An evening with Bottlehead and Blumenstein Ultra Fi, March 31st

Doc B. · 5812

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Offline Doc B.

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After years of searching we have found a speaker we think is a truly great match to Bottlehead amps. Clark Blumenstein has been developing and refining his handcrafted Orca monitors and subwoofers for a few years now and the recently released iteration is a wonderful mate to S.E.X., Stereomour and Paramount. Clark, Molly, Queen Eileen and I would love to show you how well they work together and thus we are having a get together at Bottleheadquarters on Bainbridge Island on Saturday, March 31st, from 4 to 7 p.m. Please come by and have a listen, perhaps enjoy an adult beverage and savor a bit of nosh. We'll spin some of our favorite vinyl and roll a few Tape Project albums on our world renowned BottleNagra custom tape machine.

Bottlheadquarters is at 9415 Coppertop Loop NE, Suite 101, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.
206-451-4275

Doc B.

an RSVP to [email protected] is appreciated, but not required

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Jim R.

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Dan and all,

Hope you have a great turnout this evening.  Sure ish I could be there.

And to anybody who is near enough to be part of this, you really should go and have a listen -- these are some really fine music making components that will undoubtedly put a smile on your face.

-- Jim


Jim Rebman -- recovering audiophile

Equitech balanced power; uRendu, USB processor -> Musette DAC -> 5670 tube buffer -> Finale Audio F138 FFX -> Cain and Cain Abbys near-field).

s.e.x. 2.1 under construction.  Want list: Stereomour II

All ICs homemade (speaker and power next)


Offline Doc B.

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Thanks Jim, it was a really fun party. I'm trying to work out a head count, and I get 34. For most of the evening we focused on a system with Orcas on their new bamboo stands, a single BUF sub, a Stereomour and either the BottleNagra playing Tape Project albums or the Analog Engineering modded Empire 208, SME 309 and the astoundingly beautiful Haniwa HTCRO1 cartridge playing through the Bottlehead Tube Phono.

The imaging of the Orcas continues to amaze me, with an almost spooky depth of soundstage. We had about 7 chairs set in the room initially (more like 10 or 12 later - the room got packed!). Clark set the system up relatively near field to the sweet spot and the soundstage was remarkably good even in the back row to one side. The latest iteration on the stands gives the setup the best bass I've heard from it. We shot the system in the room before we started to get a sense of the subwoofer level match. One shot done without the sub on showed how remarkably flat in the lower end response the tiny little Orcas are, clear down past 100Hz. Color me impressed! The system handled all sorts of music with aplomb. Those stiff little bamboo cabinets are super quick and the Orcas are so nimble.

The Haniwa cartridge is so far beyond any cartridge I've had before that I'm kinda stunned. At the end of the evening some folks wanted to hear our reference system. We put on the old Sheffield Labs King James Version, as the room was packed and it seemed like a good time to go for high horsepower to get direct to disc big band level sound. That cart is simply amazing. Suffice to say that PJ just leaned over with a big smile on his face and whispered "F**k!" My understanding is that the Haniwa cart is getting some serious consideration by the big name reviewers for their favorites lists. It happens that Haniwa distributor and my good bud Bob Bean has been authorized to sell for a deep discount from the $5000 retail price, simply to get more into circulation in the community so people can see just how great a cart it is. If you are interested shoot me an email or give me a call next week.

The Tode got a little audition by a couple of talented guitar players too. They seemed to like the sound and to my pleasure they also liked the compact, briefcase like size. I also saw smiles on their faces when they plugged in headphones, cranked on the brake, rolled up the volume and played heavily overdriven tones into the cans.

Thanks so much to everyone who came by yesterday. Thanks also for the contributions of great food and beverages and for putting up with the heat of a room crammed with 30 people and 20 or so tube amps.



Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Jim R.

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Dan,

So nice to hear all this -- puts a big smile on my face and for so many different reasons!

Linda just left for a 2-week writer's residency in northern Wyoming -- wonder if I can sneak one of those carts under the radar :-).

Wonder why the bass is so much better using the stands?  I've also been thinking about something like the Mapleshade Bedrock stands (or similar), and if we move, that may be the way my next office is setup.

I love these little speakers and the Nagas as well -- thanks again for the heads-up on them.

