BMR Road Trip Kickoff

Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Today I listened to the Philharmonic Audio BMR stand-mount 3-way speakers. This pair of speakers will be sent out tomorrow morning by FedEx for the BMR Road Trip. The trip was announced here, as well as on another audio forum.

When I learned that Dennis Murphy was going to do this, I wanted the chance too listen closely to them. I asked Dennis if I could get them for an afternoon, promising to write something about them. Dennis, who lives about 15 miles away, brought them over and stayed while we listened, comparing it with my own Salk Veracity ST speakers. Dennis has been to my house before, and likes how my family room sounds. He says it has no bass problems. He wanted to directly compare the bass output of the BMR to that of my Salk Veracity ST speakers in my family room.

So, today’s speakers were the Philharmonic Audio BMR Monitors , and the Salk Veracity ST floor standing speakers. You can read their specs on the links.

I took some photos, one of the front and one of the rear of the BMR speakers.




First, the short version… I think the BMRs are, in a word, excellent. The Veracity STs, and the BMRs are quite similar sounding. I already own the Veracity STs, but I would be very happy to own the BMRs instead. Note that the BMRs sell for about one third the price of the Salks. I can’t imagine how Dennis produces these speakers at such a low cost.

It's important to point out that both speakers were designed by Dennis Murphy. If there is one thing I can say about his designs, it would be consistency. All his speakers, that I’ve heard, share a common sound. He "voices" them to have a neutral overall balance, with very widely dispersed sound, especially in the all-important midrange. All his speakers have a midrange sound that has great detail without sounding too detailed, as some speakers are known to do. (Too much detail has been described as an “etched” sound. It sounds attractive at first, but eventually becomes fatiguing, hard to listen to.) The BMR speaker excels at this sound quality.

Dennis pays great attention to how his speakers present an audio image, the so-called soundstage. This is directly related to how widely they disperse sound, especially in the midrange. All his speakers share this sound quality, this “voicing”. I own or have owned several of Dennis’s designs, a DIY design, the CAOW1, Salk SongTowers from 2007-16, when I replaced them with the Salk Veracity STs. I’ve also heard a number of his other designs over the years, DIY, Salk, or Philharmonic Audio. (It’s nice to live 15 miles away from him.) All his speakers share that common midrange clarity and openness, with the convincingly realistic soundstage. In that regard, the BMRs belong among the best of his work. I can confidently say that the BMR actually presents a more detailed and realistic sounding soundstage than my Veracity ST speakers do. They sound close, but I have to say the BMRs did this just a little better.

The bass and treble in Dennis’s designs extend as low or high as the design cost permits. In the extremes of the audio spectrum, more money buys more performance. But more importantly, the bass and treble blend into the midrange without peaks, dips, gaps, or noisy resonance. Again, the BMR speaker does very well at this. In deep bass, I would say the Veracity ST does out-perform the BMR, but not by much. A transmission line floor standing cabinet with two 6” woofers should produce deeper and better sounding bass than a single 7” woofer in a smaller bass reflex cabinet. And it does. Just to describe this in words makes the difference seem much bigger than it really is. I can’t think of another stand-mount speaker, at any price, that comes close to the BMR’s bass.

As far as the treble sound goes, there was no noticeable difference between these two speakers. They both sounded excellent.

Another well-received speaker, the KEF LS50 (a speaker I like) sells for a price similar to the BMR. I’ve now heard both, in the same room, but at different times. In my opinion the BMR is easily a class or two above the KEF.

It’s fair to point out that I’m a Dennis Murphy fanboy – that I’ve swallowed the Murphy Kool Aid. Guilty as charged :D. But I honestly wonder why everyone else doesn’t feel the same as I do. I hope those who get to hear these gems on the Road Tour also acquire a taste for the Kool Aid that I like so much.
 
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snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
Today I listened to the Philharmonic Audio BMR stand-mount 3-way speakers. This pair of speakers will be sent out tomorrow morning by FedEx for the BMR Road Trip. The trip was announced here, as well as on another audio forum.

When I learned that Dennis Murphy was going to do this, I wanted the chance too listen closely to them. I asked Dennis if I could get them for an afternoon, promising to write something about them. Dennis, who lives about 15 miles away, brought them over and stayed while we listened, comparing it with my own Salk Veracity ST speakers. Dennis has been to my house before, and likes how my family room sounds. He says it has no bass problems. He wanted to directly compare the bass output of the BMR to that of my Salk Veracity ST speakers in my family room.

So, today’s speakers were the Philharmonic Audio BMR Monitors , and the Salk Veracity ST floor standing speakers. You can read their specs on the links.

I took some photos, one of the front and one of the rear of the BMR speakers.




First, the short version… I think the BMRs are, in a word, excellent. The Veracity STs, and the BMRs are quite similar sounding. I already own the Veracity STs, but I would be very happy to own the BMRs instead. Note that the BMRs sell for about one third the price of the Salks. I can’t imagine how Dennis produces these speakers at such a low cost.

