Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Bookshelf Speaker Review

[Beave]

Excellent review of excellent speakers!

 

[everettT]

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

Two different measurements. I can attest, as well as many others, Dennis's measurements are as close to real world as it gets. I'm certainly never criticize his posted graphs. He will be happy to explain his and how they are achieved. I promise that there is no smoke and mirrors. I'll try to find the NRC measurement for a comparison, but understand all will be slightly different. I have a Murphy designed full range speaker and it truly is neutral.

 

[shadyJ]

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

These differences are not really that substantial if you look at the graph scales. I do get a slightly different shape but the overall story is the same: very flat response. Differences in testing techniques can also yield different curves as well. I don't test speakers in the exact same way that Dennis does, and I don't use the same equipment either, so I wouldn't expect an exact match. I do think Dennis Murphy's measurements are a reliable guide as to the performance of his products.

 

[Beave]

The differences are only about 2dB max. Mic tolerances or calibration could be that much different, and even sample-to-sample variation from one speaker to another could account for a little of it.

 

[Swerd]

Dennis is well aware that the measurements he publishes of his speakers are his own measurements. He puts great effort into making reliable and accurate measurements, and takes great pride in achieving that. His speaker designing process depends on the accuracy of those measurements. He is always glad to see third party measurements of his speakers so he can compare his own efforts.

When I saw shadyJ's measurements in his review, I was impressed at how similar his results were to Dennis's. As he pointed out in post 23 above, the differences are slight, but the overall picture is the same, despite some differing techniques.

Dennis also sent BMR speakers to the Canadian NRC for them to measure. He publishes those results on the BMR Philharmonitor page at Philharmonic Audio. Scroll down on that page. Dennis's own measurements are in color and the NRC's in black & white. Again, they may look different to the inexperienced eye, but they are actually quite similar.

 

[CB22]

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.

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READ: Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Review

FINALLY AN OFFICIAL AH REVIEW OF THE BMR!!!! THIS IS LONG OVERDUE. Good job ShadyJ

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

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

Well, it's still +/-2dB response from 250Hz-20kHz, which is excellent.

Any response that is +/-3dB is good.

Now if you see peaks and troughs that go +/-4dB or +/-5dB, then that might be concerning, even though many people may still think it sounds great.

 

[PENG]

These differences are not really that substantial if you look at the graph scales. I do get a slightly different shape but the overall story is the same: very flat response. Differences in testing techniques can also yield different curves as well. I don't test speakers in the exact same way that Dennis does, and I don't use the same equipment either, so I wouldn't expect an exact match. I do think Dennis Murphy's measurements are a reliable guide as to the performance of his products.

Nice set of graphs, thanks! My in room FR plots also show a dip in about the same area as yours, at 2 meters I could find a spot to achieve about 2 dB dip as well. I pm'ed you a few questions.

 

[milt1999]

What I love about Audioholics is that they review gear that no one else touches, they always have measurements & there's no reviewer mumbo-jumbo adjectives that are meaningless.
While the article touched on Mr. Murphy's rep as a respected speaker engineer, it should be known that he designed the crossover for a DIY classic, Dave Ellis' 1801 speakers.
He also designs x-overs for Jim Salk of Salk Sound & plays violin or at least he used to, in the D.C. Symphony.

I think their motto, Affordable Accuracy, best describes their products.
Another nice option is being able to choose the level of cabinet wood\finish you're willing to pay for.
Still, at Dennis' prices these are literal steals.
Try building this speaker on your own.

I'd like to see this site review a Rick Craig design from Selah Audio.
Another awesome speaker designer with a dedicated following, me included.

Thanks again, Audioholics.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

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

My bad The graph on my site is of the earlier version with the offset tweeter and mid. We switched to in-line drivers when we ordered the prefab cabinets because we didn't want to risk having the factory mess up some pairs with the same offset--not mirror imaged. The even spacing of the tweet and mid make for a very small diffraction peak around 30-40 degrees of faxis. I engineered in a little dip on axis because it sounded a tiny bit better due to a more even power response. The little bump in the highs is just a feature of the RAAL that isn't worth throwing components at. I think it sounds better that way. Although the common wisdom is that ribbon tweeters can sound harsh, quite the opposite is true, at least for the RAALs. Also, the bump is also centered around 10 kHz, not 7 kHz, which is even less of an issue. A little bit of a bump doesn't have any negative effect that I can hear, and frankly I prefer it. Virtually all of the recent BMR's I've measured have had it. If you look at the listening window response in the review, it fits within a 2 dB (+/ 1 db) window over virtually all of the frequency range. That's good enough for me.

 

[randyb]

Great review. Well done Dennis. Wish I wasn’t old, retired, and poor.

