Blumenstein Ultra Fi

[Clark B.]

New blog post!

New products!

New Bottlehead Amplifier Base designs, too!

http://www.blumensteinaudio.com/blumenblog/2016/3/23/raison-detre-clear-home-audio-is-the-hearth

[drewh1]

Hi Clark - I have been following the Bottlehead reviews of your products for years with great interest. I am looking at adding a separate (bedroom) system using my Stereomour 2a3 and am curious about the Blumensteins. Clearly you have a lot of great reviews and many Bottlehead fans love your products.

I guess the question I have has to do with efficiency. It used my Stereomour with 92db speakers and enjoyed it but don't feel I got the most out of it with 92db speakers. Your's are rated (conservatively) at 89 db. Is there something I am missing?  I would like to try them but have doubts that I will be happy with 2a3's driving less efficient speakers than what I currently have. Please don't misunderstand me, I am really wondering if there is a factor I am not aware of.

thanks,

[Clark B.]

Hi Drew,

Alot of people have good luck with the Orcas, Marlins and Tritons at low power because they are setting their expectations correctly in terms of the upper volume limitation that they need, and also because our speakers have many subtle design aspects that make them unexpectedly efficient and pleasing to listen to in practice with low powered tube amps, and as you pointed out, this performance is confirmed by the feedback of many of my clients.

One of the biggest reasons for this is that I have opted for a pleasant (bass oriented) tonal balance rather than the easier to zing efficiency figures that come from letting the high frequencies go wild - averaged out, shouty full rangers produce greater efficiency numbers on the cheap which is why many manufacturers do it.  But if you are diligently making bass out of a single cone, then the average efficiency number isn't as appealing on paper.

We are after practical, useful performance - torque versus horsepower.  And this factors into the specific ways that I design my enclosures - to work ideally beginning at low power levels.

Our enclosures, and the in house made damping materials we make for them are built for the efficient, well balanced bass reproduction out of a full range driver.  The midrange and high frequency qualities are well renown.  And there are many other factors to consider even beyond this blog post as well, but it is a good starting point:

http://www.blumensteinaudio.com/blumenblog/holographic-studio-monitors-the-marlin-3-full-range

There are other factors at play - like the idiosyncrasy of full range and subwoofer driver choices for their specific cone suspension "wake up" at low power levels. This is the way that I am stretching that specific driver's "torque curve" with my specific box tuning/power level dependent damping materials.

Hope that explanation helps!

-Clark

[drewh1]

Hi Clark. Thanks for taking g the time to respond. I am clearly "baffled" by all the possibilities so any and all information helps. Still love the look of those Cain and Cain's BTW

[tdogzthmn]

I would say even though the Orcas are less efficient than the Tritons they seem to play louder on the Stereomour.  I found myself having the volume set lower with the Orcas despite their lower efficiency.  I would be confident that the pairing would be more than enough for a bedroom system.

[drewh1]

Thanks for the comment. I am not concerned about vo!ume though. I would like to understand how efficiency effects other qualities like imaging, soundstange, instrument separation, clarity etc. Having finally completed my 300b, I am curious if the 2a3 would sound similar through highly efficient speakers. In other words, does the speaker efficiency limit the amp from reaching its full potential

[Jim R.]

Ok, all you Triton owners -- especially those withthe sand-filled bases, tell me what you're hearing and what amp(s) you're using, as well as any source components. Also good if you can relate this to the Orcas )I have a later "classic" pair of natural bamboo with a single Orca passive sub (paper cone) and a pair of Birch DeLuxes with Dungeness Max subs.

I just ordered said Tritons (in Birch), but that means that eventually one of these other pairs has to find a new home (but not for a while yet (and they will all have the DOF enhancement kit installed.

Like Dogsdm, I'm trying to simplify and have a satisfying and full listening experience with more palpable dynamics, without the issues of integrating a sub or two. The rest of my system is now very simple and I want the speakers to fit into that general design idea.

