Review: Philharmonic BMR Speaker by Dennis Murphy

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This is a review of Dennis Murphy's DIY-inspired Philharmonic BMR speaker. This is a 3-way “bookshelf” (a big bookshelf) incorporating the following drive units: RAAL, 64-10 Ribbon Tweeter, BMR 2.5″ Midrange, and Scan-Speak 18W8545-1 Paper-carbon cone woofer.
This is a very high-performing speaker. The tonality revealed things in songs I’d never heard before (in only one case did I find that to be a negative). The resolution reveals little details such as slight inflections in voices and even accentuates the breathing-in of a vocalist before they begin their next line. It was a new experience for me to hear these kind of details. The soundstage is incredibly large and well balanced and the reflections in the room help to extend the soundstage to a size I’ve yet to hear from another conventional loudspeaker to date.
The speaker can be purchased complete through Salk Sound for $2395 - 2595, depending on what finish you purchase. Alternatively, this speaker can be built as a kit via Meniscus Audio and you can also even purchase a “flat-pack” for the cabinet from Speaker Hardware. Fully assembled (but unfinished), the DIY route would cost you in the neighborhood of $1150 to 1450 (depending on the flat pack order) and if you decided to upgrade components from Meniscus you could do so as well.
Full written review can be found here:
www.erinsaudio...
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Erin

Опубликовано:

15 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 81

@eva2k0 4 года назад

I hope you keep going with this channel and the website. Very thorough reviews. I'm not sure I've come across any reviews of this quality from the more mainstream outlets thus far. Thank you, keep it up!

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

I appreciate it. I'm definitely not as polished as some of the others I've seen. I wish I were. But it requires more time than I want to put in on that right now. So, I appreciate the positive feedback. Thanks again.

@overgme 4 года назад

I'm a lucky owner of one of the last dozen or so pairs of these Dennis sold through Philharmonic. Mine are the piano black, rectangular variety, which apparently measure a tiny bit different . . . but per Dennis you're not likely to notice the difference unless listening for very specific stuff in a direct A/B comparison. I think you hit the nail on the head about the clarity of these speakers. It's all the more remarkable given how broad the dispersion is. One new great piece of news is that Dennis is going to be selling these directly again. He's changing up the woofer, which will increase sensitivity but decrease power handling a bit He aims to bring them in under the Sierra 2EX price (about $1,800 per pair right now), so anyone wanting a finished version who is willing to forgo Salk cabinets (which of course come at a price), there will be another option out there this fall.

@jackdale9249 9 месяцев назад

i heard he/ they had retired and they are NLA ! can you update please ? you have a connection clearly ! thx !

@tombarnaby4842 4 года назад

Thanks for reviewing this speaker. It is an intriguing design and I was always curious how it would compare to high end monitors.

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

I don't have high-end monitor experience. But I can say that this was a very nice speaker overall. Especially if you go for one at the kit price and DIY it yourself.

@Sensi1995 3 года назад

Dennis sells the full assembled BMR again now on his website! Thanks Erin for the review.

@ErinsAudioCorner 3 года назад

Good to know!

@DBravo29er 4 года назад

I’ve heard ‘em. About like a Revel M106 but with lower sens and deeper bass. Except really low sensitivity (83dB YIKES!! 😳). I find the BMR a bit tubby in the bass and they need to be out in the room to remain balanced. They can come across as dry between 2-4khz. I’ve had multi-driver towers that could be placed significantly closer to the rear wall without muddying the sound. Just be careful. Not bad though. Phenomenal value as DIY. Don’t bother with low power solid state amps and just forget about tubes.

@zoroluva 8 месяцев назад

Heard them last 2 years at Capital Audiofest and these punch waaaay above their price. They're much larger than they look on here though.

@ryanchappell5962 2 года назад

For a speaker this wide, the absorbency of the room will probably affect the brightness quite a bit especially when it comes to furniture at the tweeter level, curtains and stuff like that.

@jerrys5355 3 года назад

I checked out the do-it-yourself option at Meniscus, but the package does not include crossover plans (you can pay extra for an assembled crossover), and the cabinet plans are not correct. The plans are very detailed, but they do not include a port, and the BMR is a ported speaker. Thanks for doing the review.

@jackdale9249 10 месяцев назад

you are a cool dude ! BTW someone said this guy is retired now there was no provision made for continuing ! how about seeing about some plans or finding someone to make kits ?

