Help before I make bad purchase

[Gmoneywp15]

I did email BMR about getting the front port on the monitors. See what he says.

 

[shadyJ]

The Philharmonic BMR's look too top-heavy to use bookshelf speaker mounts with. That kind of proximity to walls can really hurt imaging anyway. I think it might be a waste of a Philharmonic speaker to give it that kind of placement.

That entertainment center is pretty limiting for what you can do. If it were me, I would get a couple of good subs and use them as speaker stands for some big bookshelf speakers. That way they are not easily tipped over by a child. Use some blu-tack on the speakers so they are not easy to knock off the subs.

I would look at getting a pair of some 12" subs like some of these. Then get a wide base bookshelf speaker so they are not easy to knock off or tip over the subs. Since the Marantz has pre-outs, you might have been able to use some active monitors, and these would have been ideal, except for one thing: there is no grille to protect the drivers from child's hands. You are definitely going to want a speaker with a grille. I would say take a look at these. They have a metal grille that should keep the driver safe from child's hands. Also, they can be used horizontally without too much of a sound quality penalty due to its design, so that gives it a wide base, making it harder to knock over. For the subs, I would take a look at getting a pair of these. The down-firing driver and ports make it difficult for a child to screw around with fragile components. Both those speakers and subs will have very good sound quality and dynamic range.

 

[Gmoneywp15]

I can set BS on top of subs with no loss of SQ? Are there no good options for wall mountable BS? Or is it essentially as you describe- any BS of quality would suffer from proximity to wall?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Here's crazy idea:
http://jtrspeakers.com/single-8ht-lp.html
I think these could work being placed right against the wall. They provide TONS of output to fill what OP has a very large space and he won't need amp. Even with "only" 50W from marantz, with these speakers he'd get almost 105db at listening position (15ft away)
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html
You would need a good sub with these.

Now, I know they don't look like much and typically placed behind AT screen, but I'd contact Jeff (owner) and see if any custom finishes are available.

 

[Gmoneywp15]

Dennis got back to me:
The versions with custom cabinets by Jim Salk can be built with a slotted front port, but it adds $100 to the cost, which would make them very expensive monitors ($1,550). If you would be using a subwoofer, I do have a smaller design with the RAAL tweeter and a 5" aluminum woofer that can be sealed. That sells for $700/pr in the prefabricated cherry or piano black cabinets.

 

[slipperybidness]

Dennis got back to me:
The versions with custom cabinets by Jim Salk can be built with a slotted front port, but it adds $100 to the cost, which would make them very expensive monitors ($1,550). If you would be using a subwoofer, I do have a smaller design with the RAAL tweeter and a 5" aluminum woofer that can be sealed. That sells for $700/pr in the prefabricated cherry or piano black cabinets.

An extra $100 for front slots is trivial IMO.

Did you ask him about the size and weight of the BMR?

When I asked him, the response was something along the lines of "not for a girly-man"

 

[everettT]

Dennis got back to me:
The versions with custom cabinets by Jim Salk can be built with a slotted front port, but it adds $100 to the cost, which would make them very expensive monitors ($1,550). If you would be using a subwoofer, I do have a smaller design with the RAAL tweeter and a 5" aluminum woofer that can be sealed. That sells for $700/pr in the prefabricated cherry or piano black cabinets.

The speaker he is referencing plus a sub would be really good, I didn't realize he was still going to provide it. The driver is well proven zaph design and the tweeter is great as well. I'm sure for the price no retail bookshelves can touch them for less than 1 to $1200. That would give you plenty of $ for a sub to fill out the low end with Emotiva and Marantz combo

 

[Gmoneywp15]

The speaker he is referencing plus a sub would be really good, I didn't realize he was still going to provide it. The driver is well proven zaph design and the tweeter is great as well. I'm sure for the price no retail bookshelves can touch them for less than 1 to $1200. That would give you plenty of $ for a sub to fill out the low end with Emotiva and Marantz combo

Ok. 700 for the sealed BS , 500 for marantz and 400 for emotiva (I'm assuming I still need amp for these speakers???). That leaves me $900 for a sub. I'd rather not spend that much though...

