Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[dhherring]

Demsy,

I've had my Orcas for about a week now.  I'm using them in my office at my computer workstation in a low volume, near field application.  I've got them sitting on a pair of 6" stands that I made myself out of red oak, and finished with spar varnish.  This puts the drivers near ear level.

Since this is a low volume application, and just need a touch of extra fill in on the bottom end, I decided to try a Dayton Audio 8" powered sub from Parts Express.  It is working out extremely well in this environment.  I've got the crossover set to about 90 Hz, and the gain at about 1:00 on the dial.  Sitting in a corner next to my work table, it blends in nicely.

A S.E.X 2.1 is driving the sub and speakers.  This setup has given me a new reason to want to go to work just so I can listen to the system.  

Hope this helps.

Don

[Clark B.]

Hi all!

Thanks for the questions and enthusiasm!  Molly and I have been in the final stages of three moves these last few weeks so we've had a few emails slip through the cracks (moving out of a 10* 20 storage unit that was FULL of live edge slabs and audio equipment... will be having a yard sale very soon here!!!!!!, moving ourselves into a home that is separate from the shop, and moving many things around the the shop to make it even bigger and more capable...

All totaled around 15000 pounds hitched a ride on our backs so we've been pretty wiped this last week especially).  The good news is that the demo room has gotten alot bigger and better set up, the shop is even better lubricated, better set up, and we now have a dedicated office for our computers (and us) to sit in undisturbed in concentration from either the shop or the demo space.... starting.... tomorrow!  Today is the last day of dedicated moving of things and setting things back up.

We worked our backlog down from what was nearly 2.5 months as of the first week of January down to ~5 weeks as of the end of this month.  We are really proud of this fact.  It was a herculean effort considering the planning for, and then the moves that took place amidst all this production.  

There are many pairs of Orca fullrangers that are to be wired up and shipped out this next week, and we are simultaneously running through several more pairs of Orcas, and finally Orca subs through the saw this weekend.  Bottlehead bases are shipping out early next week as well.

I am budgeting some serious time to work on a comprehensive "subwoofer hookup" article that will go into our FAQ section that deals with all manner of crossing over your Orcas to your Orca Subs (or any other brand of subwoofer).  As it turns out, there are several different perfectly plausible and good sounding ways to cross over your speakers, there are also many good commercial subwoofers out there.  It is my goal to not just present "the one" way we like to do it so much as to inform folks as to the tradeoffs of each different kind of hookup style or subwoofer arrangement.  

Hopefully this should really help.

Thanks to everyone for bearing with us!  We are so friggin' excited to have more space in the shop now!!!

Cheers,

Clark

P.S.  Seattle Met magazine did a cool write up of us in the February issue.  

http://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-entertainment/articles/blumenstein-audio-makes-some-of-the-best-speakers-you-ve-never-heard-february-2013

We had a blast doing the photo shoot and I've especially got to give a huge thanks to our freind Joe Gustav who got his article in there as a freelance writer... no easy feat!  My only regret (though I sure tried!) is that there wasn't space for a shout out to Bottlehead because of the "annotated space" format of the article.  However, I definitely let them know about our way cool ally over on Bainbridge...so lets see what happens in the coming months!  

I'm such a believer in HiFi as a passtime, hobby, religion, artform, technology, obsession, or whatever becoming more of a part of our collective cultural consciousness and I am really encouraged about what an article like this means for the greater audio industry.  Seattle Met usually runs articles mostly about food, entertainment, live music and etc. but then again, one of the businesses that advertises in Seattle Met, Terra Plata, has our speakers all through their restaurant.  And so, fine food and fine music truly go together.  And in Terra Plata's case, as an "earth" to "plate" restaurant, I think that there is alot of resemblance to our operation being a woodshop -> customer speaker company.  Similar paths to a similar kind of quality.

[Molly B]

Mirroring an email I sent to Demsy earlier in regards to stand height:

Of course the aim is to have the tweeter at the same level as your ear in the listening position, but it's worth noting that we've found that the Orcas have a far wider dispersion angle than most fullranges, so it is less critically sensitive to driver height than you might think/is worth sweating about. Between 'right at ear level' to 2 inches below is the ideal range though. Commonly, stands are ordered 26" to 28" tall.

Then again, there was a pair of Orcas sacrilegiously sitting on the carpeted floor of our house for a week and I was in bliss.

