Does anyone have either of these speakers in their systems? Has anyone heard them at an audio show. These are Dennis Murphy's designs and sold by his company.
I know you started this thread many months ago, but I listened to these yesterday at a local audio show (Capital Audiofest). These speakers are being demoed there and this was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to the show. I was not disappointed in either the monitors or the towers. I have Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2 speakers currently, which are a two-way design and the RAAL tweeter in it is a slightly customized version of the RAAL tweeter found in the Philharmonic speakers. The BMRs have a dedicated Scanspeak midrange driver, so their bookshelves are a 3-way design. I could immediately tell the difference with that dedicated mid-range driver. I don't really know how to describe it, other than to say the mid-range was more present and distinct on the BMRs compared to my Sierra-2 speakers. They also can dig deeper on their own (but I use subwoofers crossed at 80 Hz in my setup). The towers were very impressive, and really a sub is not necessarily needed, as they played cleanly down to 20 Hz. The Philharmonic speakers are great to my ears, and worth every penny of their asking price which is reasonable. It is likely I will by a pair of the BMR bookshelves in the near future.
Having heard the remarkable BMR monitors, I'd really like to hear the towers. Philharmonic Audio is an insiders brand that doesn't seem to play the revolving youtube reviewer circus. They have fantastic word of mouth, as Dennis Murphy always has. Philharmonic Audio
My pair just arrived this morning! Bought them sound unheard cause I am crazy but they ticked a lot of boxes I wanted in a speaker (newer, 3-way, ribbon tweeter). I am fairly confident I will enjoy them. Unfortunately they will have to remain boxed in my living room until I can get a relative to help me move them upstairs on Friday. Helped the UPS guy lift them in and they were heavy! Looking forward to hearing them.
The rosewood! Walnut looks nice as well but I went rosewood. Thanks for the heads up on the break-in period.
The Philharmonic BMR monitors are superb speakers and an amazing value. You will love listening to your music with them.
I was close to grabbing a pair of the Sierra 2EX V2 on sale for Black Friday. Had them in my cart tonight and wanted to take one more quick look at reviews before pulling the trigger. I keep coming across these 3-way BMR's and decided I may go with these instead. Hurry up Helom!!!!
Been busy with home improvement projects and came down with Covid, so had to postpone the review. Though most of my thoughts were summarized in the PMs we exchanged. I can’t say how the BMR towers compare to the Ascends, but I did decide to keep them over my Revel F208s, the latter of which were the best <$10K speakers I’d encountered prior to the BMRs. I think it’s pretty safe to say the BMRs will produce stronger and deeper bass than the Ascends. They completely negate the need for subs. Few speakers at any price can extend as low as the BMR towers. When I factor in the material cost of the BMRs I can’t figure how Dennis Murphy makes much money in his venture. The woofers account for ≈$760, the tweeters likely cost him about $400/pair, and each pair has about $100 worth of BMR drivers. Then factor in the exquisite cabinet finish, the extensive internal foam, the crossovers, construction labor, and packaging. I wager he can’t be netting more than $1000 for each $4K pair he sells. This is why you won’t see him offering any Black Friday discounts. I suspect that to get a pair of Ascends that are on par in SQ to the BMR towers, you’d have to choose their flagship Sierra ELX towers. But those towers still have less anechoic bass extension than the BMRs.
Oh my bad, I thought you had the BMR monitors, you have the towers. Major mistake on my part. Regardless, thanks for your thoughts and hope you are feeling better!
Thanks. I’m over the worst of it. Comparing the BMR Monitors to the Sierra EXs, you’re still going to get more bass extension with the BMRs by a significant margin. They also have about 1dB higher sensitivity than than Ascends. The BMRs are 3-ways and the Ascends are 2-way, the former larger than the latter, so they are somewhat apples-to-oranges. Normally I prefer 2-ways for smallish stand-mount monitors because they tend to produce a larger, more forward midrange (the same applies to many tower speakers). The BMR mid drivers have very wide dispersion though, so they don’t suffer the small/recessed-midrange syndrome that afflicts many 3-way designs. The original BMR Monitor was the flattest speaker Audioholics had ever measured up until that point. Dennis Murphy managed that without the help of a Klippel analyzer which is no small feat. The latest BMR Monitors are even better with lower distortion for both the ribbon tweeters and woofers. Plus, the cabinet finish is second to none. The veneer is covered with the thickest clear coat I’ve ever seen on a speaker, short of the glass-encased veneer on the Audio Physic Avantis. Obviously I’m a fan of what Philharmonic is doing but I can’t guarantee you’d prefer them to the Ascends as I simply don’t have experience with the latter. The Ascends do have a wider RAAL ribbon, which might result in greater imaging precision, similar to the behavior of a dome tweeter. However, if you like the imaging character of the Celan 3s, which in my system were more a “wall-of-sound” presentation rather than “pin-point” (i.e. scalpel-defined instrument separation), you will likely be happy with any RAAL. Otherwise, you might want to consider the Ascend LXs with the Titan dome option.
I have BMR monitors...the newer curved models and a pair Magnepan LRS+. I will post some comments regarding the monitors after Thanksgiving...but I can say that the similarity of the sound, the detail, the tone...is pretty similar to these two great speakers.
I am a Sierra-2 EX owner and this thread has me curious about the BMRs. However, I live in a small apartment and don't feel like I need more bass or volume, so I am thinking it would be kind of a lateral move for me. If I had a bigger room I might go for the BMR Monitors.
On paper the 2ex goes just as low. Dennis Murphy says his design goal for the BMR was super wide dispersion… as close to 180 degrees as he could get… his theory being that you need and want reflections to give you that symphony hall sound. They definitely can give you an immersive feel… more so than most highly directional speakers.
They 2EX only go as low if you account for bass reinforcement from room gain. The BMRs have a deeper anechoic response by a good margin. I have heard AMT-equipped speakers behave as you describe, most notably the Golden-Ear Tritons.
Mike, if you’re concerned about dispersion you might want to opt for the Sierras with the Titan domes. The Seas Titan is a very good tweeter that approaches the quality of beryllium. Being that your room is small they will get significant bass reinforcement. You should also look at the Fritz models. I believe he is currently running a sale on some of his speakers. They cost more but they use very high quality drivers and parts. I’ve yet to read a negative about his speakers from anyone.
Two interesting links…. Measurements for speaker Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2EX V2 Measurements for speaker Philharmonic BMR
These BMR towers are extremely appealing. I don't know if I could ever live w/o a sub but these seem like they'd be the route to try. It's a good thing the BMR towers look so good naked because the grills are a huge miss in my eyes (specifically the lower grill). Maybe they look better in person? Would one of you lucky BMR tower owners be so kind as to post a pic w/ only the upper grill on? That lower grill is killing me!
