As promised in my other threads, what follows is a short review of my new Philharmonic BMR 3-way monitors, built by Dennis Murphy with cabinets by Jim Salk. Customizations are front facing slot ports and Audyn Plus capacitors on the crossovers (high and mid circuits only -- the bass circuits use Dennis' standard caps). Placement is quite close to the back wall (about 8 in), toed in slightly toward the listening position but still crossing well behind me.
I bought the BMRs after auditioning a number of monitors in the 1500-3000 price range (and a few that cost a lot more). These included Revel M106, Amphion Argon3, Proac Tablette Anniversary, Paradigm Prestige 15, KEF R300, Robson Regis, Totem Element Ember, Sonus Faber Olympica 1, Focal Electra 1008 BE2, and B&W 805 D3. Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to do any head to head A/B comparisons, but I did come away with several impressions, a few of which I'll mention below.
After wiring up BMRs and placing them on my sand-filled Ascend stands, the first album I played was Duke Ellington's Recollections of the Big Band Era (redbook, ripped to ALAC). This is an album that I love and am very familiar with. I was struck instantly by the growl of the trombones. They had bite, and I mean that in a very good way. They sounded like brass is supposed to sound. Brass isn't liquid or laid back. It's in your face. The BMRs did not get in the way at all. I felt like I was in row 1! They also are fast enough to keep pace with some really upbeat horn lines. As a point of comparison, I felt that the much more expensive Sonus Faber Olympicas were too slow to play convincing brass, while B&Ws had the right pace but couldn't represent the timbre of the brass instruments as honestly.
After reveling in Ellington for a while, I put on Eva Cassidy's Live at Blues Alley (redbook, ripped to ALAC) . My favorite songs on the album are What a Wonderful World and Stormy Monday. I already knew from my earlier listening sessions with Dennis that these speakers can play deep, but was still struck at the authority of the electric bass. However, where these speakers really stood out was on the soft treble piano line in What a Wonderful World. These were some of the only speakers I auditioned that I felt presented the piano line totally naturally: airy, without any artificial sparkle, but still textured with a piano's roundness.
Switching over to electric blues, they had no trouble rocking Stevie Ray Vaughn and Albert King's In Session album (192/24 ALAC). Again, totally natural. The blaring guitars are not tamed down in any way, but nor are they fatiguing, and the texture is pure electric -- I could almost feel the current pulsing
Regarding the bass, unless you are listening to rap, electronica, or pipe organ, or you need a system that does double duty as a home theater, you don't need a sub. I happen to have a TV in the same room, and I do use a sub for movies, crossed at 38 Hz. For music I lower the crossover freq to 20, effectively taking it out of the signal path. I may discover the odd track where a sub has something to contribute, but I did not feel it was necessary for any of the music I listened to prior to this review
Imaging is quite good, but not the best of the lot. I felt the B&Ws and Amphions both imaged with a touch better precision. The BMRs certainly can resolve the positions of instruments in the orchestra as well as I feel I can do when I'm listening to live music, but the hyper-precise imaging that to me feels unrealistic isn't there.
About build quality -- these speakers are heavy! I didn't weigh them, but bringing them upstairs from my car, one at a time, was no easy task. They absolutely pass the knuckle wrap test. Also, the wood finish is furniture grade, top notch, and Jim Salk will do pretty much any wood and/or stain you want. Neither the picture here nor the pictures in my other thread do the speakers justice.
In sum, I'm really happy with these BMRs. They sound extremely natural and honest, they are fast, putting the transients right where they need to be, and the bass will make you think you're listening to floor standers. Also, the highs are quite detailed without being fatiguing. I haven't noticed any 'artificial' detail. When the music calls for it they can be sweet, airy, and liquid, but they present brass horns and electric guitars the all the grit they have in real life when you're at a concert in a small club and the instruments are right there in your face. I won't go so far as to say that they crushed all of the other speakers I auditioned, including the pairs that cost 3 times as much, but I will say that I have absolutely no feelings of remorse that I did not have an extra 4000 in my budget to by something at the 7000 price point. These speakers are just what I wanted.
Other equipment in my system includes:
- Sony BDP S7200 serving as a source (DNLA renderer)
- Hegel HD12 DAC
- Adcom GFP-750 preamp
- Marchand XM66 variable crossover
- Odyssey Stratos Plus amp
- Outlaw LFM-1 EX sub
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