AVR vs. AVR+amp vs. Integrated Amp for Philharmonic BMR towers

[alex__]

My Philharmonic BMR towers are ready to ship, very excited to get them.


I'm trying to figure out what components I should get for the towers now and would prefer to not spend money on things if not absolutely necessary.


Are there any AVRs that can drive them properly without needing additional amplification?


From a budget constraint perspective I'm trying to keep things under 2k total but there is wiggle room there.


Down the line I might expand and get their center and surrounds for HT purposes as these are going to live in my family room.


Room specs are ~17ft x ~21ft with the primary listening position being ~11ft away.


For people who have these towers what does your setup look like?

 

[Mort]

I had them, still have a pair of HTs. Is this for a surround system? The towers need some amplification but a solid AVR like a Denon 4800 is enough for most people. If you want to go to 11 from time to time, you might use an external amp. I used buckeye.

 

[alex__]

I had them, still have a pair of HTs. Is this for a surround system? The towers need some amplification but a solid AVR like a Denon 4800 is enough for most people. If you want to go to 11 from time to time, you might use an external amp. I used buckeye.

Initially stereo with potential beyond that in like a few years.

 

[Chrispy]

How loud will you listen? Try using something like this? http://www.hometheaterengineering.com/splcalculator.html

Personally I like the feature set of the avrs like the 4800 mentioned, and get them with pre-outs for amp flexibility.

 

[Mort]

I would go with a streamer out to a DAC or a Wiim and a 2ch hypex amps like buckeye.

 

[arichman]

I got my BMR Towers when they first came out. I have used Hypex NC400 monoblocks for amplification, which apparently were used to demo these speakers by Dennis Murphy, and found them entirely sufficient for my needs over the years. The Towers are nominally 6 ohm speakers, and the NC400s provide 300 watts into 6 ohms. There is a now new generation of Hypex amplification (which Buckeye looks to be the smart source). Some of these amps provide much greater amplification than you would apparently need. But I don't use Dirac Live, which reserves 10 dB headroom to carry out its automated room correction. If I did, I would probably be looking at those higher powered alternatives.

Also, the BMR Towers are big and the stock footprint is small. I believe that BMR Philharmonic still sells custom outriggers to owners at a discount, I bought them and I'm glad I did.

 

[Chrispy]

I got my BMR Towers when they first came out. I have used Hypex NC400 monoblocks for amplification, which apparently were used to demo these speakers by Dennis Murphy, and found them entirely sufficient for my needs over the years. The Towers are nominally 6 ohm speakers, and the NC400s provide 300 watts into 6 ohms. There is a now new generation of Hypex amplification (which Buckeye looks to be the smart source). Some of these amps provide much greater amplification than you would apparently need. But I don't use Dirac Live, which reserves 10 dB headroom to carry out its automated room correction. If I did, I would probably be looking at those higher powered alternatives.

Also, the BMR Towers are big and the stock footprint is small. I believe that BMR Philharmonic still sells custom outriggers to owners at a discount, I bought them and I'm glad I did.

Curious, what are your listening levels at what distance?

 

[arichman]

I have my towers currently set up as part of a small home theater, 2 meter listening distance. Reference listening level at that distance for the movies I watch is 85 dB give or take, which means transient peaks of possibly 105 dB. Given the fairly low input sensitivity of the towers, and perhaps 6 dB of headroom, if you run the numbers my Hypex NC400s start to look merely adequate. An important caveat is, I use subwoofers to make things as easy as possible for the main speakers, so I am not currently taking advantage of what is perhaps the main selling point for the BMR Towers, that they don't require subs for music.

 

[Mort]

An important caveat is, I use subwoofers to make things as easy as possible for the main speakers, so I am not currently taking advantage of what is perhaps the main selling point for the BMR Towers, that they don't require subs for music.

That's exactly why I sold mine and got the HTs. The BMR towers are also huge. They are gorgeous however.

 

[alex__]

I would go with a streamer out to a DAC or a Wiim and a 2ch hypex amps like buckeye.

I would do something like that if they weren't also doubling as speakers for the family room TV.
I'm using an HDMI switch right now and would prefer if I didn't need to use it anymore and have everything handled by a better piece of equipment.

 

[Chrispy]

I would do something like that if they weren't also doubling as speakers for the family room TV.
I'm using an HDMI switch right now and would prefer if I didn't need to use it anymore and have everything handled by a better piece of equipment.

AVR sounds like the way to go in that direction.

 

[alex__]

That's exactly why I sold mine and got the HTs. The BMR towers are also huge. They are gorgeous however.

View attachment 548726

Beautiful. I ordered the same finish. Do you notice any difference with the Gaia feet?

 

[Mort]

Beautiful. I ordered the same finish. Do you notice any difference with the Gaia feet?

Not sonically. They looked great and the stock footer comes only with spikes. Worth it to me but there are cheaper methods.

 

[Mort]

I would do something like that if they weren't also doubling as speakers for the family room TV.
I'm using an HDMI switch right now and would prefer if I didn't need to use it anymore and have everything handled by a better piece of equipment.

Yeah then an AVR makes sense unless you want something like a miniDSP flex or htx.

See here.

 

[Chrispy]

Do you notice any difference with the Gaia feet?

You think that's particularly a thing?

 

[arichman]

I would do something like that if they weren't also doubling as speakers for the family room TV.
I'm using an HDMI switch right now and would prefer if I didn't need to use it anymore and have everything handled by a better piece of equipment.

I think you may be underestimating something like the Wiim Ultra. The best HDMI switcher is one where you don't have to do anything, and the Wiim can do that for you. Sonically it is simply super, and because it is cheap compared to an AVR, it could free up resources to invest in good, powerful amplification that the BMR Towers, with their rather low input sensitivity, really deserve.

Here's a post which makes the case for the Wiim: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-with-multiple-hdmi-inputs.69532/post-2520561

 

[Spkrdctr]

I also agree with getting a decent AVR or the Wiim Ultra with a nice robust class D amp. Either way would be fine. The AVR does give you room to grow to at least a 5.1 system down the road. I always enjoyed my 5.1 system even when I had 7.1 I still preferred the 5.1. I am jealous you have those beautiful BMR speakers!!

 

[Chrispy]

OTOH I saw recently a few Wiim units used together can cobble a 5.1 result otoh.

 

[Spkrdctr]

Chrispy, does Wiim do Dolby Atmos now?

 

[Mort]

Chrispy, does Wiim do Dolby Atmos now?

no