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KEF R3 vs. Philharmonic BMR Grudge Rematch to the Probably not Death Thread

tw 2022

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What cracks me up is when Revel has a sale on the M105 for $1100 a pair, people get all excited to buy it based on it's preference score. But when I put the M105 next to the BMR monitor it's not even a contest. The M105 bass is weak and distorts easily and the tweeter is average. In fact, the M105 sounds like a BIG step down next to the BMR Monitor. Yet, people get out their hard earned cash and still buy the M105 when the BMR Monitor is so much better AND the user will be satisfied with it much longer than the M105. If the BMR was in every Best Buy they would have considerable trouble selling customers any other bookshelf speaker after a simple listen. :D:facepalm::rolleyes:
At the show " the best of the best " in the price range were boat raced by the bmr's...now in a smaller room there may be better options, but i can't imagine the bmr sounding bad in any room ...i was considering the m105s at the sales price, but considering what i heard at the show I'm gonna just keep listening to my vintage infinity crescendos ( with emit r tweeters.. And that somebody threw out on the sidewalk) until i feel comfortable buying the bmr's ..
 

Mnyb

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Room size and listening distance are factors .

Professional monitors clearly specify the use case for which they build a speaker , see Genelec’s distance tables for thier speakers.

Home speakers not so much ?

It’s not only about size and spl tonal balance and dispersion surely must have different optimum at 1.5 meters or 6 meters from a speaker ? And you can select different methods to blend the drivers xo properly if one is not sitting close ? At very close range I would guess that a good coax is pretty much it ?
 

Donovan

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I agree. The BMR Monitors are the best sounding bookshelf speaker I have heard. The bass offered by these speakers is strong and most bookshelves at any price have a hard time keeping up with them. I have them in my office and every time I bring in a new speaker to AB test against them - the BMR is the clear winner. If you fudge the test and use a subwoofer to compensate for the limited bass most bookshelves offer then you get a closer comparison, but the RAAL is a fine driver that's hard to beat. And if you like wide dispersion the BMR midrange is amazing. After having the BMR monitors in a mid-sized room for 2 years I haven't found anything I would replace them with. In a larger room I prefer the Revel F328Be but that speaker is 10x more expensive. It's not a fair comparison at all. :p
How about against the Revel 226be at about 4x the cost? I’m a current Revel F36/F35/C25 set up. I was thinking a PerformaBe setup with the 226be could be an end game option years down the road. I have heard some people complain about ear fatigue with beryllium tweeters, so I’d want to demo them for sure. The Dali Rubicon and the new Martin Logan Motion XT line also look interesting for speakers down the line.

I’m also pondering a change to system in the next few months. After 3 years wouldn’t mind trying something else, plus purely on aesthetic grounds, the white speakers have never really appealed (they were 20% cheaper than black when I bought them). I‘m 90% music / 10% movies and don’t play anything above 90 dbs. I have a pair of Rythmic subs, so I’ve pondered 4 BMR monitors and a BMR with the tweeter rotated for a center. I’ve found the discussion regarding wide vs more direct horizontal dispersion interesting, I get the pros and cons. I don’t listen to a lot of classical or jazz, which the BMR excels at apparently. I mostly listen to stuff like Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, Erasure, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Tears for Fears, etc.., some EDM, and chill out like B-Tribe. I’ve attached a photo of my room.
 

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DMill

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Here’s a nice review:
He knows a lot about speakers. Wish he knew a bit more about making an interesting video. 28+ minutes is rough unless it’s filmed better or you have a bit more personality. Like them or not it’s why guys like Hoffman and Gutenberg have around so long. Anyway, it’s really nice to see someone talking about these. They really are beautiful and make me wish I were in the market for a new pair of speakers. Hell, I might buy them anyway if I find myself with bit of extra cash.
 
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