Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[Clark B.]

Right on, Jim.  Thanks!

Dogz,

My Sex 2.1 amp's only modification is that I took out the headphone jack and soldered short lengths of BJC Ten White straight from the trannies to the banana posts.  Is this similar to a balanced mode?  I am not sure, but it did seem just a little bassier.  I am also using a quickie pre amp to really good effect.  (I didn't mod anything on the SEX amp's volume POT - just twist it to the "max" position).   This is such an unbelievably killer system for nearfield/small rooms/low to medium volumes with the Orcas.  So much musical honesty for so little money.

We've now got our own Natural bamboo Orcas on stands and double subs in the living room demo system.  The double subs are just begging us to give the entire system a little more oomph and upper volume levels with loud rock and roll so the recent arrival of our new Stereomour kit is well timed.  We'll probably get started on it once the holidaze are over.  We are so excited!

Hank - can't wait to have you out again in Jan.  It'll be fun to go tour around town a bit as well.  Hopefully the Nakashima exhibit at the Wing Luke museum is still open as well.  Molly and I took Paul and Ashley out there this Sunday after visiting the gallery with your pottery (which was great!).  Nakashima's work had a tremendous and unexpected effect on me - very deep down.  Even though I've read about him a bit and admired his work and philosophy for years now, its probably going to take me years to fully process the inspiration I got from his work that day.  Looking for every excuse to go back before the exhibit moves on.  I mention this visit on the forum because I can only hope to synthesize some of Nakashima's inspiration - and the inspiration in your pottery into our upcoming Feastrex project.  

Molly's got everyone who's currently on order on the weekly shop update emails, but if anyone has missed any of the emails, production is marching along very well.  Almost right on target, time wise.  This is much more smoothly than in months previous - even though we are dealing with alot higher volume of sales than we have ever had before.  Still yet, we will be shipping out a vast majority of our orders in the coming week and into the following.  This represents a huge improvement to our shop's systems in terms of order flow all the while keeping production quality very high.

On a separate note,

REMEMBER THE PRICE INCREASE IS COMING JAN 1ST!!!

Best,

Clark

[FS]

Hi Clark,

Will the price increase affect only the Orcas, or will the price of the subs go up as well?
Thanks,
Falko

[Jim R.]

Clark,

I had no idea you were a fan of Nakashima (but then again, I suppose I should have known).  His shop and gallery were in New Hope, PA, only about a 30 minute drive from where I grew up and lived a good part of my life.  Absolutely amazing woodworking!  Never could afford any of it though :-).

BTW, tried some quick experiments and I will be setting up the Nagas in the listening room after all (moving the rack off to the side of the couch) and the Orcas and sub will still be with the stereomour in the media room (where we did all the listening when you were here.)

-- Jim

[Clark B.]

Hi Clark,

Will the price increase affect only the Orcas, or will the price of the subs go up as well?
Thanks,
Falko

Falko,  Yes, the price increase is across the board.  Approximately 25% to 33% increase overall (except desktop stands, which will be getting a little cheaper to encourage sales).  Considering that this is the biggest price increase we've ever implimented, and with the longest notice we've ever given, we are really hoping to be able to give everyone who's been following us a chance to hop on board.

-Clark  

P.S.  Thank you for your order!!!

[johnsonad]

Clark,

I sent you an email.  Did it go through?

Regards,

Aaron

[Clark B.]

Oh-yes.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off yesterday, I'll get back to you re: Feastrex tonight here, along with a few other folks needing sub setup advice.  I'm having to answer emails during one sitting every day or two as we've been running the woodshop full steam this week.  Thanks for bearing with us!

[Gerry E.]

Hi All:

I'm sure the Orcas rock but I just want to mention that the bamboo bases for BH components do too!  I received my pair for Paramounts about two weeks ago and I'm very happy I pulled the trigger.  Attached below are "before" and "after" photos plus a close-up.

Good job Clark & Molly!

Gerry

[Clark B.]

Thanks for the shout out, Gerry!  Really glad to hear you are enjoying them!  Those are SUCH AWESOME PARAMOUNTS you built!  The silk screening is so cool.  What kind of OB speakers are those?

I love building the Bottlehead bases.  They really dress things up.  We built and entire set of them for all our demo amps - will have photos up really soon.  I like the tall profile as well, which makes ample space for upgrade caps and as a thermal mass of air for cooling.  Soon we'll be selling clear acrylic plates with holes in them as an add on.  Not sure on the price yet, but of course - its not gonna break the piggy bank.  The shipping on those alone should be really cheap to those who already own the bases.

Cheers!

-Clark

[tdogzthmn]

I had the top plate of my S.E.X. amp anodized black and bead blasted to a smooth finish.  I think that plus my caramelized bamboo Orcas + Base will look very slick.  I also had a Apls Blue Velvet and black aluminum knob added to finish it off! 