BTW, the rest of the system consists of a 5.6w SE EL-84 amp, Metrum Musette DAC and an Auralic Aries Mini server/streamer, all being fed by an Equitech balanced power unit (balanced power and totally galvanically isolated from the grid.

Most things are still new and just starting to break-in, and I don't have the Tritons yet, just fishing for some feedback on what I might expect.

Thanks,

Jim

[tdogzthmn]

Hi Jim,

My Tritons are still breaking in but overall they provide a more fleshed out sound compared to the Orcas.  The Orcas I had were well broken in and provided an more detail in the upper mids and highs.  I used my NAD D3020 (30wpc) and Stereomour 3.5wpc) to drive both speakers and used a Meridian Director DAC or my Technics 1210 as a source.  The lows on the Tritons are great so far and really help to add "meat" to the music and lessen the desire for a subwoofer.  Having said that, I think you will want to keep your Dungeness subs in the system to really dig deep.

Despite the higher efficiency of the Triton, I sense the Tritons want more power than can be provided by the Stereomour.  This is not to say the amp was clipping or the sound distorted but I just get the sense the Triton would be happier with more juice.  I felt the NAD does a better job with more demanding music and movies although it does lack the refinement and magic I get from the 2a3.  Surprisingly the Orcas seem to play louder on the Stereomour than the Tritons but this might be due to their more forward presentation and extended frequency response.

I'm looking into Hybrid amps hoping to see if I can get more of the power offered by a Class-D output with a tube pre-amp section.  Both speakers compliment eachother and I felt the sonic signature did not overlap to the degree I expected.  My plan is to give the Tritons a good "thrashing" by throwing a party or two so I can push them harder.  Living in an apartment makes it difficult to crank the volume up I have relatives that live in the country where noise pollution will not be a problem.  I'll post some more impressions in a few weeks when I've gotten more hours on the Tritons.

Best,
Thomas

[Jim R.]

Hi Thomas,

Well, my experience with el84s is that they sound much bigger than their power rating would suggest. Have you thought about the PS Audio Sprout?

Well, I'm not getting rid of the subs but I likely won't be. using them with the Tritons --  one of my goals is to keep things simple and clean. I also have a fairly small room and sit near-field. I've had another similar speaker that went down to the same lower frequency and sounded just fine to me. I think break-in is the key, and the sand mount stands could also play a role.

Thanks for the inf -- we'll just have to see what happens.

-- Jim

[Clark B.]

Hi Thomas,

The one thing I might suggest to upgrade in in your system would be the speaker wires - to our newer Waterline Cables "Mainsheet" speaker cable which matches the internal wire in the Tritons (versus your older Orcas). 

The Orcas you had, being so well broken in and without any stuffing materials (that are found in our Depth of Field kit), might sound a little brighter in a "hot swap" situation in a direct comparison to a new Triton.  With the Depth of Field modifications to the models I released back in January, I was focusing on attaining greater evenness across the frequencies and this does take a tad bit of the brightness away from the newer Orcas. 

I feel like the Tritons do take long and steady break in before they are truly happy being run off something under 5-8 watts.  However, I regularly demonstrate my Tritons with a 2wpc SEX amp to clients without undue playback level issues from that low of power.  The drivers do take some time to warm up every session, and as they are larger cones, they do take longer to break in than the little 3" cones in the Orcas.  When the 8" cone warms up it "clicks in" with the supertweeter and works its best.

Driving the Tritons with even higher power than that like hybrid, digital, and etc. does yield greater dynamics and scale - and that ability is the main benefit of our bigger model. 

Tritons love my 300B Paramounts and other SET amps as well.

All fun to play with.

-Clark

Hi Jim,

My Tritons are still breaking in but overall they provide a more fleshed out sound compared to the Orcas.  The Orcas I had were well broken in and provided an more detail in the upper mids and highs.  I used my NAD D3020 (30wpc) and Stereomour 3.5wpc) to drive both speakers and used a Meridian Director DAC or my Technics 1210 as a source.  The lows on the Tritons are great so far and really help to add "meat" to the music and lessen the desire for a subwoofer.  Having said that, I think you will want to keep your Dungeness subs in the system to really dig deep.