@zoroluva 8 месяцев назад

They're still selling these. Heard them and met the Philharmonic folk at Capital Audiofest last 2 years.

@jackdale9249 8 месяцев назад

@@zoroluva i just got email guy No mas!

@jackdale9249 Месяц назад

@@zoroluva you are wrong correct your post !

@westsider1442 3 года назад

Great review. Can a 125 watt amp power these babies sufficiently?

@markd4292 2 года назад

Nice speaker. Great review. You got me thinking about it. Curious, with a wide dispersion speaker is it more advisable to place them along the long wall ( where in my case the nearest side wall is about 9' away )? What happens if you place a wide dispersion speaker along the side wall where the nearest side wall is less than 3' away? I assume you will get some first reflection points and other stuff happening, and I assume in this instance room treatment will be a plus. But what happens to the sound after room treatment, I mean will I still experience the wide dispersion as if the speaker were set up along the long wall? Thanks

@alanhuth7568 3 года назад

Erin, have you heard any speaker since you did this review that you like better? You seem to have liked it a lot, thought it was a great value, but it had a few minor issues. Has anything come along recently that changes your opinion or relative ranking, of this speaker?

@Jonathan-ff4wo 3 года назад

Your lingo and way of speaking really reminds me of Danny Richie from GR Research. Basically you make me wanna know my stuff when it comes to the design and characteristics of audio gear. Well done! I'm in the market for a great pair of studio monitors. I'll be subscribing. Well done!

@ErinsAudioCorner 3 года назад

Thanks! I watch some of Danny's videos and like the way he presents things so I take that as a compliment. Really cool to get that kind of feedback; that it makes you more interested in the how and why. That is honestly the best kind of feedback I could hope for because my entire goal here is to help people understand that objective data is important and does relate to what you hear. Sweet!

@we8463 2 года назад

How would you compare this speakers to the KEF LS50 Meta?

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

Full written review can be found here: www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/philharmonic_bmr/

@59seank 4 года назад

Thanks, Erin. I've been looking for a good review of these speakers and you delivered!

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

My pleasure!

@muadification 4 года назад

It's interesting what you said about the clarity of vocals. I have to agree. It does something that I have never ever heard before in any other speaker! Pretty amazing actually. I did half my listening about 70 deg off axis, and it's still had the exact same presentation. A rock solid, ultra clear image of the vocalist between the speaker. Probably the most realistic sounding thing I have ever heard. EDIT: I couldn't keep the speaker as I found it was a little too bright for the rolling stones and the beatles etc. It would have been nice to compare your actual in room response vs the predicted.

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

Thanks for the reply and the information. This is quite a neat speaker, indeed. It is one that has made me think "huh, that's different". But in a good way.

@TheKb117 4 года назад

Clarity could be atttibured to the bmr drivers.

@michaeldavidson8971 2 года назад

I’d be interested in seeing the crossover to see if it has quality components or the cheapest crap they could find.

@C-man553 9 месяцев назад

Bennie caps

@joentell 4 года назад

The Klippel posters are awesome

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

I know, right!? But, dangit, I gotta get better tape. One keeps falling off and crashing on to my head! LOL

@nc3419 2 года назад

What speaker stand height/range would work well given the listening triangle would be about 7 feet each side? Room size approx 12ft by 24 ft. Can get about a foot and a half from back wall? Thanks.

@nitinkanchan5294 2 года назад

Hi Erin , This speakers has got great reviews & a very good design. Are they fatigue free since you mentioned that the speaker is going to be bright at 12: 55 timing in the video? Thank you.

@ErinsAudioCorner 2 года назад

First off, I'm not sure if this speaker is still being made. If it is, though, I don't think they're fatiguing... just that they have a bit more treble than I personally care for. You can solve that by toeing them off-axis a little bit, though and that should help.

@nitinkanchan5294 2 года назад

Thanks a lot for your prompt response and guidance. This speaker has come out with a new SB accoustics ceramic woofer, 6 inch version with the Raal and BMR being the same. It has an increased sensitivity of 86.5 db. I am interested in these and was trying to purchase them. Since I am not from the US, it was not possible to audition them. Thanks again.

@warlockboyburns 2 года назад

I feel like bmr speakers sort or represent white noise like wave sounds, crowds... if a sound system could identify white noise and isolate it dynamically and offload it to bmr speakers then that might be cool. Just a hunch. I'd love to see bmr and bone conduction used in a more meaningful way.

