Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Bookshelf Speaker Review

S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Not many people outside of audio enthusiasts who pay attention to audio in social media will know about Philharmonic Audio. This is because Philharmonic Audio doesn’t spend a penny on advertising and their only means of promotion is by word of mouth. However, those audio enthusiasts who do pay attention to social media generally hold Philharmonic Audio in high regard, and Philharmonic looks to be thriving despite having a near zero dollar marketing budget. Dennis Murphy, the proprietor of Philharmonic Audio, lets his creations do all the talking for him. When your only means of promotion is end-users telling others how good their experience was with your product, and you gain success with that strategy, that definitely augurs well for the quality of the product.

We at Audioholics have noticed all the buzz surrounding Philharmonic Audio in social media circles, and so today we are taking a look at the Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitors to see what all the hype is about. These large bookshelf speakers use a 3-way design with a very special driver outlay that has audio enthusiasts excited about the potential performance advantages that it could offer, especially for the price. In our in-depth review, we ask the question, do these speakers live up to the hype surrounding them? Read on to find out what we have uncovered.
READ: Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Review
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Nice one, Shady! I'm glad you find them as enjoyable as I do. :) Whether its Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, or Melody Gardot... Nick Cave and his Piano with the Bad Seeds sneaking in to thump your ears... The Roots or Rza... or the upper registers of our favorite Subwoofer Candy! ;)
@Dennis Murphy built a winner, and I am profoundly grateful to have such new life pumped into the music I love.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
I liked the review. You might get some sort of "you just fell in love with the boxes" type of comment from the neigh sayer crowd, but who cares.

I definitely have it on my to-do list to hear these when I get the chance which will not come easy in my parts.
 
R

roguemodel

Audiophyte
Did Philharmonic discontinue the Slim's, their tower speaker? I went in to buy a pair and they are gone?
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
Did Philharmonic discontinue the Slim's, their tower speaker? I went in to buy a pair and they are gone?
I would say that with performance of BMR Philharmonitor it would not even make sense to make Slim's as I'm quite sure these have possibly even better performance than Slim's for less money.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
@shadyJ
I just finished reading your review of the BMR Philharmonitor. I found myself agreeing with everything you said about these exceptional speakers. I'm glad you like them as much as I did when I listened to them last summer.

Your measurement graphs are excellent. And your explanations that accompanied them stand out as an example for other audio reviewers to emulate.

I thought your review is thoughtful, thorough, and especially well-written :). You should be proud of it.
 
Good4it

Good4it

Audioholic Chief
Biggest/heaviest “bookshelves “ I’ve ever owned. BUT GOOD!
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
Any concerns with failures with the ribbons? Or will these go 15 years no issues?
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Any concerns with failures with the ribbons? Or will these go 15 years no issues?
None that I'm aware of.

Dennis Murphy has had much longer experience with RAAL ribbons, and I think his response would be the best answer.
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
None that I'm aware of.

Dennis Murphy has had much longer experience with RAAL ribbons, and I think his response would be the best answer.
If there is maintenance, that isn’t a deal breaker, but always good to know going in. :)
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
No skinny towers to go with your hipster skinny jeans? LOL :) @ryanosaur
Ha. I did want more traditional towers. But after hearing the Phil 3s, didn’t mind! So I asked for them to be finished to match my favorite pair of skinny jeans. :p

(No I didn’t.) smdh
;)
 
D

Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
Not many people outside of audio enthusiasts who pay attention to audio in social media will know about Philharmonic Audio. This is because Philharmonic Audio doesn’t spend a penny on advertising and their only means of promotion is by word of mouth. However, those audio enthusiasts who do pay attention to social media generally hold Philharmonic Audio in high regard, and Philharmonic looks to be thriving despite having a near zero dollar marketing budget. Dennis Murphy, the proprietor of Philharmonic Audio, lets his creations do all the talking for him. When your only means of promotion is end-users telling others how good their experience was with your product, and you gain success with that strategy, that definitely augurs well for the quality of the product.

We at Audioholics have noticed all the buzz surrounding Philharmonic Audio in social media circles, and so today we are taking a look at the Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitors to see what all the hype is about. These large bookshelf speakers use a 3-way design with a very special driver outlay that has audio enthusiasts excited about the potential performance advantages that it could offer, especially for the price. In our in-depth review, we ask the question, do these speakers live up to the hype surrounding them? Read on to find out what we have uncovered.
READ: Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Review
First off an exceptional well written review. I love how you explain every thing in so much depth and detail.

I just wanted to say I felt your pain in letting them go. My heart aches for your loss.

And in the spirit of friendship I will make the ultimate sacrifice..... For you and only for you.... If .... Sigh I can't believe I'm saying this.... It's such a sacrifice.... I will take these off of your hands so someone at Audioholics can continue to enjoy these...

I know it's asking me a lot but I will do this my friend..........

For you
 
M

MZKM

Audiophyte
Hmm, your on-axis measurement (dip around 2500Hz and bump around 9kHz) differs from the measurements on the product’s site...who to believe?
 
ski2xblack

ski2xblack

Audioholic Field Marshall
Hmm, your on-axis measurement (dip around 2500Hz and bump around 9kHz) differs from the measurements on the product’s site...who to believe?
No issue of belief, just different measurements taken in different conditions, and in spite of that they're all pretty darn excellent. The differences could result from the mic position differing by an inch or two. The off axis measurements taken at the NRC in Canada on Dennis' site seem to coincide with the review's off axis measurements very closely, and the on axis measurements by all parties still show they're within a very narrow window of a couple db. I doubt it's worth quibbling about such minor differences. What's more important as a takeaway is the off axis response. Those polars look just amazingly broad and smooth, and are an indication of just how "room friendly" the BMRs are (which is to say "exceptionally so").
 
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