Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Bookshelf Speaker Review

[Good4it]

If you want a pair Salk is the only place you can get them.

 

[Gryph]

$1350 on the Philharmonic site
$2396 on the SalkSound site

So yes. A 77% increase in price.

The design isn't quite identical either. The Salk version has the TM offset from center, and there's more baffle below the woofer (since the height is reported the same, I must assume less baffle above the tweeter).

Not really a bad price increase when you take into account that,
1) you are going from a not for profit home builder, to a for profit manufacturer.
2) in house quality controlled custom US manufactured cabinets vs out sourced cabinets.
3) custom veneers done by the same premier cabinet maker.
4) a company that can stand firmly behind the product and warranty because they have built that buffer into the price.
Not saying Dennis didn’t or couldn’t stand behind his product, only that doing so came at a personal cost.

I’d love to see everyone who bought a set of speakers from Dennis kick in a couple $$ on a gofundme account to purchase him the first pair of BMR’s Salk Sound builds. That would be cool!

 

[ryanosaur]

It is nice to see that these amazing speakers will be still available even though I would assume the price will be little higher but they are still well worth the price. I must say that Dennis has the skill to design really good sounding speakers and good heart to let these speakers live even though it is not from hes hands anymore.

The crossover and driver selection are still his, and I have a very strong feeling he consulted on the Offset Driver configuration (as I've seen photos of a few Salk BMRs dating back to before his health issue). If anything, these may sound better than the Chinese cabinets with manufactured XOs!

 

[ryanosaur]

Not really a bad price increase when you take into account that,

I agree that the new Salk prices are where they should be... the BMRs still punch above that weight class IMO. Sure it would be nice to still have the insane value as before, but only a large company with a production line could possibly handle that and they would not be the same. These are still boutique speakers, designed by a master, finished by a master!

I will say, though, that the other forum suffered pages and pages of disheartening conversation about the costing of the BMR and subsequent pricing by Salk. Dennis had his version and now Salk is carrying that torch forward. I am very happy that the speaker will live on. Anybody that cares to find any BMRs to listen to will know that most towers at $3K/pr don't compete... at least that is my experience... YMMV.

 

[Swerd]

The crossover and driver selection are still his, and I have a very strong feeling he consulted on the Offset Driver configuration

You're right about that. I've seen previous versions of the BMR with offset mid and tweeter.

 

[shadyJ]

$1350 on the Philharmonic site
$2396 on the SalkSound site

So yes. A 77% increase in price.

The design isn't quite identical either. The Salk version has the TM offset from center, and there's more baffle below the woofer (since the height is reported the same, I must assume less baffle above the tweeter).

It is still a bargain. Philharmonic's pricing was insanely low, so it looks like they were selling at it a significant loss. This pricing is much more realistic. It should be a hot seller even at Salk's price increase.

 

[JerryLove]

I'm not asserting the price is good or bad. I'm just quantifying the change.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

$1350 on the Philharmonic site
$2396 on the SalkSound site

So yes. A 77% increase in price.

The design isn't quite identical either. The Salk version has the TM offset from center, and there's more baffle below the woofer (since the height is reported the same, I must assume less baffle above the tweeter).

If you went for Jims cabinets trough Dennis it was around 1850$. So if you compare it to that price it isnt that bad increase to be honest. But still at 2400$ these speakers are really competitive and can beat many speakers that cost a lot more.

 

[Alex2507]

A 77% increase in price.

That last bit of love Salk gives the finish is worth a grand. I mean, you're gonna be looking at it forever but during the honey moon phase, it really is pretty special. You know what? It's been a while, I'm gonna go look at my Salks in a little bit here. My g/f usually dusts them. I think today ought to be my turn.

 

[CB22]

I'm gonna go look at my Salks in a little bit here.

What model do you have?

 

[Alex2507]

What model do you have?

