BMR Towers

[CB22]

Big news! I just put down the deposit for the BMR towers in Rosewood, however there are some strings attached. Thinking of my end game speakers I wanted to have, first bass that digs deep, which is why I decided to go with the BMR towers. Secondly, I'm hoping that the BMRs towers will have a larger soundstage, presence, and deeper bass for music and home theater. I hope the BMR towers will do that. I previously said, I wanted to listen to the speaker before spending over 2k, however, I made this exception because I already own a similar speaker with similar parts and the Audioholics review about "hitting gold twice". I wanted to go to an audio show to listen to them but that was not an option for the near future. Yall were the ones who recommended the BMRs to me in the first place three or four years ago now. I already have a love for my BMRs, so hopefully the BMR towers will be a better version of what I already have.

After emailing back and forth with Dennis on the topic of the BMR tower vs the his new HTs, he said, "Thanks for writing. I'm about ready to post the HT'S on my website--I just have to hammer out the final pricing. I'm definitely taking orders. The HT's and other BMR's have gone through the Panama Canal and are turning left toward Port New York. They should dock in a couple of weeks. I don't have any plans to enter any audio shows in the coming months--the logistics are just too difficult for me. About all I can say is that to me they sound identical to the larger towers except for the deepest bass. They're about 3 dB more sensitive, which means they require about half as much power as the big towers for a given sound level. I've posted a pic of the HT's in the ebony cabinet below. The actual grain demarcation is more subtle than the camera shows. (Photo attached) If there's any difference in the sound of the two towers, it would be in the mid-bass, where the HT's might have a little more punch because they're not tuned as low. But for serious HT, I think only the big tower would replace a good sub. The HT's don't have any output below about 32 Hz and are really designed to be used with a sub."

In terms of the strings attached part that I mentioned earlier. I was able to get the BRM towers on the condition that the x-13s would go away. My wife is not a fan of the x-13s due to their footprint. She wants them out of the living room. She thinks they're too big and bulky. Her exact words, "our living room looks like a studio" lol. Either I'll try to sell em or put em in the a guestroom or closet until we can get a new house with a dedicated HT room one day but that's a long way out. They're so big and heavy to move that I'll probably only be able to sell them locally, which will not be easy in my area. The other thing is I'll have to purchase a new sofa at some point of her choosing. To make the BRM towers work in a 5 channel system I'm going to have to re-work and rewire the living room and furniture arrangement. The speakers should hopefully arrive in 1-2ish months. I'm excited. I will most likely sell my current L/R BMRs to help fund this new purchase. TBD on selling the center. If I don't like the Polk L400, which is arriving today I'll send it back and keep the BMR center.

@shadyJ I know you said "no subs needed" can you elaborate more on your experience BMR towers for super bass heavy movies? I'm assuming the BMR towers won't be able to make the house shake like the x-13s do?

Lastly, the towers have sensitivity of -86db. My AVR can put 120w to each individual L, R, C channels. That should be plenty of power right?

 

[ryanosaur]

Movin fast, CB!

One acquaintance said he's got 20 hz in-room from his BMR Towers (though every room will be different). They seem to do a little better than the Phil 3s. He also has some SI 18" Subs along with them, and a BMR center.

Keep me in the loop about your decision on the BMR Monitors. Though Frankly, I would put them at Surround duty!

 

[TLS Guy]

Big news! I just put down the deposit for the BMR towers in Rosewood, however there are some strings attached. Thinking of my end game speakers I wanted to have, first bass that digs deep, which is why I decided to go with the BMR towers. Secondly, I'm hoping that the BMRs towers will have a larger soundstage, presence, and deeper bass for music and home theater. I hope the BMR towers will do that. I previously said, I wanted to listen to the speaker before spending over 2k, however, I made this exception because I already own a similar speaker with similar parts and the Audioholics review about "hitting gold twice". I wanted to go to an audio show to listen to them but that was not an option for the near future. Yall were the ones who recommended the BMRs to me in the first place three or four years ago now. I already have a love for my BMRs, so hopefully the BMR towers will be a better version of what I already have.

After emailing back and forth with Dennis on the topic of the BMR tower vs the his new HTs, he said, "Thanks for writing. I'm about ready to post the HT'S on my website--I just have to hammer out the final pricing. I'm definitely taking orders. The HT's and other BMR's have gone through the Panama Canal and are turning left toward Port New York. They should dock in a couple of weeks. I don't have any plans to enter any audio shows in the coming months--the logistics are just too difficult for me. About all I can say is that to me they sound identical to the larger towers except for the deepest bass. They're about 3 dB more sensitive, which means they require about half as much power as the big towers for a given sound level. I've posted a pic of the HT's in the ebony cabinet below. The actual grain demarcation is more subtle than the camera shows. (Photo attached) If there's any difference in the sound of the two towers, it would be in the mid-bass, where the HT's might have a little more punch because they're not tuned as low. But for serious HT, I think only the big tower would replace a good sub. The HT's don't have any output below about 32 Hz and are really designed to be used with a sub."