 

[BluesDaddy]

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

Yes, Dennis quit making the Slims quite some time back. In fact, in a recent post on the AVS Forum thread, going forward he will ONLY be offering the BMR and Phil 3s. The other options actually cost him money now and he was building the AA+ crossovers by hand, an unbelievable PITA for him.

 

[snakeeyes]

Yes, Dennis quit making the Slims quite some time back. In fact, in a recent post on the AVS Forum thread, going forward he will ONLY be offering the BMR and Phil 3s. The other options actually cost him money now and he was building the AA+ crossovers by hand, an unbelievable PITA for him.

Excuse my ignorance on crossovers but if a crossover is built by hand, does that mean adding resisters and capacitors? I assume it’s more than just flipping dip switches?

 

[everettT]

Excuse my ignorance on crossovers but if a crossover is built by hand, does that mean adding resisters and capacitors? I assume it’s more than just flipping dip switches?

He reworked the entire crossover. He may have used some of the parts, but I'm sure he has more than the stock unit. Maybe went from 4 components to 8 on the board.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Excuse my ignorance on crossovers but if a crossover is built by hand, does that mean adding resisters and capacitors? I assume it’s more than just flipping dip switches?

Resistors, capacitors, inductors, in/out leads... testing tolerances, soldering the connection points, gluing it all to the PCB, securing each piece with straps... I'm getting exhausted just typing it all out.

 

[snakeeyes]

Resistors, capacitors, inductors, in/out leads... testing tolerances, soldering the connection points, gluing it all to the PCB, securing each piece with straps... I'm getting exhausted just typing it all out.

Thanks.

 

[MZKM]

My bad The graph on my site is of the earlier version with the offset tweeter and mid. We switched to in-line drivers when we ordered the prefab cabinets because we didn't want to risk having the factory mess up some pairs with the same offset--not mirror imaged. The even spacing of the tweet and mid make for a very small diffraction peak around 30-40 degrees of faxis. I engineered in a little dip on axis because it sounded a tiny bit better due to a more even power response. The little bump in the highs is just a feature of the RAAL that isn't worth throwing components at. I think it sounds better that way. Although the common wisdom is that ribbon tweeters can sound harsh, quite the opposite is true, at least for the RAALs. Also, the bump is also centered around 10 kHz, not 7 kHz, which is even less of an issue. A little bit of a bump doesn't have any negative effect that I can hear, and frankly I prefer it. Virtually all of the recent BMR's I've measured have had it. If you look at the listening window response in the review, it fits within a 2 dB (+/ 1 db) window over virtually all of the frequency range. That's good enough for me.

Thanks for responding. Saw your post about your health, product offering/price changes; hope you fully recover and I would like to say the prices you charge are still very attractive.

Are the Salk cabinets for the BMR still using off-set or in-line drivers? If off-set, wouldn’t that mean having to use the original crossover design without a dip on-axis?

If I could bug you to answer a DIY driver pairing I had, do you think this tweeter:
Dayton Audio PHT1-6 Planar Horn Tweeter 6 Ohm

and this woofer:
Wavecor WF152BD03 6" Balanced Drive Paper Cone Mid-Woofer 4 Ohm

would pair well? They both seem to match well at 2kHz, both with the 45° off-axis being about 2dB down from the on-axis and the phase angles of both at 2kHz being similar as well (between 0° and 9°); it could also be an MTM which would raise the efficiency of the woofer to better match the tweeter (could level match to be about 94dB @2.83V !) and raise it’s impedance to be an easier load as well. The tweeter doesn’t extend up to 20kHz, but not a ton of information is up there and high frequency loss with age should also reduce its importance. Someone I was talking to was thinking about doing a DIY with active crossovers, and these seemed like a good pairing, but I know you are far more knowledgeable, so I was hoping if you could give a quick look to see if it has potential.
Thanks.

 

[CB22]

going forward he will ONLY be offering the BMR and Phil 3s.

Nooooo , I was procrastinating on ordering the mini - monitors for some months. I hope this dose not blow back on me.

 

[BluesDaddy]

He reworked the entire crossover. He may have used some of the parts, but I'm sure he has more than the stock unit. Maybe went from 4 components to 8 on the board.

Actually, I think it was the AA+ that Dennis said there were 15 components, all that had to be laid out and soldered by hand.

 

[BluesDaddy]

Nooooo , I was procrastinating on ordering the mini - monitors for some months. I hope this dose not blow back on me.

Yeah, a lot of folks procrastinating on buying the AA+ - I'd had in the back of my mind to buy 4 once I got a little further from the Holiday expenditures. Too late now. Fortunately, since I have BMRs for my LR, he's planning on doing the BMRs so I'm going to get another BMR to use as a center.