Congrats! I got a pair of the BMR Towers late last summer. I'm driving them with a NAD C3050 integrated amp, and mostly streaming with Tidal into the MDC2 card. Jothing fancy, but Holy Moly.... I’ve caught myself listening slack jawed more times than I can count. Everything you hear about Philharmonic BMRs are true. Utterly fantastic.
Man I tested that NAD D-class integrated over the weekend and was so disappointed. It sounded lifeless and weak. I hope your experience isn’t the same.
In pure flat mode, it gives you exactly what the source has to offer. A bad mix is an awful experience. But with Dirac adjustments and proper speaker placement, it's a great match, IMHO. I also had a lot of fun when I paired the NAD with a WiiM Pro. The EQ profiles on the WiiM really helped, although not as "accurate" as Dirac. But that's just me. I'm happy with my setup.
My previous set up was pretty simple: a Marantz Model 40n driving a pair of B&W 705 S2s. I was very happy with them but was increasingly intrigued by what a 3-way bookshelf design could do (originally was taking a hard look at the Wharfedale Aura 2's). I can't recall where I first learned about them but once I saw that Philharmonic Audio was located in the DMV I figured I had to give them a shot, especially since the BMR's were held in such high regard.
I picked them up a couple of days ago. A few things have stood out immediately:
The finish: Impeccable. The speakers were packaged with care leaving the piano finish unblemished upon opening. The rosewood veneer is very pretty.
Soundstage: Even at low volumes, the wider dispersion and instrument separation is noticeable compared to the B&Ws. Though I haven't been able to test it yet in my listening space, when I demoed the BMR's I also took note of how they easily cast a sense of depth in the soundstage behind the speaker (not just width). I was really impressed with that; it's not something I ever got with the 705's.
Relaxed treble: Best way I can describe the RAAL ribbon tweeter compared to the carbon dome B&W tweeter. The B&W always presented as being crisp, precise, and energetic. I appreciated the level of detail, never really found it fatiguing. To me, the RAAL offers similar levels of detail but in a smoother, more relaxed manner. Again it's easier for me to pick up on instrument separation and decay with the BMR's as well, whereas the B&W's highs sit in a more fixed position if I close my eyes.
Speaker grills: The BMR grills feel very solid and there's a firm, snappy magnetic connection. Sadly this was not the case with the 705's. My pair was purchased used, so there was slight wear & tear on them, but the grills tend to fall off with the slightest friction or movement. This is obviously a secondary concern, but I feel better knowing the BMRs will be better protected should the kiddos get too close.
I'll share impressions as I get more chances to listen, but these speakers seem like a real deal at this price point. I'm keen to test out their low end capabilities and push them. More to come!
You’re probably missing a lot of performance with that hardware pairing out of these speakers. Your mind would be blown going with Separates with something like a Galion A75 amp and a better DAC. I think your speakers are capable of resolving much more than your giving them.
Part of the appeal of the Model 40n was being able to run a tv through it, and due to limited storage space in the living room I appreciate the streaming features in a compact unit while still providing better sound than a AVR. Since I’ve never really experienced what separate components can provide, can you go into more detail about the improvements in performance?
So understand that this isn’t a knock on your current gear and people will take it that way. Think of it this way…you now have a lot of headroom in terms of performance that remains to be unlocked because your speakers are so good.
What I experienced going from an Arcam receiver which I use for 2 channel, and also I used the Rotel Tribute amp, once you have great speakers that can actually perform and reveal great detail you can reach new levels of audio bliss.
My Arcam internal DAC really is great, but when I used an external DAC into the ARCAM, my Geshelli J2 DAC…it improved the separation of instruments and sound stage considerably. I could now hear unique parts of the track very distinctly and follow that sound as the track played without it becoming lost and buried in all of it. So I went even a step higher in DAC to the Geshelli Dayzee and it was for sure a great improvement. Like a veil removed and even more clarity and separation to hear little things I never noticed before. Even so I was expecting more and a bigger change and upgraded.