Anyone interested in DIYing their stands and planning on attaching their Orcas to them in the same way as the Orca Stands should check out the FAQ page on our site about how to assemble them: http://www.blumensteinaudio.com/faq/orca-stands/how-to-assemble-the-orca-floor-and-desktop-stands.html

There'll be a comprehensive shop update sent to everyone who has a current order in on Monday.

That's all for now!

Molly

[Clark B.]

Oh - one more thing - I've been meaning to update everyone about our progress on the new Feastrex project.

Admittably, not much has been done this month because of the move and the way we've had to upgrade and move around our shop so much.  However, I have had our new NF5ex drivers and new FEX3DJr power supply breaking in in some ugly test cabinets this past month and the results are very promising.  Teramoto-san is a true warrior.  I absolutely can't believe it, but he has managed to improve these things alot further than I expected was possible.  This has certainly upped the anty on what I am going to expect out of myself as a cabinet designer.

And so, there is still much that admittably remains up in the air in regards to my own cabinet design for them, including the power supply, and even the way that the cabinet might look. 

Back in December the plan was to be building some new prototypes during the lull in orders typical to early Jan.  But instead I am thinking that now that the shop is truly big enough (as of tomorrow), I'm gonna be able to work on both Orcas (during the day) and Feastrex (at night) during the months of February and March in the same shop without a big rub developing between the two projects, logistically speaking.  As fun as the prospect of a production Feastrex model is, it is our main goal to reduce the lead time on orders for our Orca line before we add a new model to our product line.  The progress we made on our backlog on Orcas during the month of January is very encouraging to us on this front. 

Essentially, in order to be kind to myself as a designer/builder, I don't want to pigeon hole myself into "this" finalized design/specification or "that," by even posting a sketch publically.  or even to give much of an idea of what the woodwork will be like until the measurements themselves are in from the concepts that I must first physically bring to life before there can be any further progress.  All I am trying to do as a cabinet designer is to let these spectacular drivers do their very best and to stop exactly there.  I want as little of my own "intent" as a form of coloration to make its way into the work as possible.  I just want to be the limousine driver, in that sense.

So in conclusion, in light of January's opportunity for Feastrex prototyping being eaten up by other things, we are looking at the estimate I gave last summer of an early spring 2013 release as a tad optimistic now.  Instead, it should be late spring 2013/early summer 2013 release.  There should be some concrete photos and teasers to be posted in the coming months.  Stay tuned!

Best,

Clark

[Demsy]

Congrats with your 4000th post, Grainger!

Don, thanks for your input. It should be good to start with ear level position, as Molly also pointed out that the dispersion angle is wide enough.

Molly also mentioned that Clark is preparing for an article about subwoofers, I will wait until I've read it once posted in this forum before making any decision about it. I was actually thinking of using the B&W PV1D or the REL T5, but now I'll wait.

Also congratulations to Molly and Clark with the new home!

[fullheadofnothing]

It's nice to see Bruce getting the press he deserves.

[Grainger49]

Clark,

New digs all around.  I'm sending wishes for great success at home and at work to you both.

Enough of being the straight man, it is good that you two are young with all that moving.  When I was in my 20s we moved one of our friends about once a month and drank beer on the other three weekends.  We wondered why that moving made us so sore.  Ignorance is bliss, as my mother used to say.  I now appreciate that she was spot on.  We were ignorant and young and strong.

I hope having a clean slate for your shop has enabled you to improve the flow of materials and work.  I've seen first hand how more room for this improves production.

I can't imagine that your computers fared well with the bamboo sawdust.  I expect it is like flower.  It would get everywhere.

Molly,

Is there a template for drilling the mounting holes in the Orcas somewhere to download?

Demsy,

Thanks! 

[tdogzthmn]

I've been doing alot of thinking about some interesting concepts for speaker cabinets which are would be spherical in shape.  You can create the same internal volume as your typical rectilinear cabinet but I would think a sphere would do a better job at minimizing reflections. 

I've also been curious about using stiffened felt as the primary material for an enclosure.  There are some really cool products being made from felt molded into a form, much like plastic and plywood forms.  Resin impregnated fabrics will yield high stiffness to weight ratios.  Being a product designer for a large Design Firm in SF, I've done some research into all the new materials on the market for application in furniture and other products.

As far as wood products go, Plyboo is a great option for its stiffness and aesthetics which is clear when you see/hear the Orcas.  It would be important to isolate what mechanical/physical properties are most important for the cabinet and look at what other materials can achieve the same or better results.