Despite the higher efficiency of the Triton, I sense the Tritons want more power than can be provided by the Stereomour.  This is not to say the amp was clipping or the sound distorted but I just get the sense the Triton would be happier with more juice.  I felt the NAD does a better job with more demanding music and movies although it does lack the refinement and magic I get from the 2a3.  Surprisingly the Orcas seem to play louder on the Stereomour than the Tritons but this might be due to their more forward presentation and extended frequency response.

I'm looking into Hybrid amps hoping to see if I can get more of the power offered by a Class-D output with a tube pre-amp section.  Both speakers compliment eachother and I felt the sonic signature did not overlap to the degree I expected.  My plan is to give the Tritons a good "thrashing" by throwing a party or two so I can push them harder.  Living in an apartment makes it difficult to crank the volume up I have relatives that live in the country where noise pollution will not be a problem.  I'll post some more impressions in a few weeks when I've gotten more hours on the Tritons.

Best,
Thomas

[tdogzthmn]

Thanks for the tips Clark!

The Tritons are fun right out of the box so I'm happy to listen as the continue to rack up hours.  Do you have any ball park estimates as to how long the break in period is?  I seem to remember the Orca's were around 500 hours till they really start to show their stuff. 

[tsingle999]

Just finished doing the upgrade kit on my orca deluxes. Sound great! Its hard to compare the difference between before and after as i had the drivers enabled while i had them out and that takes a month. They beat my flat pack p10 uonkend with ff85wk enabled driver. Those dont go as low, the high end is not as smooth and the build quality between me and Clark is quite different;-)!
This is in my bedroom and I only have room for one sub but it makes all the difference.
The upgrade wasn't too difficult with the right extended ratchet to remove the binding posts. Small handed people definitely have an advantage. Now to mount them on the wall. Thanks Clark!

[Jim R.]

Thanks for the report Taran.

I'm lucky enough that I can get my hands inside the Orcas but by the end of the day they are all red, bruised, and generally scratched up -- still, it makes placing the balls much easier and less messy.

I haven't looked at what's involved with the dungeness subs yet, but I will be running them in mono with a single Hypexx amp with twosets of output binding posts internally wired in parallel -- this will give the amp a 4 ohm load so it can deliver the full 175 watts of rated output.

Did you do your subs as well?

-- Jim
 

[tsingle999]

Ya Jum my hands were pretty scraped up;)
I did not do the subs. I ran the pair of blumenstein subs i am selling now with one amp vs two amps and didnt notice a difference. Good luck.

[Jim R.]

Taran,

I'm listening to my old, second pair of bamboo Orcas. These are on the solid bamboo stands and even without the DOF kit are breaking in nicely and sounding better and better each day Right now it seems mostly to be the Mundorf silver/oils in the amp that are going through one of their "moods." that is the largest variable in the overall sound. I'm  working on the DeLuxes now -- btw, a long >6" and a deep socket, or if you can get your hand in and turn a wrench, an ignition wrench will also work. I used a length of 1" x 3" hard maple and a soft-face hammer to pound out the old posts. (posted in case somebody else is gettinng frustrated at this point like I was until I got some tools to do the job with.) Once the DeLuxes are done, I'll move the african mahogany bbases into position, place the dungeness subs on that (with the Herbie's soft thin dots with adhesive on one side), then stack the DeLuxes on top of those. I may need to make some sort of mini stand to bring the driver up to the right level, but that should be simple.

Tried and True, the folks who make the  finishing products, now make stains in the same way and still food safe, etc., so I'm going to stain the stack of speakers to match the base, which also matches my rack. I'll let folks know how this stain works, because I'm sure some other folks may be interested in staining their Orcas another color. Yes, this stain can go right on the Danish oil finish that comes on the Orcas, and you can put more Danish oil on  top for more protection (or varnish oil is you wish) Colors are Cherry, golden Oak, Dark Walnut, Java, and mahogany.

Ok, bacck to speakers...

-- Jim