It's important to point out that both speakers were designed by Dennis Murphy. If there is one thing I can say about his designs, it would be consistency. All his speakers, that I’ve heard, share a common sound. He "voices" them to have a neutral overall balance, with very widely dispersed sound, especially in the all-important midrange. All his speakers have a midrange sound that has great detail without sounding too detailed, as some speakers are known to do. (Too much detail has been described as an “etched” sound. It sounds attractive at first, but eventually becomes fatiguing, hard to listen to.) The BMR speaker excels at this sound quality.

Dennis pays great attention to how his speakers present an audio image, the so-called soundstage. This is directly related to how widely they disperse sound, especially in the midrange. All his speakers share this sound quality, this “voicing”. I own or have owned several of Dennis’s designs, a DIY design, the CAOW1, Salk SongTowers from 2007-16, when I replaced them with the Salk Veracity STs. I’ve also heard a number of his other designs over the years, DIY, Salk, or Philharmonic Audio. (It’s nice to live 15 miles away from him.) All his speakers share that common midrange clarity and openness, with the convincingly realistic soundstage. In that regard, the BMRs belong among the best of his work. I can confidently say that the BMR actually presents a more detailed and realistic sounding soundstage than my Veracity ST speakers do. They sound close, but I have to say the BMRs did this just a little better.

The bass and treble in Dennis’s designs extend as low or high as the design cost permits. In the extremes of the audio spectrum, more money buys more performance. But more importantly, the bass and treble blend into the midrange without peaks, dips, gaps, or noisy resonance. Again, the BMR speaker does very well at this. In deep bass, I would say the Veracity ST does out-perform the BMR, but not by much. A transmission line floor standing cabinet with two 6” woofers should produce deeper and better sounding bass than a single 7” woofer in a smaller bass reflex cabinet. And it does. Just to describe this in words makes the difference seem much bigger than it really is. I can’t think of another stand-mount speaker, at any price, that comes close to the BMR’s bass.

As far as the treble sound goes, there was no noticeable difference between these two speakers. They both sounded excellent.

Another well-received speaker, the KEF LS50 sells for a price similar to the BMR. I’ve now heard both, in the same room, but at different times. In my opinion the BMR is easily a class or two above the KEF.

It’s fair to point out that I’m a Dennis Murphy fanboy – that I’ve swallowed the Murphy Kool Aid. Guilty as charged :D. But I honestly wonder why everyone else doesn’t feel the same as I do. I hope those who get to hear these gems on the Road Tour also acquire a taste for the Kool Aid that I like so much.
I appreciate the photos. That cherry looks great! Does it measure 20 in on the dot or a hair over?
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Does it measure 20 in on the dot or a hair over?
I didn't measure how tall they are :(. If it's important, ask Dennis. The "interim" 0.75 ft³ Parts Express cabinets are not listed on the PE web page, but Dennis may already know their dimensions. He may also know his specified dimensions on those custom cabinets, but he might be cautious about mentioning what they are until he actually has them.

Dennis said this about those Road Trip cabinets:
Yes--the cabinets shown in Swerd's review have been discontinued. I've arranged to have custom cabinets made, which will be identical in height and width, but will be less deep because they're not curved. It will take 2-3 months for those to arrive. They will all be high gloss piano black.

In the interim, I will be using very similar .75 cu ft Parts Express cabinets that are a little shorter and a little wider, but still curved. They will be available in cherry and piano black.
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
Oh that makes sense. The not curved piano black ones sound like they will be nice too.
 
D

Dennis Murphy

Audioholic General
I appreciate the photos. That cherry looks great! Does it measure 20 in on the dot or a hair over?
The new custom cabinets will measure exactly 20" high, but will only be available in piano black. The interim cabinets are, I think, 18" high and 10" wide, and come in cherry and piano black. I'll probably have to tweak the crossovers for those.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I appreciate the photos. That cherry looks great! Does it measure 20 in on the dot or a hair over?
Yeah, A lot of people think the PE cabinets will not look so good. Well, it won't look so good as Salk's work! However, the PE cabinets perfectly match the expectations of a "very nice speaker cabinet". The Cherry is a beautiful satin finish and are of solid construction.
I expect the new ones will be on par with the PE cabinets; I know Dennis cares about his speakers and love how he has cut the cost of these speakers without compromising on their sound.
Getting the BMR's down to $1350 kind of undercuts his own $1150 New Philharmonitors - As far as I'm concerned, anyone thinking about $1150 should pony up the extra $100 per speaker for the benefits of the BMR (primarily bass and the amazing dispersion). Any normal business would put the BMR's at $1500 (so they don't encroach on the New Philharmonitors) and pocket the savings in production cost - actually any normal business would charge well over $2000 for them! However, I know Dennis is (rightfully) proud of the performance/dollar value of the BMR's among true high fidelity speakers and believe he is focusing on doing what he can to share them with us!
 
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<eargiant

Senior Audioholic
What are the requirements to be part of this "road trip" audition? Did I miss the boat?

I've purchased both versions of the AA monitors in the past and while I'm not looking for another set of speakers at this point I'm curious to hear what these sound like. I could compare them to Bowers & Wilkins CM5, CM6 and 805 D2s that I currently have in house. I've also owned the Polk LSiM 703 which is a similar 3-way "larger" stand-mount.
 
