Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[Jim R.]

Good golly, Miss Molly!  Welcome aboard!

The brackets I got can be found on the following page:

http://www.bracketsandstands.com/Pinpoint_AM40_Side_Clamping_speaker_wall_mount_p/am40.htm

I'm not sure I'm going to use the side clamps or not, and I may drill a third hole in the bottom plate, but that may not be necessary.  I also plan to use either some rubber or other damping polymer sheet under the speaker, and will use a similar method to mount the speakers to the brackets as the drivers are mounted to the cabinets.  Might even get to that tonight if I can find the damping sheet.

Now... about that obstreperous kid... he wants his! :-)

-- Jim

[ditdah]

Think I'll get me a pair of these with a single sub...caramelized finish...to go with my S.E.X. 2.1   I'm looking for speaker system for a small room (near field)...that will go well with my tube amps (bottlehead (of course)).

I struggled for a bit on 2 subs or 1... then I realized that I have no clue what I'm doing.  So, 1 sub it is.

Basically, I listen mostly to late 60's early 70's classic rock.  I do listen to modern stuff...but the majority is classic rock.  I want to get more into classical...however, I have no clue what to get?  I know I like strings...cello...violin...viola...etc...  So, 1812 is the best I have gotten so far.  I'm open to suggestions.

I don't intend on getting any stands.  Just One matched pair of Orcas in Caramelized bamboo and a sub.  They'll be sitting on an anthro cart bench...between a few (video) monitors.  you know...all this stuff I'm piling on my "Desk"...I've not any room left for the serviceability of the desk.  It's merely a "work bench" for audio stuff.

I'm not bothered by it.   

[Jim R.]

Just an update, thhough I sort of hesitate to post it because it mostly concerns the no longer available Nagas...

Anyway, Clark was able to spend a couple of nights and all day this past monday with us after RMAF.  Hanging out with Clark is a treat in itself, but when we got down to business it was just great to see (hear?) him go to work.  He and I have both known that there was an audible bump around 300 hz on the Nagas, so we took them apart, took out the old stuffing and replaced it with some better, more dense material and buttoned them back up again.  Then Clark went about hooking the full system up to the little 3 watt single-ended el84 LM mini 218 amp and we gave it a listen -- the first time in many months since these speakers have had any use.  Well, it sounded good, but it obviously needed a bit of loosening up after sitting so long, and one grateful dead album at a moderately high volume took care of that and they began to sound pretty good.  Then we rolled some tubes and again, these were totally NOS and the driver tubes especially needed to calm down in the top end, and over the course of the day it did just that.  BTW, it seemed that Clark and I both latched on to the changes as they happened and we were both very surprised how much  these tubes changed in the few hours we had them playing.  BTW, the source was a Virtue Audio Piano CDP -- decent, but certainly not reference quality.  Anyway, the music coming out of these things was really quite good considering that the amp only had about 10 hours on it, the cables, tubes, and subs were all basically new, and we were using a hodge podge of random stock power cords.  Bottom line is that these are really some very special speakers and I'm sure that when I move them into the dedicated listening room, swap out the aluminum cone woofers in the subs with paper cone ones, and get the BH front end, turntable and good dac/computer in the mix, they are going to be spectacular.  But even as they are, I have to say they are simply the most enjoyable speakers I've ever had.

BTW Ken, these Nagas have their natural rolloff starting much higher than the Orcas, so two subs are mandatory with these, so don't take it to mean that two subs are mandatory with the Orcas.

Also, if anybody is looking for a caramelized sub, give me a shout -- after a lot of thought, there is just nowhere I can really put them in our living room system.  Edit: sub has been claimed.

Thanks,

Jim

[Grainger49]

Jim,

"so long, and one grateful dead album at a moderately high volume took care of that"  You cracked me up.  What else to loosen up a stiff driver.  Well, you know what I mean.

[Jim R.]

Grainger,

It was actually Clark's selection -- but on the other hand I didn't resist at all :-).

Now, when I get the Eros up and running, I'll probably want to feed it a bit of the new Fela Kuti box set of LPs -- nothing like some afrobeat to loosen things up!

[Clark B.]

Haha, Grainger!  What a long, strange trip RMAF was!

[Grainger49]

Clark,

Thanks!  That was my generation but not a band I followed.  And I mean that literally as well.  But I know a few Dead Heads who were born in 1949 too.  That is the "49" part of my moniker.

[Tubejack]

Glad I'm not the only 49er old dude hanging out here ..... 5/1/49.  Always knew us hippie geeks were special ......

[Molly B]

First, Jim, I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to meet you last weekend. Clark and I just couldn't afford to have both of us out of the shop at that time. Good news is, I had a chance to put another coat of finish on some of your system!