[Hank Murrow]

Hey Clark & Molly___ I just got my 'new' VPI turntable back with the Blue Point Special EVO lll cartridge dialed in, and I am listening to the Reference Recordings pressing of Eileen Farrell "Sings Torch Songs" through my Bottlehead Customs 'final music system' with custom Eros phonostage. Your Orca+BUF Subs have never been asked to convey so much, nor have they failed in even a tiny way. I am enthralled, and only into this disc halfway through the first side. "Round Midnight" is just starting, and I had to post this to tell everyone they owe your speakers a listen____ even if one can't come up with the scratch, they seem like a 'reference experience' while working toward a pair. I played the Telarc pressing of the Holst Wind Band Suites, and let me say that the subs come very close to the tactile experience I enjoyed with my big 10" transmission-line subs when those tympani thwacks jumped out of them. Set the hanging prints to vibrating on the walls. This vinyl setup is dead quiet, and reveals the limitations of those little discs I've been listening to. So much air around everything, and truth being told. You two have to come down and hear this sometime when you get caught up on orders. 1200 mint records to fall in love with all over again____thanks so much to both of the Blumensteins!

Cheers, Hank

[Molly B]

Aw, thanks so much for this Hank! We'll definitely take you up on your offer to dig through that vinyl collection sometime. I too have recently fallen even more in love with the Orcas now that we have a pair of Orca Subs going in our living room setup with a Stereomour (on loan from PB until we get a chance to build our own). The S.E.X. is great down in the desktop/office setup in the shop, but the extra power from the Stereomour into our living room setup reveals new parts and experiences in albums that I thought I knew. Swoon!

I'm also wanting to point out to all on the thread that we got a chance to sit down and update the information on our website about the subwoofer and sub amp. New photos of the sub amp and diagrams on how to set everything up are on there now. Here's a link: http://www.blumensteinaudio.com/orca-subwoofer-amplifier/

There is a new subwoofer amp on offer, which is a 250 watt plate amp. The big reason we added this is because it allows for international voltage. Both models are getting added sets of binding posts now too, which--while they don't effect the sound in any way--are just meant to help with hookup/ease of use. If anyone is interested in having their sub amps retrofitted, just send me an email.


Molly

[Gerry E.]

Thanks for the shout out, Gerry!  Really glad to hear you are enjoying them!  Those are SUCH AWESOME PARAMOUNTS you built!  The silk screening is so cool.  What kind of OB speakers are those?

I love building the Bottlehead bases.  They really dress things up.  We built and entire set of them for all our demo amps - will have photos up really soon.  I like the tall profile as well, which makes ample space for upgrade caps and as a thermal mass of air for cooling.  Soon we'll be selling clear acrylic plates with holes in them as an add on.  Not sure on the price yet, but of course - its not gonna break the piggy bank.  The shipping on those alone should be really cheap to those who already own the bases.

Cheers!

-Clark

I wish I could take credit Clark but I purchased my Paramounts already built.  The silk screening is cool but since I had the V1.1 upgrade installed, the 12AT7 designation is no longer correct (that's an early WE 396A in there).  I'm glad you mentioned the "tall profile" of your bases because that's one of my favorite attributes of them too (besides the overall look).  Will the acrylic plates be replacements for the back panel or a bottom plate?  The reason I ask is that since I have them sitting on a flat surface the underside is completely enclosed.  I'm thinking of adding rubber feet for air-flow.

My speakers are JE Labs style OBs with added 12" bases (the latter was my idea).  Drivers are vintage Jensen RP-302 tweeters and Altec 756B bass/mid-range drivers.  IMO the 10" 756B is 10 times better than the much more famous Altec/WE 755A (I had both at the same time on identical baffles) but that's another story.  The 756Bs run full-range and there's a single cap on the tweeters.  See the attached photo below - it's taken from behind the speakers.

BTW, Do you do custom work?  I'm thinking of getting my LDR-based passive preamp, the black box sitting on top of my CD player, encased in the same bamboo wood as the bases.      

Gerry
P.S.
          

[johnsonad]

I had the top plate of my S.E.X. amp anodized black and bead blasted to a smooth finish.  I think that plus my caramelized bamboo Orcas + Base will look very slick.  I also had a Apls Blue Velvet and black aluminum knob added to finish it off! 

That sure looks great!  Who did the work on it?

[tdogzthmn]

I had my buddy up in Seattle do most of the work on it since he has access to high grade tools and a profession anodization machine. 

[Mike L.]

Greetings, all

I found this great thread/community through research on Blumenstein Orcas.  With so few reviews online, this thread is about as good a resource as I could find on BUF products.  Thanks to all of you who took the time to share your experiences.  After admiring Clark's work for years, the glowing reviews here pushed me over the edge and I purchased a pair of BB Orcas with matching sub a few weeks ago.  They should be shipping in the next couple of days, which may get them here by the 25th.  Merry Christmas to me!

My existing amplification consists of an AES AE-3 preamp and Bedini 150/150 MkII.  It is a fine combination for the old acoustic suspension speakers I've used in the past, but seems a bit much for the Orcas.  I've long been interested in checking out SETs, and everyone here (including/especially Clark himself) speak so highly of the synergy between them and the Orcas, that I hope to find some Bottleheads in the DC area willing to let me have a listen.  There is a Mid-Atlantic meetup thread in the General forum so I'll post up there.  Hopefully one of those folks wants to hear a pair of Orcas on his/her system.

I'll keep you posted on my experiences, and let you know if/when I pull the trigger on a Stereomour kit.

Cheers
Mike