D

Dennis Murphy

Audioholic General
What are the requirements to be part of this "road trip" audition? Did I miss the boat?

I've purchased both versions of the AA monitors in the past and while I'm not looking for another set of speakers at this point I'm curious to hear what these sound like. I could compare them to Bowers & Wilkins CM5, CM6 and 805 D2s that I currently have in house. I've also owned the Polk LSiM 703 which is a similar 3-way "larger" stand-mount.
The road trip is pretty much booked at this point. But please let me know where you're located so I can tell whether some kind of arrangement is possible.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
(Too much detail has been described as an “etched” sound. It sounds attractive at first, but eventually becomes fatiguing, hard to listen to.)
Forever grateful for this sentence.:cool:

In my opinion the BMR is easily a class or two above the KEF.
And I curse you for this one! You heathen. You, as you said, Dennis Murphy fanboy.:p

Let me know when you decide to really hit the road and do the European tour.:D:D:D
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
I can’t imagine how Dennis produces these speakers at such a low cost. I can’t think of another stand-mount speaker, at any price, that comes close to the BMR’s bass.
Me neither (based on available facts and figures only), I think either he is a billionaire who doesn't need more money, or he is a generous person who is passionate in hi-fi audio, and wants people to enjoy music using accurate, yet affordable speakers.

Another well-received speaker, the KEF LS50 (a speaker I like) sells for a price similar to the BMR. I’ve now heard both, in the same room, but at different times. In my opinion the BMR is easily a class or two above the KEF.
I like my LS50 too, assuming there is no chance for the BMRs to travel that far, I have to figure another way to compare them with my LS50.:D

It’s fair to point out that I’m a Dennis Murphy fanboy – that I’ve swallowed the Murphy Kool Aid. Guilty as charged :D. But I honestly wonder why everyone else doesn’t feel the same as I do. I hope those who get to hear these gems on the Road Tour also acquire a taste for the Kool Aid that I like so much.
If you are proven innocent, those BMRs probably should have been listed for $2,500 a pair.
 
Good4it

Good4it

Audioholic Chief
TOLD YOU SO! Can only dream of his 3s.
 
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Dennis Murphy

Audioholic General
Hey wait a second, how about Canadian tour first,? It's a road trip after all!!:D:D:D:D:D
Canada? Aren't you the guys Trump thinks burned down the White House? Couldn't you have waited a couple of hundred years?
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
Very glad to read that.
Yes, etched. It almost describes what it does to your eardrums.

Most of these ribbon tweeters have this "slit" shape. Does this make them directional? If you would put it horizontaly, would they perform any worse/different
 
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Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Most of these ribbon tweeters have this "slit" shape. Does this make them directional? If you would put it horizontaly, would they perform any worse/different
The narrow slit actually makes a ribbon tweeter's horizontal dispersion as wide as any 1" (25 mm) dome tweeter. Their vertical dimension, larger than a 1" dome, limits their vertical dispersion.

Sound waves travel in ways that seem the opposite from what we imagine. It helps if you think about the wavelength of the sound compared to size of the driver. In this case, it would be the width or height of the ribbon tweeter. If the wavelength is longer than the width of the ribbon, the waves disperse widely. As the sound gets higher pitched, the wavelength gets shorter. When the wavelength gets to be the same size, or smaller, than the ribbon, it begins to disperse more narrowly, becoming directional. So, it's better to have the ribbons mounted with their long dimension running upright.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Talking about driver size and sound dispersion reminded me of something I want to add to my original post about the BMR speakers.

Dennis says their remarkable imaging comes from using a small diameter flat disc mid range driver. That's the Balanced Mode Radiator (hence the name BMR Monitor). This 2½" flat driver handles mid range from about 350 Hz to 3800 Hz. Or is it 380 to 3500 Hz? I don't remember exactly. In that audio range, the BMR is excellent sounding, with dispersion far better than most 4-5" cone mid range drivers. Even though it's much less expensive than the woofer or tweeter, it produces sound without distortion or resonance, with plenty of volume.

When I listened the other day, I could easily hear their wider and more defined sound stage compared to the twin 6" drivers of my MTM Veracity ST. It's Seas Excel magnesium alloy drivers are excellent, expensive, and sound great. But they don't disperse mid range audio as well as the smaller BMR mid range drivers. It was Dennis's design triumph that found the right audio range for them in his 3-way speaker.

This driver was originally meant to be a small full range driver that would compete with those small cube speakers made by that company we don't mention. (It's name begins with the letter B.) It didn't succeed at that, but Dennis saw it's promise as a mid range.
 
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<eargiant

Senior Audioholic
The road trip is pretty much booked at this point. But please let me know where you're located so I can tell whether some kind of arrangement is possible.
You're a stand-up guy. That is really kind of you to offer to make a logistical effort- thank you. I would really love to hear and spend some time with them but I'm hesitant to take you up on it because I wouldn't feel right putting you (or anyone) through any extra work, especially since I'm not in the market for speakers at the moment. But I sure would love to hear them.

Let me think about it and I'll send you a PM.
 
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