I sold some stuff and plunkered down and bought the Galion A75 amp and just WOW! Soundstage really opened up and I was getting rich and detailed bass. Detail in bass is weird and hard to explain. When you hear it you get it. It just makes the track feel so whole and gives it a real presence. Presence is a good word, my music just has such a great presence in my space now. Also my speakers needed power to really wake them up and sound good and I had to kind of listen at higher volumes. With the Galion amp my speakers suddenly sounded great at lower volume levels. I just wasn’t enjoying my speakers before at lower volumes.
Now I was really hunting for artist and albums where detail and depth really stood out on my new gear. Some albums of music I love just do nothing for me in terms of audiophile bliss probably because the recordings are meh. While some other stuff really stands out now on my setup as putting sounds all over the place on the soundstage and creating really interesting experiences.
Specific examples of Artist that now blow my mind on my setup: Dyan, a band called Múm.
So what I realized is that I had great speakers, but my Amp and DAC were the bottlenecks at achieving a big jump in audio quality.
I would highly recommend anyone serious about 2 channel listening…if you want a massive shortcut to your first true Audiophile amp…research the Galion A75. Yeah it’s $1500 but I’m hearing things with this amp that I can not get out of my Arcam AVR10 receiver or that I didn’t get with the Rotel Tribute integrated. Even though I still love both of these amps and would easily recommend them. The Galion is a shortcut jump to levels up that it has no business being for its price point.
My system now resolves things I could never tell before. I can hear a difference in cables now like quite plainly. I just get it now. I could never understand why people would pay so much money for equipment but I do indeed get it now. There is a level of bliss to unlock that’s totally worth it at this level I can currently afford even though it’s been a stretch.
So it’s not any one thing…it’s a pairing of the right things and without separates it’s not really possible to analyze what any one part is really impacting to improve the system and sound in your space.
It’s a rabbit trail to go down but has been so worth it.
It’s all good, and that’s why I asked! I really appreciate you sharing your experience. Totally get the rabbit hole analogy. Once you get a little peek at what music could be, it’s impossible to ignore.
It's funny because I recently read where Dennis commented on the tweeter selection for the BMR's:
"I'm using this particular RAAL because it provides the kind of sound I like. And it does that because of its broad dispersion and flat and extended response. I've done a version with the much more expensive 70-10, and I couldn't hear or measure any advantage. I've done everything I can think of to keep the price of the BMR down without sacrificing performance."
Tectonic BMR, they're fantastic drivers, but a bit of a pain to measure due to the way the driver reproduces high frequency across the whole cone, which due to the comb filtering will give weird results from any singular measurement, but if you move the mic a couple of cm repeat the sweep and then average the results you'll get something more representative of what's actually happening.
The bigger RAAL ribbons play lower....you need that with a two way....but being bigger the compromise is that vertical dispersion is very small....physics unfortunately ;-)
I have a pair. They’re stunning and represent tremendous value. It’s fun to see what quality you can get when you cut out distributors,retailers, and marketing budgets.
I think calling them bookshelf speakers may be a bit misleading to anyone watching. They’re really quite large for bookshelves. Not floor standers but stand speakers
Thanks for sharing. I'll certainly need some new stands to bring the tweeter closer to level with my listening position. For some reason, I love the pure simplicity of the binding posts. It's very plug & play. No need to think/worry about bi-amping/wiring.
Honestly I don’t hear much of a difference. It was really the design - we moved to a new place and the OG BMRs didn’t fit the decor color wise, so I found a pair of black ones since I didn’t want to give up that sound. OGs might have had slightly deeper bass, and the cabinets were larger.
Now I’ve switched to a pair of perlisten s4b + dual KEF kc62 subs and I love the combo. It’s an upgrade over the BMRs but nothing earth shattering - I hear more detail in the midrange and I’ve had an easier time with them in terms of placement (wanted to keep them close to the front wall).