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Ok. 700 for the sealed BS , 500 for marantz and 400 for emotiva (I'm assuming I still need amp for these speakers???). That leaves me $900 for a sub. I'd rather not spend that much though...

You should spend at the least that much on sub if not more.
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-3mk5HP.html is great value
https://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/vented-subwoofers/products/15v
PSA could be good due to downfiring design = more kid proof

 

[shadyJ]

I can set BS on top of subs with no loss of SQ? Are there no good options for wall mountable BS? Or is it essentially as you describe- any BS of quality would suffer from proximity to wall?

You can set the speakers on the sub without much loss in sound quality. There will be a little bit, since you are extending the front baffle downward, but it won't be very significant. You also will want to have the front baffle of the speaker be flush with the front of the subwoofer. The hit in quality would be far less than mounting the speaker next to a wall. What you would be doing is essentially having two truly full-range tower speakers, and the bass ability of these towers would be far beyond that of normal towers.

What is more, in such a setup you can raise the crossover frequency of the subs far beyond that of normal subwoofers. You could take it up to 160 Hz with no problem, provided that the sub can play that high (good ones can). That will take a lot of stress off the woofer of the bookshelf speaker, making for a cleaner sound overall, and a much higher dynamic range.

Mounting the speakers next to the wall presents it with all kinds of acoustical problems. Here is an experiment you can do- sit in your listening position, and have someone talk to you when they are standing right up against the wall. Then have them talk to you when they are standing away from the wall. Listen for the difference that the acoustics makes in the sound of their voice. Their voice will have an free, natural sound when they are talking out in the open, but against the wall their voice will have a 'cupped,' nasal sound since so much of the sound of their voice is reflections off the wall rather than direct sound. That is what will happen to any speaker you mount there. It doesn't make much of a difference if the port is in front or back. Its just not a good place to put a good speaker. It wrecks the imaging. The exception would be constant directivity speakers that can tightly contain the dispersion down to low frequencies, but those types of speakers are large and expensive. Most of the speakers being discussed in this thread are wide dispersion speakers - they sound great when placed in an open area, but against a wall these problems are worsened.

 

[Gmoneywp15]

Now I don't want to buy anything.lol Accordibg to Dennis speakers can be mounted on wall as long as they are at correct height. But my only option for child proofing seems to be stacking BS speaker on subs. Maybe I'll just go back to FS and teach kids right and wrong...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Now I don't want to buy anything.lol Accordibg to Dennis speakers can be mounted on wall as long as they are at correct height. But my only option for child proofing seems to be stacking BS speaker on subs. Maybe I'll just go back to FS and teach kids right and wrong...

Yeah, I have never let my kids or anyone else dictate which speakers I bought.

 

[shadyJ]

Now I don't want to buy anything.lol Accordibg to Dennis speakers can be mounted on wall as long as they are at correct height. But my only option for child proofing seems to be stacking BS speaker on subs. Maybe I'll just go back to FS and teach kids right and wrong...

Stacking bookshelf speakers on sub effectively turns them into floorstanding speakers. Remember that you will want to get a speaker and subwoofer that, when stacked, places the tweeter roughly at ear height. The exception would be the KEF Uni-Q speakers or the Hsu CCB-8, those speakers will not suffer as much if the height distance isn't that close. For any other speaker, if you can not make that height happen, you can angle the speaker so that the direct axis of the tweeter aims at your listening position.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I would also spend the time to teach the kids about leaving things alone. Respecting other people's things is a good life lesson. Besides, their not gonna stay that size forever. Won't be long till your fighting for the remote! Lol
The problem I see with mounting BS on subs is as we all know, the best place for a subwoofer is almost always NOT the best place for mains. I'd be more worried about that conundrum than whether audyssey could help my mains being wall mounted. Can't see the pics in Tapatalk. I'll try the sight.