In terms of the strings attached part that I mentioned earlier. I was able to get the BRM towers on the condition that the x-13s would go away. My wife is not a fan of the x-13s due to their footprint. She wants them out of the living room. She thinks they're too big and bulky. Her exact words, "our living room looks like a studio" lol. Either I'll try to sell em or put em in the a guestroom or closet until we can get a new house with a dedicated HT room one day but that's a long way out. They're so big and heavy to move that I'll probably only be able to sell them locally, which will not be easy in my area. The other thing is I'll have to purchase a new sofa at some point of her choosing. To make the BRM towers work in a 5 channel system I'm going to have to re-work and rewire the living room and furniture arrangement. The speakers should hopefully arrive in 1-2ish months. I'm excited. I will most likely sell my current L/R BMRs to help fund this new purchase. TBD on selling the center. If I don't like the Polk L400, which is arriving today I'll send it back and keep the BMR center.

@shadyJ I know you said "no subs needed" can you elaborate more on your experience BMR towers for super bass heavy movies? I'm assuming the BMR towers won't be able to make the house shake like the x-13s do?

Lastly, the towers have sensitivity of -86db. My AVR can put 120w to each individual L, R, C channels. That should be plenty of power right?

Plenty of power will depend on how loud you want to play them. Given that most speakers have a sensitivity around 89 db. and these are 86 db. then with these your amp will be like a 60 watt amp essentially. I personally think speakers of that quality would be best served with external amplification. I would use one of your BMRs on its side as the center personally. You can turn the tweeter 90 degrees I understand. These are absolutely superb speakers, but although the speaker has excellent bass extension, an 8" driver is inevitably going to be excursion limited. So for music you will probably be fine unless you are a pipe organ aficionado. However movies will likely cause the driver to exceed xmax at moderate to higher volumes. Movies are mixed predicated on use of the LFE channel directed to a sub with FR to 120 Hz and a healthy spl. boost as well. My point is there is more to the issue of to sub or not, other than bass extension measurement.

These days small subs can be designed in sealed configuration using powerful class D amp and equalization. So discreet subs can be designed.
But you are correct, that to get to the state of the art dedicated purpose designed rooms are now required for optimal results, especially if an Atmos design is contemplated. I note here there are too many complex systems placed in totally unsuitable rooms when simpler systems would give far better results.

Lastly, do you have a couch, that a slim profile sub could be hidden behind?

 

[Swerd]

Congrats on the big news!

Thinking of my end game speakers I wanted to have, first bass that digs deep, which is why I decided to go with the BMR towers.

Yep, they really do dig deep. As deep or deeper than any other speaker I've known.

If you've never heard transmission line bass, you're in for real treat. (Technically speaking, these speakers have a Mass Loaded Transmission Line bass alignment.)

Secondly, I'm hoping that the BMRs towers will have a larger soundstage, presence, and deeper bass for music and home theater. I hope the BMR towers will do that.

When I first heard the BMR Monitors, I thought their soundstage was the largest & most realistic sounding soundstage I've ever heard. I still feel that way now. The BMR Towers have a soundstage that's as good as the BMR Monitors. That's very good, not a criticism. The monitor and tower sound like they are close siblings.

@shadyJ I know you said "no subs needed" can you elaborate more on your experience BMR towers for super bass heavy movies? I'm assuming the BMR towers won't be able to make the house shake like the x-13s do?

Bass sound is both a matter of personal preference, as well as a matter of room acoustics (room dimensions, locations of speakers & listener). Some people like restrained bass, and others love it when they crank their subs to 11. In my opinion, the bass from the BMR Towers is excellent. I certainly agree with shadyJ on that.

Lastly, the towers have sensitivity of -86db. My AVR can put 120w to each individual L, R, C channels. That should be plenty of power right?

I would think so. Please remember that when Dennis estimates sensitivity of his speakers, he avoids any of the usual exaggerations that other manufacturers may use. In your hands, you may find these speakers get louder than a sensitivity of 86 dB might suggest. Give your 120 wpc AVR a good chance to perform before you consider more power.

And if you do eventually go for a more potent amp, I'd strongly suggest something like a Buckeye NC502MP class D amp. It wouldn't be too much power for those speakers.

