Philharmonic BMR Towers, Follow Up Review, frequency sweeps and Room Treatments

[Everett T]

I've only heard the bmr 's one day for several hours at a speaker shoot out here in Phoenix, I got to listen to some other good speakers as well ( kef r3 included), it only took that one experience, along with owning Dennis' mod of the emotive b1 monitor , to know the bmr monitors are my endgame speakers...

What Dennis has done in a relatively short time designing crossovers compared to many who have been in the industry longer is very impressive. I may be off a couple of years but I believe it's only been around 25 years and it doesn't hurt when you have Paul Kittinger doing a lot of the cabinet design.

 

[tw 2022]

What Dennis has done in a relatively short time designing crossovers compared to many who have been in the industry longer is very impressive. I may be off a couple of years but I believe it's only been around 25 years and it doesn't hurt when you have Paul Kittinger doing a lot of the cabinet design.

Those guys captured lightning in a bottle... They are very talented, and pretty decent folks ...Dennis is the one guy in the industry that I'd trust to give me his unvarnished opinion and trust it to be an honest commentary....

 

[Everett T]

Those guys captured lightning in a bottle... They are very talented, and pretty decent folks ...Dennis is the one guy in the industry that I'd trust to give me his unvarnished opinion and trust it to be an honest commentary....

It's amazing how much good has come out of the DIY community.

 

[tw 2022]

It's amazing how much good has come out of the DIY community.

Agreed, that's basically the heart of hobby.. It's the best way to learn, to paraphrase Ben Hogan those guys " dig it out of the dirt"....Dennis dug himself a diamond mine...

 

[jmdesignz2]

two large padded chairs and a padded couch, a number of framed pictures with thick wood/paper/matte with no glass, curtains over slider, 4 padded 3'x2'x3" absorbing panels, and 4 ASC 1/2 traps and 2 ASC 1/4 traps.

Can you describe those last two in greater detail? Dimensions and placement?

 

[bagwell359]

Can you describe those last two in greater detail? Dimensions and placement?

1/4 traps in corners of walls/wall behind speakers, three half traps on wall behind speakers between them (for the center fill), and the other on wall behind my head. They are 5' each and raised a foot off the ground and mounted on the walls with supplied hardware. Not cheap, but worth it. Often found used at better prices. Also have some Sonex pieces cut up by the ceiling/intersections of the walls to cut down slap echo.

 

[a|F]

SBIR boundary reflections...
It sounds a bit strange to me to use traps and panels... Can't you just locate the speakers so that reflections don't make such bad cancellations? Usually just more close to the wall!
Also listener location might be problematic, there are many good room simulations where you can move speakers and listener and see response changing. These calculate both first reflections and room modes, eg. REW has a sim. Measurements should be done individually for both speakers. You will be surprised of the difference.

Which room simulators are best?

 

[Rickysa]

I know the wide soundstage will not be for everyone but I absolutely love that I can walk around the living room and the sound really doesn't change for me. They absolutely destroy my old crappy Klipsch in that way.

Please quit talking me into buying a pair

 

[bagwell359]

I didn't add these sorts of things by chance, but by measurements. I am aware of lots of simulating software, and DSP. I don't use PEQ at the moment with my speaker/room set-up because its quite flat. My current use case is BMR Philharmonic Monitors which have very wide horizontal dispersion. The very excellent ability to locate instruments and space between them in the stage is badly affected by the presence of my side walls.

Placement of speakers is of course critical. The room I've had since '18 is the most compromised I've had since 1981.

Facts are that the perception of music in a good space - say the BSO - has traits which rooms make difficult - in particular the time it takes reflections reach your ears. Of course in rectangular type rooms you add in uneven bass - typically two dips and two rises. Most rooms used by people have reflection and absorption. Too much of the former you get too many early reflections, not to mention cancellations. Too much of the later and the sound goes dead. I found over the past 35 years that diffraction is what is usually in short supply in most rooms and almost always has to be added - for me by ASC 1/2, 1/4, and in the past full round traps which can absorb bass and diffuse. I'm talking dedicated room, not the typical room with multiple purposes. Either the pursuit of that sound isn't important, or supported by decision makers of that space. Unlike magic bricks and fancy cables the results and measurements are there to be seen - and managed - to improve the sound one gets from playback.

 

[Chanur]

Please quit talking me into buying a pair

I can't think of anything close to it for the money. I'll probably die with these things. At the very least I'll have them a long long time.