As for the Nagas, we actually have one pair left, which has been in limbo during a couple of moves and shop and storage reorganization (my parents snatched up the second to last pair). This pair is currently missing the solid wood baffles, which need to be sanded and finished, and also the electronics, but we have plans to finish them as new speakers--the last of their kind. Really cool solid wood for the baffles: bookmatched curly black walnut from a wind-fallen tree of Walla Walla, WA. Having the Nagas to work on again, Clark and I really want to incorporate more solid wood into the cabinet options again, and our gears have been churning over some ways we can do this.

Stay tuned as we'll post when these Nagas are ready to go.

[Jim R.]

Molly,

Yes, we're really sorry you couldn't visit too, but next time for sure.

Yes, somebody should definitely pick this last pair up when they're ready -- a fantastic speaker and to my mind's eye, just one of the most attractive speakers I've ever encountered.  Now I have to work on getting the sapele bases oiled and finished nicely and then when the Orcas arrive I can move these into the listening room.

Thanks also for all your hard work on my new Orcas as well!

Take care,

Jim

[Grainger49]

I just got the opportunity to hear the Orcas.  They are amazing! 

bainjs and his lovely wife drove 3 hours here for a visit and to let me audition them.  After a nice lunch we put the Orcas in the same spot as my Triangle Zerius speakers have been for 7 years and started listening. 

So now, I can say I want a pair of these.  I'll have to sell something and order them.

Back to the sound, or beginning the sound, they are clean, clear, with amazing images, deeper soundstage than my Triangles (and they are really good at soundstage), impressive high frequencies, but a little light in the bass for Taiko drums without a sub.  Just about any speaker at a reasonable price is light in the bass for Taiko drums without a sub. 

Joel said that they only have about 100 hours on them.  Unless they are going to extend down to 25 Hz with more break in I don't know what else they can do.

I was hearing good high frequency response with Bluegrass, so just to be sure, we put on Kind Of Blue (KOB).  The cymbals were amazing!  They had sizzle!  The piano, saxophone, and of course trumpet sounded very real.  I'm really amazed at the highs.  The cymbals were as they should be.  I admit to expecting the highs to be a little recessed.  After all, my hearing in the highs is a little recessed.  This was not at all the case. 

On KOB the images were solid; the best I have ever heard the piano on this album.  Walking back and fourth behind the listening chair I could see that the center image only moves about a foot off center in my room at the extreme right and left.  What I mean is that to get it to do that I stood a foot or more to the right of the right speaker, etc.  There is a really wide sweet spot.  More than I have experienced before. 

I could go on, and on, but it would just be repetitive.  Clark, you have really done something magic here.

A big thanks to both Bains for this opportunity.

[Jim R.]

Hey Grainger,

Yup, don't listen to them unless you're prepared to buy a set :-).  I don't know how much more the bass will fill in as much as become even better integrated into the whole, after the 400 hour mark, and then everything smoothes out and becomes more coherent from top to bottom, and I bet you'll even notice the highs being even cleaner at that point too.

Does Joel have the sub with the paper or aluminum cone?  That as welll as the stands can also make a nice difference in bass impact and dynamics, so Clark tells me.

I'll find out soon enough -- my whole new set, Orcas, stands and sub will all arrive here next week sometime.

Did you use your paramours or did Joel bring his s.e.x. amp?  I think that's what he uses at home but I could be remembering that wrong.

They truly are totally decieving in terms of what comes out of them vs their dimunitive appearance.

These and the Nagas are the speakers that finally made me decide to stick with flea power SET amps.

Glad you finally got a chance to hear them, and how great of Joel and his wife to make the trip.

-- Jim

[Grainger49]

Jim

Joel and I both have a non-Blumenstein sub.  I didn't try to dial mine into the Orcas as it was pretty well set up for my speakers.  I didn't want to get it all out of adjustment.  Every time I played it, it mucked up the Orcas' midrange.  So I didn't keep it on.  It is crossed over too high for the Orca.  (Edit: it was too loud for the Orcas)  Maybe for mine as well.  I'll have to see.  It could be filling a hole in my speakers response.

Joel didn't bring his SEX amp.  We used my Paramours with 76 drivers, MQ iron and all upgraded caps.  We played then on Joel's stands that are a few inches short of the Orca stands, but close enough for me.  They were screwed and glued together.  A nice tight fit.

They just disappeared.  Sounds didn't come from the speakers but behind and all around them.  A top notch speaker disappearing act.  I will be rummaging through my stuff to see what might garner me the price of admission from an auction.

I look forward to your impressions of the Full Meal Orca Deal.  That is a reference to the deal on an everything FP 2.

Tomorrow I will put my speakers back on and see if I can listen to them after the Orcas.  Maybe not.

[bainjs]

I'm glad they passed the test!  KOB?

[Grainger49]

Oops, edited.