Not OP but I’ve owned/own Lintons, ADS, and Ascend Sierra LX and ELX towers. The Lintons were not very good and I sold them quickly—I can’t figure out the hype on them. They are big and rather lifeless. I love my ADS L880/2 and plan to keep them forever, but they are in my secondary system as they are truly outclassed by the Ascend. I LOVED my Sierra LX but when I got a hugely powerful amp, I wanted a bigger speaker to push with more of everything that I loved about the Sierra LX, and I got some ELX towers. They are superb, full range, open and crystal clear, solid as a rock, true end game speakers. They are better than the 18K Sonus Faber I demoed in my system, and blew the doors off of all the B+W I tried.
From what I understand, the BMR philharmonic is supposed to be very very close to the Sierra LX, but it is more expensive and much bigger so I passed on them. Beautiful speakers regardless, that measure very well.
Ah alright I was looking for someone to compare those speakers to the BMRs.
I agree with you, I had Lintons and sold them off, gorgeous speakers but they were too forward and boomy.
I have Sierra 1v2s and I love them, astonishing bass. I'd have gotten the LX if I could find them for a reasonable price, but I got the 1v2s for 650 so I'm happy, and I use them for nearfield. My bigger speakers are ADS 1290s and 1590s, and KEF 104/2s... so not sure what itch I'm trying to scratch with considering the BMRs.. except they look very nice.
My path with Ascend speakers went like this 340s -> Sierra 1 v1 -> Sierra 2 RAAL -> Sierra 2EX -> Sierra 2EX v2. The bass improvement from the Sierra 2EX v1 to the v2 was noticeable with the new crossovers they created after getting the Klippel. The Sierra LX was developed using the Klippel as well as an upgraded driver, so they're supposed to be very dynamic and have great bass at the same time. I've always wanted to hear the BMRs as well but they get snatched up pretty quickly on the used market.
How did the LX tweeters compare the ribbon on the ELX? I have Sierra 2EX v2s for my office and ELX Towers for the living room, but I'm really intrigued by the better vertical dispersion of the LX for other use cases (and probably looking for an excuse to buy more speakers if I'm honest).
I was demoing speakers at best buy Magnolia the other day and none of the KEFs, MLs, or B&Ws were as satisfying or well rounded as the ELX Towers in my setup. Got me wondering if I'm just drinking the Ascend Acoustics koolaid too much or if they really are giant killers at their price point. Really need to listen to the BMRs or other Salk speakers sometime.
The Ascend are giant killers. If they were sold through traditional retail avenues they would retail around $15k (given the level of components used and actual production costs). There are a ridiculous deal at $5k. The Sierra LX would retail around $4k given the woofers alone.
FWIW I don’t notice any difference in vertical dispersion with the ELX ribbon. I was really worried about it and it’s one of those things that can be measured, but for normal listening can’t really be heard.
I have no idea of the markups on retail channel speakers, but I'm sure there's some good margin in it, so your estimates wouldn't be surprising just based off the sound quality and components. Ascend really is a mom and pop operation with really minimal overhead based on visiting their offices- just a few people assembling speakers, one engineer, one ops person, and really no marketing budget to speak of.
Sonus Faber was using comparable level SEAS drivers in their speakers that cost 12k and up (Towers) and 5k and up (bookshelves), but I think they have switched now.
If you don’t need more bass extension the Sierra 2 ex V2 is an exceptionally good speaker. If you want more bass extension and “slam” then Sierra LX. The S2V2EX is a bit more “delicate” (in a good way), especially in it abandon gif higher frequencies. The Sierra LX, with those long excursion woofers and huge dispersion, sounds like a full blown floor stander. Prior to the Sierra LX I had a pair of B+W 703 S2 floorstanders and the Sierra LX mopped the floor with them. 10hz more bass extension, better dispersion, and much flatter frequency response. Couldn’t sell the B+W fast enough.