@GavinHodgson 4 года назад

Great review - provided all the necessary detail!

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

Glad it was helpful!

@shaficknazier9125 4 года назад

Hi, did you review the newer versions? With the ceramic woofers and mini version with the without the Tectonic BMR, but with the AMT tweeter? If, not speculative differences?

@Me-dh4pm 4 года назад

Awesome review! So would this be a good option for a SQL car in a .30cube sealed kick panel enclosure? 3way

@Pabula 4 года назад

What would you build for $1k on DYI?

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

I wouldn't know where to start. Lots of options out there in terms of drive units.

@Pabula 4 года назад

@@ErinsAudioCorner Thanks erin, sadly im just looking for some models on DYI to start researching, if you have any in mind that are worth it, just tell me the name and ill start researching before cominting.

@anatol1204 3 года назад

is this speaker good for monitor and music production ?They are flat but i m not sure if it s enough..im searching something "clever" "out of the box" as an option..

@ErinsAudioCorner 3 года назад

I don’t think these would be it unless you can sit further than a few feet from them. At least. I believe they have also been replaced with an updated design. I’d contact the designer and ask him what he recommends. He might have something suited for the task.

@anatol1204 3 года назад

IF ..something suddenly ..comes in your mind i am open to hear. Thanks ..!

@jC-kc4si 4 года назад

Did you use Dennis' included test CD? Do you think these speakers require a sub for music?

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

I didn't receive the disc. I personally would almost always need a subwoofer for music. I listen at pretty hefty levels from about 11-12 feet away.

@bella3008 3 года назад

Can these be purchased directly through Dennis Murphy through philharmonic audio website?

@ErinsAudioCorner 3 года назад

I don’t know for sure. Best to contact Dennis directly and ask. www.philharmonicaudio.com/

@Sensi1995 3 года назад

Yes he is selling them again for the last 6 months or so.

@pk3776 2 года назад

4 ohms…. Probably looking at a pa power amplifiers. That’s what I would do… my Pre amp would be a real good mixer with parametric eq… I like to listen to music presented ‘differently’ hence the mixer in between the sound source and the speakers.

@GavinHodgson 4 года назад

Would you be able to post a video on how you do your 360° range in a globe plot? I am wondering if this is something that I can also do as I have a minidsp umik-1. Guess it might be difficult to get the correct angles without a good tripod... I would loke to take measurements of my Linkwitz LX521's and see how they compare.

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

One of these days I plan to make a video showing how I measure speakers. But that's on the bottom of my list right now. As for how I make it in to a globe plot, that's a script I wrote in matlab myself. My original idea. I believe the maker of SoundEasy is incorporating it in to his software, but only from 0 to 180°, though. I'm hopeful others will adopt it because I find it incredibly useful (otherwise, I wouldn't have spent the time writing my own code to generate it :)).

@GavinHodgson 4 года назад

@@ErinsAudioCorner I agree it's really great. Fantastic work keep it up! Would love to see a Kef LS50 meta on your bench.

@olivrrrr 4 года назад

Did you listen to them with the grills on/off?

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

I honestly don't remember. I don't believe I did, though.

@Musicman369 2 года назад

I like the tshirt your wearing, where did you get it ?

@ErinsAudioCorner 2 года назад

Amazon

@joek6207 3 года назад

Have you heard any of the SalkSound SS series? The SS7 Monitor seems similar.

@ErinsAudioCorner 3 года назад

I haven’t.

@joek6207 3 года назад

How did those compare to the Revels?

@diggilydog 3 года назад

Do you prefer these over the Revel?

@ErinsAudioCorner 3 года назад

Yes. Not that these are bad. Just that I like the Revel speakers more.

@tfunk1829 4 года назад

Erin where did you get that shirt?

@ErinsAudioCorner 4 года назад

Amazon. Here's the link: amzn.to/3f5je1N

@ufarkingicehole 3 года назад

This or parts express Solstice?

@ErinsAudioCorner 3 года назад

No idea. Didn’t even know about the solstice.

@ufarkingicehole 3 года назад

@@ErinsAudioCorner if you have time, definitely read the reviews. Apparently these are legit giant killers. I have gone through dozens of speakers as of late and so far have settled on Polk Lsim 705s and Magnepan 1.7i as my 2 top speakers. I'm looking for a legit step up from both and I'm guessing these or the Solstice may be the answer. Even above the GR research and CSS kits.