Topic: Possibly the best speaker value going

[heathen]

I searched this forum and didn't find any mention of the Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitors: http://www.philharmonicaudio.com/BMR%20Philharmonitor.html

I feel like it's almost my civic duty to make sure you guys are aware of these things.  First, just look at the hard numbers.  The drivers/tweeter cost, conservatively, nearly $500.  That's for just one speaker.  So, there are nearly $1,000 worth of parts (ignoring the cabinets and crossover) for speakers that cost $1,350 per pair.  So you know that the price you pay isn't driven by marketing costs and dealer overhead.

Next, this review says things better than I can: https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/bmr-philharmonitor-1  Make sure you go to the measurements.  It's almost absurd how well they measure.  And in a reasonably-sized room you can truly run them without a subwoofer (for music, at least).  I've put them head-to-head against tower speakers that cost more than twice as much as the BMRs and the BMRs produced deeper bass.

Philharmonic is a one-man shop, and to be honest I won't be surprised if he has to discontinue the BMRs in the foreseeable future.  He's already had to discontinue a couple speakers because of parts availability, and he doesn't make his own cabinets.  So, if the cabinet supply dries up, these are going to be gone (or you'd have to get a cusom cabinet made by Salk at significant additional time and expense).

Anyway, do with this information what you will.

[OOK]

Have you listened to any of the the Andrew Jones speakers from Elac... They punch way above their price point.

[heathen]

Have you listened to any of the the Andrew Jones speakers from Elac... They punch way above their price point.

I have and agree they are a good value.  I've never been super impressed with them beyond that though.

[chk]

Wasn’t a set of these speakers just recently available in the yard sale?  I don’t see a current listing but if memory serves...

[heathen]

Wasn’t a set of these speakers just recently available in the yard sale?  I don’t see a current listing but if memory serves...

Yeah I briefly listed mine for sale, then came to my senses.

[Gutbucket]

The BMR driver tech is very interesting. Particularly its even dispersion. I was following it a number of years ago, though have never heard one myself, and am looking forward to seeing more applications of it.  It seems well integrated into this design here.

[heathen]

The BMR driver tech is very interesting. Particularly its even dispersion. I was following it a number of years ago, though have never heard one myself, and am looking forward to seeing more applications of it.  It seems well integrated into this design here.

If you're ever in Colorado, you'll be welcome at my place for a listening session. 

[Gutbucket]

Thanks!

[frostdotcom]

The philharmonics were indeed fantastic.  Unfortunately they have closed shop.  I now think the burchardt s400 is the best speaker for the money/size in the under $2k price class.  They go on sale for $1600 from time to time. 

[heathen]

The philharmonics were indeed fantastic.  Unfortunately they have closed shop.  I now think the burchardt s400 is the best speaker for the money/size in the under $2k price class.  They go on sale for $1600 from time to time.

Dennis has discussed possibly releasing some of his designs into the public domain for the DIY crowd.  I don't know if the BMR will be one of them.  I know they can be made by Salk, but he charges much more than Dennis did (Salk doesn't want to just break even on speaker sales...what a concept!).

In the $1,500 neighborhood, with the BMR no longer available, I'd be looking closely at anything from Revel to start.  I've seen a lot of positive comments about those Burchardts though.

I feel very lucky to have a pair of BMRs.

[Gutbucket]

Dennis has discussed possibly releasing some of his designs into the public domain for the DIY crowd.  I don't know if the BMR will be one of them.

Here's hoping it will be.

[dyneq]

I have the PA AAMs in a less-than-ideal setup due to WAF. They still sound amazing. He was a great guy to work with too.

[heathen]

Salk is continuing the BMR: http://www.salksound.com/model.php?model=BMR%20Monitors

The price is higher than what Philharmonic was charging, but I think the price is still reasonable.  Philharmonic was basically charging at cost.  Considering the added quality of Salk cabinets, $2,400 for a pair is still a great deal.  These are probably the best speakers at that price point...and if not, they're damn competitive.

[heathen]

Good news, it looks like the BMRs will soon be available as kits:

The tentative price for the parts only kit with cabinet plans and schematics will be a few pennies short of $900/pr. Mark charges $2.50 per component to wire the crossovers, which would bring that cost to $75,pr. I haven't got a price for flat packs yet, but a pair of Baltic Birch cabinets with bass wood corners, finished and stained would be something like $400/pr (don't hold me to that). So the most complete kit for non-wood workers and non-soldering types would be around $900 + $75 + $400, or a little under $1,400. That's close to what I originally charged for the assembled speakers. That price was possible because (1) I'm an idiot, and (2) the black cabinets cost me about half as much as the domestically built kit cabinets.

[Gutbucket]

Right on.   I'd love to hear these things..  and those burchardts as well.