Regarding Bottlehead, I think an amp/pre amp developed to work in unison with the new feastrex driver would be really great.  Might be as simple as tweaking an existing amp design to achieve best results when mated to that particular load or something new!  A cohesive sound system built to work together from conception would be great for people wanting the best sound without having to worry about the synergy of all the individual components, basically the philosophy used by Apple.

Anyway I'm looking forward to a new year and more sweet sounding music!


P.S.  My Orca's have been burning in quite nicely and I'm loving their lucid and resolved sound.  Mated with my SEX 2.1 its a pairing which really puts energy and life into the music I listen to!

 

[Doc B.]

Regarding Bottlehead, I think an amp/pre amp developed to work in unison with the new feastrex driver would be really great.

I was thinking a Feastrex driver developed to work in unison with a Bottlehead amp would be great.

[tdogzthmn]

^Very true Doc.  Coordination among the various parties is certainly ideal!

[saildoctor]

tdogzthmn, how about some spheres of carbon fiber sandwitched around a nomex or aluminum honeycomb done like a modern racing sailboat?  I know a guy, he would probably be happy to make a pair for about $50k-$100k.    That stiffened felt sounds like an interesting material actually.  Do you know what type of resin that stuff uses - like vinyl ester or epoxy? 

I like the bamboo of the Orcas - it's a sustainable material and I would imagine it's quite stiff because of it's many plied construction.  Can't wait till its time to get mine!

[Grainger49]

Kerry, 

IIRC Bamboo is the fastest growing plant/tree on earth.  Maybe just a little faster than Kudzu? 

[Clark B.]

Regarding Bottlehead, I think an amp/pre amp developed to work in unison with the new feastrex driver would be really great.

I was thinking a Feastrex driver developed to work in unison with a Bottlehead amp would be great.

Indeed, Doc.  I agree.  But I'd offer that the profound amount of development work that's already in the Feastrex drivers calls us to just do our best.  So the best I can do at this stage as a dealer for the Feastrex drivers is to design the cabinet.  And I think I'll be able to do quite a bit.  That is, until a huge pile of cash miraculously falls into my lap.  Then we'll talk Blumenstein driver production



Re: Thomas,

In regards to the spherical speaker suggestion, in my opinion, while very stiff, actually results in a speaker with exactly one profound resonance as all radii are the same. 

The alternative solution I've found to work over time is to break up resonances in an enclosure by using varying dimensions/facets.  In rectangular box design, I try to stay to somewhere around the golden ratio (which is no secret in the world of speaker design).  It breaks up the resonances fairly effectively. 

Also, in the case of the Orca, the inside does not look the same as the outside...  However,  I find that bizarrely/randomly faceted enclosures tend to sound a little weird too.  So! - everything in moderation - including moderation.

It is worth noting above all else that the Orca cabinet has been designed with just a saw applied many hundreds of times, and many hundreds of sets of ears, and that the same process has been/will be applied to the Feastrexes.  That is, cut, try, listen to peoples' feedback, and the sound of the Orcas has improved very gradually but assuredly. 

There are many trappings in the design process, but no true short cuts, otherwise after almost 10 years in the audio industry, believe me, I would still be using them. 

I don't see myself as merely a proponent of tradition, but rather a cog in the big wheel that keeps on turning slowly - that somehow, strangely took a turn and snowballed me up into it somewhere along the way back when I met Terry Cain, Doc B, and Teramoto-san, and many other inspirational builders of audio gear.  but most importantly, and most profoundly, I was snowballed up the day I met myself in the work somewhere along the line.

There are many "cutting edge" objects that are still made in absolute adherence to tradition.  Samurai swords are one of them.  Feastrex drivers, which have design lineage back to the 1940's (the work of Mr. Sano passed on to Mr. Teramoto), are another. 

Feastrex's shop is actually in a region of Japan where traditional apprenticeship to Samurai sword makers is still alive and well.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/secrets-samurai-sword.html

So the real challenge to me in the design process of a Feastrex speaker is to understand its nature as a human challenge - how can I bring MY best to the work, MY heart, to be the clearest window into the hearts of others who are involved in the project as well.

Peace,

Clark

[Doc B.]

I was merely responding to the comment that sometimes crops up that our stuff needs to be changed to work with something else. I'm not saying that about you at all Clarko! I think we have one of the coolest business relationships going, and our stuff seems a match made in heaven.

[Downhome Upstate]

" . . . the day I met myself in the work somewhere along the line."

Beautiful. Thank you.