Man Speakers from Blumenstein Audio

[Clark B.]

Up till now, Paul Birkeland and I have been working very much underneath the radar on an "Mega Speaker" project.  The goals have been simple. 

- Full, flat frequency response and the best headroom possible from a single stereo amplifier. 
- Geared towards low powered SET's. 
- Woofer efficiency must match high frequency efficiency - no yucky rising frequency response. 
- Woofer is passively crossed. 
- The full range driver must have no crossover filtering whatsoever. 
- Excellent phase coherency.
- Point source from 100hz-20000hz.
- Total frequency response: 25hz-20000hz.  No joke!
- Yes, it does take a big cabinet to accomplish all of these initiatives.

What ever happened to those awesomely large speakers from the 60's anyways?  We figure - its been a few generations since those kinds of cabinets went out of fashion.  We are young, persistent, and passionate enough to bring a single pair of them back into style.  The sound they make is truly worth the footprint. 

Shown is the final "beta" proof of concept.  We'll have some nicer cabinets to demonstrate soon here.  At that point, we'll begin taking pre-orders for a mid-august shipping date.

Cheers!

P.S.  Taking name suggestions!

[denti alligator]

How do these compare to the Orca + sub combo?

And how tall are you? (To gauge the height)

[Clark B.]

Paul and I are both ~6ft tall

These "Megalodons" are actually somewhat similar in overall tone character to the Orca/subs at low volumes - I wasn't willing to give up the tonal delicacy and normal/nearfield volume enjoy-ability that our woodshop has become known for.

But these go lower (25hz vs 38hz), are more efficient (93db vs 89db), and have greater power handling (~40 WPC versus ~8 WPC). 

(Though Paul may wish to correct my numbers) 

Anyways, suffice it to say: Man Speakers.

Clark

[Paul Birkeland]

We will have to test out that power handling number (on your set of drivers of course).   I'd imagine at 40 watts that I would be losing nails from the siding on my house, but that we could push them harder.

-PB

[tdogzthmn]

Very Cool!  I do love my Orcas as desk speakers but have been thinking about getting something able to fill out a bigger room with the same great sound.  My Firstwatt F5 is sitting around gathering dust and looks like a good amp to drive these big boys.  Still need to get a nice pre-amp to use with the combo.

[vladimirwolfe]

Damn it Clark, you're supposed to be working on Tode cabinets! 

If you could make those just a bit bigger they could probably work as a casket...that's the only way I'm talking my wife into a pair of those.

Doug

[corndog71]

They look awesome!  I imagine the shipping bill will be too.

[Paul Birkeland]

Damn it Clark, you're supposed to be working on Tode cabinets! 

I did drop off a pair of Tode panels with a speaker mounted on standoffs for Clark so he could get the cabinet properly sized.

Though when I think about it, you may no longer want/need the standoffs if the plyboo cabinet is used (but I'd recommend some foam tape to keep the panels from rattling against the wood).

-PB

[Clark B.]

We are planning on using wooden crates on a pallet.  In my experience, its usually around $500-$700 cross country for a pallet.  Crates can be disassembled and stored for future use. 

We can also do local pickup, of course.

Just got ahold of the Tode on Friday, so I'll start putting this together this week along with our regularly scheduled order fulfillment.

[vladimirwolfe]

Clark & Paul,

Thanks for the update on the Tode cabinet. It really was just an excuse for some gentle ribbing at Clark. I don't even have my kit yet so I'm not too worried.

Doug

[4krow]

I like the idea. I haven't owned BIG speakers since I was single. If you made a kit of sorts, then the customer could get the heavy plywood or whatever, locally. Besides, I love to roll my own.

[Mike L.]

I'm with 4krow.

I'd gladly pay for plans.

[caffeinator]

With the smaller ones being called Orcas, maybe these should be called "Moby" ?

The only other big whale name that isn't too awkward would be, I guess, Blue...

[Hank Murrow]

We will have to test out that power handling number (on your set of drivers of course).   I'd imagine at 40 watts that I would be losing nails from the siding on my house, but that we could push them harder.     -PB

What a wonderful tool for the home re-modeler! Paul and Clark could rent the Man Speakers for demolition to contractors.

Cheers anyway, Hank in Eugene

[Gerry E.]

Looks great!  Since the "devil is in the details" how about some more?  What drivers are used (I assume Feastrex for the widebander).  Cabinet dimensions?  Projected/target price?  Options?  Thanks.

Gerry