 

[Pogre]

Yeah, I have never let my kids or anyone else dictate which speakers I bought.

Me either. I keep a vigilant watch over them. My stands are pretty heavy though and it would take some effort for a small child to knock one over.

I have heavy BS speakers on stands and a grandchild who's crawling now. He's too small to be able to do anything, but I have a fold up baby gate I can use to cordon off my stuff and I am prepared to use it if it comes to that!

To the op, everything I've read about placement recommends against wall mounting for main speakers. I can see it being okay if you had a mount that holds it away from the wall at least 6", but you're still missing out a little. Shady's idea of stacking them on woofers is a great suggestion. That would make them very difficult to knock over.

 

[everettT]

Now I don't want to buy anything.lol Accordibg to Dennis speakers can be mounted on wall as long as they are at correct height. But my only option for child proofing seems to be stacking BS speaker on subs. Maybe I'll just go back to FS and teach kids right and wrong...

Just get the BMRs with weighted stands ( even fillable stands with sand) with your budget is an
incredible speaker for the money, and plays flat to 30hz.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...the best place for a subwoofer is almost always NOT the best place for mains...

According to research, where are the best places for subwoofers and where are the best place for mains?

For example, when you have 4 subwoofers, the best locations for them are

1. Middle of each 4 walls
2. Corner of each 4 walls
3. 1/4 Corner of each 4 walls (front & rear walls)

And where do most people place their 2 mains? Probably the 1/4 corners of the front wall.

So if the subs are in the 1/4 corners of the front wall, placing the monitors atop them is like having 2 towers in the 1/4 corners of the front wall, which are also good locations for the subs.

If you have 4 subs in each of the four 1/4-corners, which are excellent locations for 4 subs, placing 4 monitors atop them would be like having 4 towers.

Where do most people place their towers and subwoofers?

Main Towers are usually in the front 2 corners or 1/4-corners.

Subs in the middle of the 4 walls? Probably not.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

According to research, where are the best places for subwoofers and where are the best place for mains?

For example, when you have 4 subwoofers, the best locations for them are

1. Middle of each 4 walls
2. Corner of each 4 walls
3. 1/4 Corner of each 4 walls (front & rear walls)

And where do most people place their 2 mains? Probably the 1/4 corners of the front wall.

So if the subs are in the 1/4 corners of the front wall, placing the monitors atop them is like having 2 towers in the 1/4 corners of the front wall, which are also good locations for the subs.

If you have 4 subs in each of the four 1/4-corners, which are excellent locations for 4 subs, placing 4 monitors atop them would be like having 4 towers.

Where do most people place their towers and subwoofers?

Main Towers are usually in the front 2 corners or 1/4-corners.

Subs in the middle of the 4 walls? Probably not.

Well, I will definitely agree with you on the best place for subs. Corners and mid walls have proven to be very effective. But the example uses four subs, and I don't think OP even has one(except the extra one in the basement) so imo, even if he goes with two, the front corners would be where I'd put the subs. People also rarely put things where they perform best. Usually mains will give the best response out in the room away from walls and away from corners. This isn't normally practical though so they end up against the wall next to the tv. I can't say I've seen a lot of mains in the corners, and definitely not at the mid wall! Lol

 

[Gmoneywp15]

Can't find the emotiva's for sale. Went on their website and seems like they are back ordered until June 30. Any other comparable amps I could/should get? Or wait for the emotivas?

 

[Gmoneywp15]

Made my purchases. I'm sure I'm going to get grilled here for not spending more on the main speakers when given total amount spent- but I'm happy. my thinking is that for the price I got the rbh for ($275 ea) I can definitely replace them once my 20 mo old daughter is a bit older, maybe move them into my office. And while they are not cheap, I won't lose my mind if something happens to them.
Rbh R55Ti's
Emotiva a300
Marantz nr1607
Hsu vtf-3 mk5 hp sub ( I went from no subwoofer, to it being highest end piece of my setup lol)