go back to being a "locals only" model for a little while...getting my production process speedy enough to handle those big mamas!

[Clark B.]

Had alot of fun at the Bottlehead meetup this weekend.  So nice to meet everybody who came, Everyone had such interesting backgrounds.

I ended up bringing birch Orcas, caramelized bamboo Orcas and caramelized bamboo BUF Subs that we got to hear through the new SEX 2.1 which I have to say is a great acheivement.  I've always loved the surprisingly stout, relaxed sound of my old SEX amp modded with Jensen PIO caps, alps pot and whatnot, but the 2.1 really ups the ante on resolution and bass response with the new transformers. 

Jim Rebman's (really awesome) system that he was so kind to let us bring to the meet are these natural bamboo Nagas and natural bamboo BUF Subs that we got to power with a Stereomour.  Jim actually sent me the Koa wood used for his front baffle plates.  And woah!  Amazingly gorgeous stuff that is just the right density for optimal sound with the Nagas.  A new feature on his speakers is that they've got all brass, natural rubber, and gold plated hardware, standard on all models now.  Even though the drivers only had 2 hours on them by the end of the night, they had a wonderful presentation already there.    The combination had surprising upper volume capability, a bit stronger than my old paramours which is something I'm guessing is owed to the new transformers and other improvements.  All in all, really great to hear some different combinations of things.  I'm really falling in love with the Naga all over again with Jim's speakers.  His have probably the best job I've done yet at properly destressing the cabinets during all the clamping procedures and it really shows in the final sound quality.

Also, a really nice guy (forgot his name) brought by some very intriguing 8" tangband widebanders - the ones with paper cones and neo magnets.  He had them in a diy hinged open baffle and they were doing some intriguing things...

And of course, Dan's "Big Rig" speaker system was there running on all cylinders.  Such awesome dynamics at high volumes.

Shawn got to help with a bunch of folks' amps, and there was some super nice master tapes being played through the Nagra rig - its the first time I've gotten to hear tape through my fostex designs.  (got to hear plenty while at Feastrex though .  I have to say, after a bit of hanging out in various friend's mastering studios over the years, the tape project cuts have gotta be some of the best tape audio quality I've heard.  Such an acheivement!

Well, this is getting to be a long post about the meetup and I should let other people chime in.  I'm really looking forward to future meetups!  For instance, Its looking like Dec. 10th Dan and I are going to be throwing a meet, greet, drink and listen party at the Two beers brewery behind my shop in Sodo.  More details will follow on that in short order as the plans shape up.

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful time Dan, Eileen, and everyone who showed up!

-Clark

[Doc B.]

Thanks for the kind words and double thanks for the pics! My camera was at HQ yesterday but I seem to have short term memory loss when it comes to taking pics at these events.

At the end of the day we fired up the Nagas one more time and played with room position a bit. Clark found a spot where they really came to life. Just amazing how he gets that much good sound out of those teeny little drivers. After everyone was gone we took one last listen to the Orca/BUF sub setup in the lobby. The lobby still has very primitive treatment, but again, when the speakers were moved a little closer to the front wall and into a more realistic home listening position they really came to life.

I plan to get the lobby properly treated and we are hoping to have a set of Orcas, Nagas and BUF subs running at BHQ in the future. And we're going to set Clark up with a Stereomour and a S.E.X. 2.1 that he can demo with on the Seattle side. That way folks will have a couple of different places to hear how nice our gear plays together.

[Jim R.]

Thanks, Clark for the additional details on the Nagas, and also for the extra nice job it sounds like you have done on these.  I'm really looking forward looking forward to how they're going to sound in my room.

Dan, great news on the BH/BUF gear swap, and one of these days there may be a place in Colorado where folks can also hear these combinations as well :-).

Just curious if the Nagas ever got a tur with the Paramounts and the new preamp.  Of course I understand that things like this are a lot of work in the middle of a meet, so I'm guessing not, but would love to hear impressions of that setup someday too.

-- Jim