Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[Jim R.]

Grainger,

I think you really have to look at the Orca sub compared to typical subs the same way you do the Orcas to other standmount monitors -- it's practially a crime to call them a sub -- they don't boom, they have real tone, and more importantly, tone that seamlessly integrates with the Orcas (or Nagas in my current case), plus they match in terms of dynamics, and Clark tells me that all of this will improve noticeably when I replace my aluminum cone drivers with the paper cone ones.  Of course the new one will have the paper cone *sub*.

And yes, one will surely let you feel those Taiko drums, and 2 would probably let your neighbors feel  it too :-).

My feeling is that the Orcas are quite usable on their own to approximately 50 hz, which is about all you get from most LPs anyway.  On the other hand, there's no doubt that the Orca sub adds some weight and dynamic punch as well as some more extension on the bottom.

Man, I am just itching to get this system going! :-)

When Clark first walked into my listening room his first words were, "Oh, this is an Orca room for sure."  Aside from that I'm getting used to the Nagas in the media room, though some more placement adjustments will surely help, as will the stereomour.

-- Jim

[Grainger49]

Jim,

My first sub was with the Servo-Statik I.  It didn't have much boom.  Since that sub is dead I'm using a Boston Acoustics sub I bought years ago.  The BA has served in both my stereo and AV systems.  It is more versatile than the Infinity sub ever was with crossover, level and phase adjustments.

I have a great appreciation for a sub having the same speed as the rest of the system.  The Infinity sub never got there.  Right now, the Orca's sub isn't economically feasible.  At the moment neither are the Orcas.

[Jim R.]

Grainger,

Understood -- econommics being what it is for each individual, my only real point is that the Orca sub is the perfect pairing for a complete, full range system with seamless integration from the bottom up.  And also being the size and weight it is (does not need a forklift to move like so many subs, you can get perfect phasing and best room response simply by moving it around, which I vastly prefer to the so-called variable phase controls.

The bottom line on all this is that if you can afford it, the complete system is well worth pursuing, even if it takes a while and a lot of scraping and saving to get there.

-- Jim

[patm]

Dudes,

I agree with Jim. 130 hours break in on Orcas, Stands, and Subs. This stuff sounds really good. I took my BH Gear to a High End Dealer in S Fla and spent 8 hours with some famous speakers and this stuff sounds every bit as good and it's not broken in yet. The best buy I have made so far in my Audio journey. The Orca gear was a retirement gift to myself.

Pat

Forgot to mention that the Orca gear only cost 1/3 as much!

[Grainger49]

I understand.  The Eros was my retirement gift to myself a year ago.  That is when I started drawing some retirement funds.

[earwaxxer]

I understand.  The Eros was my retirement gift to myself a year ago.  That is when I started drawing some retirement funds.

So, Granger, its been a year. How's retirement treating you? I'm actually in between jobs at the present. I think when I retire, I'm going to need a string of heavy duty projects to keep from going insane! I know, I may already be there, but I'm talking straight jacket stuff!

[Molly B]

Big thanks to Joel for auditioning his Orcas. (If you ever want to get anything else from us in the future, Joel, just let us know and we will sweeten the deal for you  ). Thanks, also, to everyone else on here for the awesome feedback. Clark and I are feeling the love!

[bainjs]

Molly,

I'd be interested in your sweet deal on a subwoofer, however, it would be a bit before I could buy one. I gotta pay for a knee replacement for my wife first! 

Send me a PM when you have time.

Joel

[Hank Murrow]

Hey, I hope your wife's experience with replacement is as successful as mine. First one @ 54, second @ 60, now 74 and able to walk six miles even on uneven surfaces(right now, beaches and cliffs on the south coast of Crete). My surgeon, Craig Mohler of the Slocum Orthopedic Clinic in Eugene, said that I had the fastest recovery on the last one he had ever seen____ 1 mile without aids just ten days post-surgery!

Suggest that she tune up her immune system by de-toxing(sugar, red meat, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol), and imagine on the gurney before lights out that she will wake up on the left bank in Paris! Worked for me, both times.

Cheers and good Luck, Hank in Eugene(actually south coast of Crete for another week)

[Doc B.]

by de-toxing(sugar, red meat, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol)

I've tried all of those in combination but they don't seem to detoxify me.

[tuffy_puppy]

ditdah, sir,  as far as classical music:  just about any mozart or debussy.  don

[earwaxxer]

Suggest that she tune up her immune system by de-toxing(sugar, red meat, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol), and imagine on the gurney before lights out that she will wake up on the left bank in Paris! Worked for me, both times.

Cheers and good Luck, Hank in Eugene(actually south coast of Crete for another week)

I cut the carbs. Well, except for the alcohol... I do feel much better. Lost 10 lbs. I'm not interested in the 'gurney' and all that other crap. I'm allergic to Dr's and hospitals!

[Clark B.]

All my best to your wife, Joel!  I hope she has a swift recovery.  Running the shop a bit more I too have had to really focus on my health, what I eat and how much I excersize especially as it is a really physically demanding job.  Luckily, music therapy is part of my routine at the end of each day

[Grainger49]

Sounds like my 20s.  Music all day selling stereos and my music in the evening to relax.  It was a daily routine.

[Grainger49]

I had this thought last night.  So, getting back to Clark & Molly's speakers...

Many people have asked me how my system floats images so well.  I often say that it, "gets out of the way of the music."  I describe it that way because there are so very few passive and active devices in the signal path.  I add that each of these active and passive parts impart less of a coloration or phase shift onto the music that is fed into the system.

The Blumensteins do just that.  I believe their speakers get out of the way of the music and allow you to hear what was comes into the system to start with.  I became aware of the mess a crossover can make of music sometime in the 70s.  The Orcas having no crossover the phase relationships of the incoming signal are not affected at all.  I'm of the opinion that soundstage has a lot to do with phase relationships between the two speakers and the music being played.  Phase is time, which is position to our ears and brain.