 

[D Murphy]

Plenty of power will depend on how loud you want to play them. Given that most speakers have a sensitivity around 89 db. and these are 86 db. then with these your amp will be like a 60 watt amp essentially. I personally think speakers of that quality would be best served with external amplification. I would use one of your BMRs on its side as the center personally. You can turn the tweeter 90 degrees I understand. These are absolutely superb speakers, but although the speaker has excellent bass extension, an 8" driver is inevitably going to be excursion limited. So for music you will probably be fine unless you are a pipe organ aficionado. However movies will likely cause the driver to exceed xmax at moderate to higher volumes. Movies are mixed predicated on use of the LFE channel directed to a sub with FR to 120 Hz and a healthy spl. boost as well. My point is there is more to the issue of to sub or not, other than bass extension measurement.

These days small subs can be designed in sealed configuration using powerful class D amp and equalization. So discreet subs can be designed.
But you are correct, that to get to the state of the art dedicated purpose designed rooms are now required for optimal results, especially if an Atmos design is contemplated. I note here there are too many complex systems placed in totally unsuitable rooms when simpler systems would give far better results.

Lastly, do you have a couch, that a slim profile sub could be hidden behind?

I think that about sums it up. If I thought the towers were a perfect substitute for a good sub-main combination in home theater, I wouldn't have brought out the new HT BMR. The towers don't break any rules of physics. There's only so much output you an get from an 8" woofer tuned to 24 Hz. But for music--even pipe organ--I doubt that you will exceed the tower's capabilities.

 

[CB22]

Movin fast, CB!

You only live once right Ya this has been on my mind since the BMR tower first came out.

Give your 120 wpc AVR a good chance to perform before you consider more power.

Ya I'm gonna have to roll with the AVR for a good while for budget. I had a budget of 3k & I'm already well over

Lastly, do you have a couch, that a slim profile sub could be hidden behind?

No they would have to live in a corner. Currently I have the 1 x13s behind the sofa and my wife gives me a lot of sh*t for it

 

[snakeeyes]

Congrats!

Hard to imagine “end game” speakers at your age of 31. There’s a lot of life to live.

I would definitely keep the subs or similar capable subs. @ryanosaur has Phil 3’s and still uses subs.

 

[shadyJ]

@shadyJ I know you said "no subs needed" can you elaborate more on your experience BMR towers for super bass heavy movies? I'm assuming the BMR towers won't be able to make the house shake like the x-13s do?

Lastly, the towers have sensitivity of -86db. My AVR can put 120w to each individual L, R, C channels. That should be plenty of power right?

To echo what has already been said, while the BMR Towers can dig deep, they will not be able to match the dynamic range of some large, powerful subwoofers like your X-13s. They would have enough dynamic range for normal listening, but for a dedicated home theater room, I think you would want the option to bring in a sub or two on movie night, depending on the movie. So yes, they are not house shakers.

Regarding, sensitivity, 120w should be able to make them plenty loud for most people. If you want head-banging (or head-splitting) speakers, there are better choices out there, but they could get loud enough for my tastes at about an 8 to 9-foot listening distance.

 

[ryanosaur]

Hard to imagine “end game” speakers at your age of 31. There’s a lot of life to live.

And Speakers to listen to... But this is the trap with Dennis' Speakers: They are that good!
In order to do something better, you really have to commit a lot of time and effort to build out something that will be a step up... Otherwise, the price to play is easily $10-Large or more.
I'm not even close to building my first pair of Speakers yet, but what I envisioned 2 years ago vs what I see today is more than a significant evolution... not quite a paradigm shift... but when you look at the new Salk Flagship Towers or what Sigberg is doing...
There is a lot of room to learn and play and learn some more.

 

[CB22]

Otherwise, the price to play is easily $10-Large or more.

Agreed and that's not happening anytime soon. To date the best speakers I've ever head were the IRR 5s at PS audio when I was there:

Now that is a pay to play system. All the gear in that room was probably worth half the value of my house if not more . The next step the improve SQ at this point to is acoustic treatments and to find a better space for the speakers but that would require a new house. Unfortunately our living room is more of a box shape than a rectangle but I don't have control over that for now.

@ryanosaur BMRs as surrounds? I'd feel bad lol, the BMRs need music. That would be pretty bass azz though. As for the subwoofers I'll keep them. To Shady's point about bass I'll plan on keeping the x-13s and pulling them out for the movie nights or when the wife is out of town.

I note here there are too many complex systems placed in totally unsuitable rooms when simpler systems would give far better results.

I will play with the towers as a stand alone 2, 2.2, 5, and 5.2 system to see what yields the best results. I have an unsettling feeling for size of my space a 2 channel system may yield the best results but lets see... I love me some surrounds.