-- Jim

Jim Rebman -- recovering audiophile

Equitech balanced power; uRendu, USB processor -> Musette DAC -> 5670 tube buffer -> Finale Audio F138 FFX -> Cain and Cain Abbys near-field).

s.e.x. 2.1 under construction.  Want list: Stereomour II

All ICs homemade (speaker and power next)


Offline ironbut

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Sounds like it was a great time! Sorry I missed it.
Your raving about the Haniwa isnot what I wanted to hear! I just replaced my cart and I'm still in "new toy" heaven. I may have to check out just how deep a discount Bob is offering.

Regarding the effect stands have on bass, it's all about Newton's 3rd(?) law. When the driver is pushing the air in front of it, there's an equal force pushing back. If the cabinet moves back and then forward to it's original position, (which is practically impossible to stop entirely) there are Doppler distortions to the waveform in front. And since the force needed to create low freq. info is greater (also watts=work), the force moving backward is greatest during low frequencies and particularly during the initial attack which almost always contains more energy, (kick drums/leading edge of bass guitar etc.) that's the area of the sound that gets the most distorted from the backward movement.

steve koto


Offline Doc B.

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The stands are very cool and match the speakers. The top and bottom are a single layer of bamboo ply. For the upright Clark laminates something like 6 or 8 layers of bamboo together. That part of the stand is really hefty and stiff. The speakers screw to the stands and the whole assembly is super rigid and adds a bunch of very stiff mass. Clark had the stands sitting on these really cool live edge slabs laid on the carpet, and had put together a matching live edge equipment "rack" - more of a very cool coffee table shape - for the amps. Hopefully someone took some photos. I was too busy hosting to remember to grab my camera.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Roger

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Any pictures from this event?
Roger

Roger
VPI Classic (record player), Trigon advance (RIAA), Electrocompaniet EMC1-up (CD-player), BorderPatrol (line), Paramount v1.1 2A3 (power), Avantgarde Acoustics Duo Grosso (speakers)


Offline Jim R.

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Well, I should be fine with the Orca subs as stands then -- will find out tomorrow for sure.  I have the Orcas now on top of the subs (held firmly in place with 4 double-stickey 1/8" Heri=bies black dots, then the single layer of bamboo ply for the base of the subs, and that is sitting on top of a 2" thick slab of Sappele -- feels like a very rigid and massive unit.

-- Jim

Jim Rebman -- recovering audiophile

Equitech balanced power; uRendu, USB processor -> Musette DAC -> 5670 tube buffer -> Finale Audio F138 FFX -> Cain and Cain Abbys near-field).

s.e.x. 2.1 under construction.  Want list: Stereomour II

All ICs homemade (speaker and power next)


Offline electrovice

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This was a fun event. Thanks to all who were involved in hosting this. My friend Mark, who came with me, took some pictures with his new camera. I will see if I can get him to post some of the pictures.



Offline Hank Murrow

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Hey Gang;

I set up my pottery at 'Herban Feast' in SODO on Tuesday the 27th and shot over to Clark and Molly's home in West Seattle to audition the Orcas with a single 'fast' sub. We talked and listened to several CD's and I was impressed with their quickness and truthful rendition. We turned the volume waaaayyyyy down to listen to the Adagietto from Mahler's Fifth and the soundstage remained firm and wide, just as it did with Tucker's big rig at the second VSAC so long ago. God, I love that quality in Bottlehead-inspired work. Little penalty for low volume levels___ what a concept!

Bottom line, I pulled the plug on a pair of natural bamboo Orcas + Subs sans X-over and amp, as I have my own already. I was astounded at the diminutive size, and yet the huge stage they presented.

Cheers, Hank in Eugene
« Last Edit: April 02, 2012, 08:31:22 AM by Hank Murrow »



Offline richardl

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Hi Dan,
Thanks for having us. It was fun.  Kudos to the Blumensteins for the speakers. They were beautiful, handcrafted wonders that imaged like demons.

The Haniwa Cart was just amazing.  I have never heard a cart make such a difference before.

Richard




Offline Grainger49

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Hey Gang;

   .  .  .    We turned the volume waaaayyyyy down to listen to the Adagietto from Mahler's Fifth and the soundstage remained firm and wide, just as it did with Tucker's big rig at the second VSAC so long ago.  .  .  .   

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

This is what will push me into laying away cash for the Orcas.



Offline Noskipallwd

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Man, I wish I could have attended this event! I've started putting away the money for a pair of Orcas with the subs. I really like Clark's concept, A small enclosure for an excellent full range driver paired with subs designed especially for them. I'll have to take Jim up on his offer to have a listen to his Orcas when he gets his system up.

Cheers,
Shawn

Shawn Prigmore