Blumenstein Orcas

The West Wing had a quote about this:

We aren't dealing with pharmaceuticals here but the idea stands. Expertise, R&D, opportunity cost (someone with skills making their own thing instead of taking on more paid work, or making it worth less time relaxing or with family).

The reason you save money on DIY is because you are paying the laborer assembling the damn thing, you, nothing. But it requires you learning the necessary skills, having the right space and tools, probably a few false starts and wasted materials, as well as free time and will.

In short, if you can do it better/faster/cheaper, do it. But most can't. Or if they can, they find it's not always worth the hassle.

 

Darn what a great quote!

 

i really dont want to imply the orca are bad or the builder is ripping people off, sorry if I came off that way!

the difference between my DAC, Amps or speakers and the Orca is the orca require basically no desing, no crossover, not even some custom mods on the driver (if i understand correctly), its only wood work and the many different cabinets that was tested before finding the most optimal for that fostex driver.

this is not a small difference. if you think its worth it to pay about 650$ for the pre built cabinet, go for it! its not too bad indeed in the high end world. whether you get hifi sound is a matter of taste/opinion.

 

I'm guessing his costs are slightly higher than you think. I know there's no way I could get the cabinets CNC'd here in San Diego for anywhere near as cheap as you can in Canada. After that, he's probably using that standard rule of thirds to price the speaker (that's one third parts, one third labor and one third for overhead and then you slightly round up to set your product price). This would be the easy way to set price points for something sold direct. If he sold through a distributors to dealers, the distributors would want 25-30% and the the dealers would want 50% of the retail price. That would almost double the cost of the speaker.

I hope to hear these at some point. If they sound as good as reported here, they're probably priced pretty fairly.

 

Damn l came on here looking to see who finally got these and how they sound and all I found was a pile of bodies on top of a fumbled football.

 

Mine have shipped! The FedEx tracking says delivery date is today, but it also hasn't updated past label created so I suspect it will arrive tomorrow or Saturday.

 

According to FedEx I should have these tomorrow. We had some bad weather here over the weekend and I'm hoping that won't delay the shipment any further.

 

Oh mama...

 

They're very pretty, but how do they sound? And what is it you have driving them? Can't tell....

 

They sound amazing! The tonality is very rich and seductive. They sound fuller than I expected given the single driver nature, although obviously I'm not going to shake the house with its low frequencies. The resolution is stellar. I could hear the pick hitting each string of the 12-string acoustic in "Five Years". They aren't even significantly broken in yet, but I'm going to have a lot of fun putting them through their paces.

I'm currently running them with a Fleawatt amp. It's definitely the weak link in my chain at this time. I'm planning on upgrading to a higher end tube amp, but the VPI Classic usurped my amp funds so I need to build the coffers back up.

 

Single drivers (typically) have insane coherency and imaging abilities, enjoy!

 

I am in a very similar situation. Also purchased the VPI which ate up my funds for what is likely the next year, but my other pieces need upgrades so I'm looking for later on. Was also hesitant of the single driver, although admittedly had no real reason to be. One thing I'm wondering: do they sound as good at a moderate volume as they do at a louder volume?

 

I think they sound excellent at moderate volumes. But don't get a single driver because it may allow you to upgrade faster. Get it because you love the sound.

 

@Merrick - Nice setup. Do you have a sub in the mix?

Spoiler: More talk about pricing

Put this as a spoiler so the thread doesn't get too derailed

I don't mind discussion on pricing like other people. We're all sort of obsessed with value around here. I don't necessarily think that the Blumenstein's are just 3 hours of work even with all the streamlining in production. From what I have read they are not just simple boxes and have bracing on par to subwoofers. And like every other wood speaker in existence, the most expensive part is the finish. All that sanding and multiple coats takes way more time and work then just building the box itself, even with a natural wood finish like the Orca's. That being said, they are twice the price of a pair of LSR305s which have built-in amps and crossovers.

 

No sub at the moment, I'll add one in the future but I'm not in a rush.

 

As for pricing, everything is relative. I feel that I got my money's worth with these speakers, and that's what matters.

FWIW there are single driver speakers that cost a lot more than these do. Yes, there are differences in the drivers used and a different design but it's not like all the single drivers on the market cost $400 and Blumenstein is charging double what everyone else is. Now some may feel that no single driver is worth more than $400-$500, but clearly that's not the case for most of the market.

 

I used to work with a guy who insisted that there is no reason for a turntable to cost over $100, maybe $200. "All they have to do is turn the platter at the correct speed and keep the needle in the groove!". He would not entertain the idea that there might be more to it. He thought I was crazy for paying $1200 (in 1990 dollars) for my phono setup.

I would occasionally bring in a magazine or catalog with an expensive turntable in it. All I would have to do is show it to him, no words necessary. He would get so angry then I would go back to my desk. We were friends, but this was still kind of fun.

 

How are things sounding a week later?

 

Funny you should ask, I turned my system on yesterday after not listening over the long weekend and was struck by how great the speakers were sounding. I burned them in for I would think at least 80 hours by now (conservative estimate) and they are so arresting. That imaging that single drivers excel at is in full force here, combined with a truly seductive tonality. I wish I could be better at describing the technicalities, but suffice it to say these are the real deal and work perfectly in my small listening room. I'm sure they will benefit from a sub and some super tweeters but I'm in no rush to add them because they already sound quite addicting as they are.

 

I don't even think I would bother with subs and tweeters if you have them in a smallish room.