 

[Danzilla31]

Big news! I just put down the deposit for the BMR towers in Rosewood, however there are some strings attached. Thinking of my end game speakers I wanted to have, first bass that digs deep, which is why I decided to go with the BMR towers. Secondly, I'm hoping that the BMRs towers will have a larger soundstage, presence, and deeper bass for music and home theater. I hope the BMR towers will do that. I previously said, I wanted to listen to the speaker before spending over 2k, however, I made this exception because I already own a similar speaker with similar parts and the Audioholics review about "hitting gold twice". I wanted to go to an audio show to listen to them but that was not an option for the near future. Yall were the ones who recommended the BMRs to me in the first place three or four years ago now. I already have a love for my BMRs, so hopefully the BMR towers will be a better version of what I already have.

After emailing back and forth with Dennis on the topic of the BMR tower vs the his new HTs, he said, "Thanks for writing. I'm about ready to post the HT'S on my website--I just have to hammer out the final pricing. I'm definitely taking orders. The HT's and other BMR's have gone through the Panama Canal and are turning left toward Port New York. They should dock in a couple of weeks. I don't have any plans to enter any audio shows in the coming months--the logistics are just too difficult for me. About all I can say is that to me they sound identical to the larger towers except for the deepest bass. They're about 3 dB more sensitive, which means they require about half as much power as the big towers for a given sound level. I've posted a pic of the HT's in the ebony cabinet below. The actual grain demarcation is more subtle than the camera shows. (Photo attached) If there's any difference in the sound of the two towers, it would be in the mid-bass, where the HT's might have a little more punch because they're not tuned as low. But for serious HT, I think only the big tower would replace a good sub. The HT's don't have any output below about 32 Hz and are really designed to be used with a sub."

In terms of the strings attached part that I mentioned earlier. I was able to get the BRM towers on the condition that the x-13s would go away. My wife is not a fan of the x-13s due to their footprint. She wants them out of the living room. She thinks they're too big and bulky. Her exact words, "our living room looks like a studio" lol. Either I'll try to sell em or put em in the a guestroom or closet until we can get a new house with a dedicated HT room one day but that's a long way out. They're so big and heavy to move that I'll probably only be able to sell them locally, which will not be easy in my area. The other thing is I'll have to purchase a new sofa at some point of her choosing. To make the BRM towers work in a 5 channel system I'm going to have to re-work and rewire the living room and furniture arrangement. The speakers should hopefully arrive in 1-2ish months. I'm excited. I will most likely sell my current L/R BMRs to help fund this new purchase. TBD on selling the center. If I don't like the Polk L400, which is arriving today I'll send it back and keep the BMR center.

@shadyJ I know you said "no subs needed" can you elaborate more on your experience BMR towers for super bass heavy movies? I'm assuming the BMR towers won't be able to make the house shake like the x-13s do?

Lastly, the towers have sensitivity of -86db. My AVR can put 120w to each individual L, R, C channels. That should be plenty of power right?

Congratulations on the purchase! I've always wanted to experience the BMR's but have never had the chance something I regret after hearing from members who have and it's on my list.

 

[Boerd]

You will have an even bigger smile on your face when they arrive. Their measurements are very good - smooth FR and wide dispersion. Congrats!

 

[BillyDoster]

Agreed and that's not happening anytime soon. To date the best speakers I've ever head were the IRR 5s at PS audio when I was there:

Now that is a pay to play system. All the gear in that room was probably worth half the value of my house if not more . The next step the improve SQ at this point to is acoustic treatments and to find a better space for the speakers but that would require a new house. Unfortunately our living room is more of a box shape than a rectangle but I don't have control over that for now.

@ryanosaur BMRs as surrounds? I'd feel bad lol, the BMRs need music. That would be pretty bass azz though. As for the subwoofers I'll keep them. To Shady's point about bass I'll plan on keeping the x-13s and pulling them out for the movie nights or when the wife is out of town. Here and here a lot of interesting things are written!



I will play with the towers as a stand alone 2, 2.2, 5, and 5.2 system to see what yields the best results. I have an unsettling feeling for size of my space a 2 channel system may yield the best results but lets see... I love me some surrounds.

Of course I have seen a lot of audio music systems! But I don't often see those sizes))))))

 

[D Murphy]

And speaking of BMR towers, I've posted the new BMR HT tower on my website, philharmonicaudio.com

 

[Bucknekked]

And speaking of BMR towers, I've posted the new BMR HT tower on my website, philharmonicaudio.com

View attachment 59672

Dennis that's so dang gorgeous I wish I needed another setup requiring speakers.
WOw. You should be right and proper proud of those

 

[Eppie]

And speaking of BMR towers, I've posted the new BMR HT tower on my website, philharmonicaudio.com

View attachment 59672

I may need to drive down to Maryland again.