SongTower RT with the original LCY ribbons. The finish is a medium curly Maple and I was lucky enough to find a matching center: ridiculously lucky. I was looking at just the grills recently thinking about being able to reproduce something like them for other speakers. Even that is a NO.

Pardon me for boasting ... because I'm gonna. It's a rear port and I've seen these particular ports right next to Swerd's former SongTower domes. My port flange is mortised into the cabinet while Swerd's was not. Mine looked better.

I have no shame.

 

[Gryph]

If you went for Jims cabinets trough Dennis it was around 1850$. So if you compare it to that price it isnt that bad increase to be honest. But still at 2400$ these speakers are really competitive and can beat many speakers that cost a lot more.

In the case above was it actually Jim’s own cabinets in place of or just having Salk Sound do their veneer work and assembly on the Philharmonic sourced cabinets?

 

[Beave]

Regarding the offset drivers in the Salk BMR pictures, my understanding is that those pictures are of somewhat older builds of their version of the BMR, back when Dennis was also building them with offset drivers.

Newer Phil BMRs had the drivers aligned, and newer Salk BMRs will too.

 

[KEW]

In the case above was it actually Jim’s own cabinets in place of or just having Salk Sound do their veneer work and assembly on the Philharmonic sourced cabinets?

Jim's cabinet.
The non-Salk cabinets have curved sides and the Salk have flat sides.

 

[Gryph]

Jim's cabinet.
The non-Salk cabinets have curved sides and the Salk have flat sides.

Thanks, I’ve no personal experience with either of the speakers unfortunately.

I’ve had my eyes fixed on the Songtowers for a little while now but again no personal experience with them. So that said if I had it in my budget, why would I choose the BMR over the Songtower if I had the space for either one?

 

[Swerd]

Pardon me for boasting ... because I'm gonna. It's a rear port and I've seen these particular ports right next to Swerd's former SongTower domes. My port flange is mortised into the cabinet while Swerd's was not. Mine looked better.

But mine were Vintage. Yours were merely secondhand.

 

[ryanosaur]

The final iteration of the Philharmonic BMRs with the Bennic Cabinets/Piano Black Finish have flat sides, but the drivers are not offset. (see the review photos)
Salk builds his own cabinets. Period.

 

[Swerd]

Jim's cabinet.
The non-Salk cabinets have curved sides and the Salk have flat sides.

Those curved side cabinets were what Dennis bought from Parts Express. When they stopped selling them, he bought a bunch of cabinets from Taiwan or China, along with premade crossover boards.

 

[Swerd]

Thanks, I’ve no personal experience with either of the speakers unfortunately.

I’ve had my eyes fixed on the Songtowers for a little while now but again no personal experience with them. So that said if I had it in my budget, why would I choose the BMR over the Songtower if I had the space for either one?

That's a tough call. I really like both. I owned SongTowers from 2007-16, and Veracity ST (a spiffed up version of SongTower) since 2016. It may come down to what size room you have. I think the floor standing SongTowers do bass a bit more potently than the smaller ported BMR.

 

[ryanosaur]

Just rereading last chain of posts: unless told otherwise, I would expect Salk's BMR cabinets to include the offset drivers... that's what his website shows, and if you review all his designs, you can see that is favored over a center alignment.

@Gryph : Consider that the 3-way BMR may have a smoother sound than a 2-way design. Not to suggest in any way that these 2-ways are poorly designed: QUITE THE OPPOSITE! I am on-record as saying that I would take a Dennis Murphy designed 2-way over most other 3-way speakers. But a Dennis Murphy 3-way... I'll take that first!
Regardless, If you go the way of a 2-way TL speaker from Salk, I really don't think you can go wrong. If you step up to a 3-way ported tower, I really don't think you can go wrong.
How do the BMRs compare to the other Salk towers? I don't have that experience to offer an opinion.
However, Jim will reply to email and often will answer the phone if you call... I would encourage you to reach out and discuss with him if you are interested in any of his gear!!!
Cheers!