The Philharmonic Audio BMR, Refreshed!

ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
I've seen many a speaker whose on axis response isn't as flat as the BMR's 90 degree off-axis plot.
All things considered, whether the Monitors or the Towers, I've seen things at 5x the cost that just don't make sense.

All the talk lately about Focal Sopras and KEF References...
I think one of the best summations I've seen in writing was a review of the latest Monitor Audio Golds where the writer basically laid out that the price difference between the New Golds and the Platinums didn't add up when the Golds had something like 95% of the performance level as the Platinums.
Hell, I don't even see the value in the KEF R series, but that's just me, I guess.

If I need to blow 10 Large on a pair of anything, it'll be Salk SS9.5s But even then, I think I'd rather have the BMR Towers and save $6K. Purely hypothetical, mind, as the differences between my Phil 3s and the BMR Towers is about as minimal as it gets. :)
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Yeah, Dennis does some amazing work. I am very tempted to drive to DC in November. He has a room booked for the Capital Audio Fest.
November is still a long way off, but if you're really driving all the way from somewhere in Canada for the Capital Audio Fest (the hotel is in Rockville, MD), let me know. I live about 9 miles away. I'll meet you there. You can listen to all the speakers you can stand to hear, while I make snarky comments about most of them. After that, you can feel comfortable ordering that pair of BMR Towers.

Let me know by private message and we can arrange details.
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
November is still a long way off, but if you're really driving all the way from somewhere in Canada for the Capital Audio Fest (the hotel is in Rockville, MD), let me know. I live about 9 miles away. I'll meet you there. You can listen to all the speakers you can stand to hear, while I make snarky comments about most of them. After that, you can feel comfortable ordering that pair of BMR Towers.

Let me know by private message and we can arrange details.
Thanks for the offer! Even if I get something before then it would still be great to hit an audio show and hang out with any forum members. Would love to chat about DIY as well as that's something that I want to get into in the next few months. My wife goes on trips with the girls every now and then and it's been a while since I've gone and nerded out on my own. :) Will have to wait and see what happens with the border crossings. It's a 9 hour drive so I'll look at flight options as well.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
If you're looking at air travel, there are three large airports in the area.
  • Dulles Intl. Airport (IAD)
  • Washington National Airport (DCA)
  • Baltimore-Washington Intl. Airport (BWI)
Each airport has advantages & disadvantages. DCA is smaller, closer to downtown Washington, and has Metro rail built into the airport. IAD and BWI are larger, a bit further away, but probably offer more flights.

I don't know where in Canada you live, but don't forget railroad travel. In the USA, all passenger rail is through Amtrak. There are direct or nearly direct trains to Washington, DC from Toronto or Montreal.
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
If you're looking at air travel, there are three large airports in the area.
  • Dulles Intl. Airport (IAD)
  • Washington National Airport (DCA)
  • Baltimore-Washington Intl. Airport (BWI)
Each airport has advantages & disadvantages. DCA is smaller, closer to downtown Washington, and has Metro rail built into the airport. IAD and BWI are larger, a bit further away, but probably offer more flights.

I don't know where in Canada you live, but don't forget railroad travel. In the USA, all passenger rail is through Amtrak. There are direct or nearly direct trains to Washington, DC from Toronto or Montreal.
Most flight options are into Dulles I think. Would probably rent a car. Didn't think of looking at rail and I enjoy travel by train. I'm in London which is half way between Toronto and Detroit. Shortest route would be through Buffalo. Amtrak site says no service between Toronto and DC unfortunately. Might have cut back some routes during the pandemic.
 
cbecker33

cbecker33

Audioholic
Is there a horizontal center channel to pair with the BMR monitors?
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Is there a horizontal center channel to pair with the BMR monitors?
A single BMR on it's side, tweeter rotated 90º. There is no change to the XO. I used one for a while; works very well.

My personal preference was to go upright with a third BMR, which I did. To be honest, I can't say I hear any difference, SQ-wise.
Dennis said he's measured it and didn't find anything detrimental of note.
 
D

D Murphy

Full Audioholic
A single BMR on it's side, tweeter rotated 90º. There is no change to the XO. I used one for a while; works very well.

My personal preference was to go upright with a third BMR, which I did. To be honest, I can't say I hear any difference, SQ-wise.
Dennis said he's measured it and didn't find anything detrimental of note.
That's not to say they measure the same--the horizontal speaker will have a dip at the midrange-tweeter crossover point as you move further and further off axis. That might be slightly audible if you're actually sitting far to the left or right of the speaker. But it won't cause any problems from normal sitting positions.
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
That's not to say they measure the same--the horizontal speaker will have a dip at the midrange-tweeter crossover point as you move further and further off axis. That might be slightly audible if you're actually sitting far to the left or right of the speaker. But it won't cause any problems from normal sitting positions.
Out of curiosity, Dennis, are the first set of BMR Towers presold? Do you expect to have inventory in November?
 
D

D Murphy

Full Audioholic
Out of curiosity, Dennis, are the first set of BMR Towers presold? Do you expect to have inventory in November?
The towers are booked with a wait list. There may be a delay in getting the Scan woofers, so it's possible there will be some cancellations for the rosewood (which didn't require a deposit), but there are already several people on the wait list.
 
cbecker33

cbecker33

Audioholic
Are there any photos of the 'neutral grey' finish? How would one order 3 BMR Monitors from the philharmonicaudio site?
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Just thought I'd put this out there as the shameless Dennis Murphy fan-boy I seem to be... ;)

Shipment of new product has landed and there are goodies still available:

As much as I love the BMR Monitors, I have to say these new Ceramic Mini Monitors are supremely interesting!
Measurements and Specs
$550 for a pair!
If they perform anything like the Mini-Phils from a few years ago, this is a great Speaker.
 
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