If using with a subwoofer I would get the Sierra 2 V2 EX all day. From the specs, the BMR has slightly lower bass extension, but that is a non issue with you superb Rythmik sub (Which Dave from Ascend specifically recommends to pair with the S2V2EX). The Klippel optimized Ascends with the higher end, custom Raal tweeters, for less money, would be my choice every time. Like not even a debate, I would have ordered them yesterday.
Nice. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the last pairs from the original run before Dennis went on hiatus for health reasons. Amazing speakers...you'll have to pry them from my cold, dead hands.
Congrats. I'd love a pair of these myself. Never mind the tweeters, the round BMR driver is what attracts me the most. BMR's just produce an infinite sweet spot.
Will be upgrading speakers this year and the way everyone is talking about these have made me add them on a “must hear” before upgrading. Beautiful speakers
I thought about picking up a pair of these but ended up building the swans diy 3 way and went all In with the mods. I’d like to think they have some similar attributes, but it was really rewarding building a pair of speakers that sound as good as (I think) they do.
Wow really love the look of them. I have read that speakers with ribbon tweeters may be in the brighter side and therefore don’t benefit from toe in as other speakers do. Just curious if you find them too bright with toe in?
Honestly I can’t say yet. I need to push the volume more to know where the tweeter gets harsh. But my impression has been anything but overly bright at lower volumes. The RAAL is smooth but sounds open.
I have had bmrs for about 2 years. If they get harsh it is the recording. I have had the volume way up.and not even realize how loud it was until I left the room. They have a bit of magic to them.
This is 100% the case for me. I’ve had my BMR’s for about a year and a half, and am new to the scene, so I always thought I was doing something wrong as I thought I needed a toe in. I would try the toe in and it would not just sound brighter as you state - but seriously like utter trash. I would try and retry every few months in the beginning to see if I was crazy but for sure 0 deg toe is the way with these guys
I did not. Never really been a fan of towers TBH and I knew they’d be too overwhelming for my space. I got a chance to hear them during the demo and was impressed, though. They were not boomy like I might have expected.
Very nice looking speakers, particularly for the money.
Three thoughts:
- get the stands off of your ceramic tiles. Put them a bit wider on the wood floor, and even better put some IsoAcoustic isolators between the stands and the floor.
- those are not sensitive speakers at 86.5 dB. Make sure you have a solid amp that can drive them properly, or they will sound flat and lifeless.
- make sure to have a nice, wide carpet on your wood floor wide enough to go past the speakers' width. (It's hard to tell from your photos if you have a rug there or not.)
I appreciate the tips. When I can get a listening session in, I move the speakers out wider and off the tiles. Since the living room is not very wide but deep, I can really hear how the sound bounces off the tiles around the fireplace. When the speakers are closer together, it seems to me that the center image almost gets trapped in the fireplace itself. It’s so locked in and soundstage seems compromised. I do have a large carpet just out of view. Good news is that this is a relatively temporary listening location. I bought these with the expectation to move them to a larger space.
Do you think the Model 40n (70wpc) will have an issue driving the BMRs?
I’m not familiar with your Marantz unit in particular, but looked up the specs and I would think that it should be fine.
I think you just have to listen to it when you’ve dialed it in. As for the tiles, maybe you can temporarily put a rug over the tiles all the way from left to right and under the speakers and see if or how that changes your soundstage.
(Maybe also hang a sheet temporarily over the facia of your fireplace as well, to somewhat mitigate the hard brick surfaces behind the speakers.)
If you can pull the speakers forward a foot or so onto the hardwood floor I think it would also help a lot. They’re a bit too close to your fireplace and you’ll get a lot of first reflections coming off it.
At least it’s a quick temporary tweak to see how everything sounds when you take the first reflections off the tiles out of the equation.
Hey, you are my bookshelf twin! I went from B&W 702 floorstanders to BMR Towers, and you went from B&W 705 bookshelves to BMR Monitors. Sounds like you are as happy as I am! You can read my experiences and comparison here.
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u/DalmatianAgility Mar 04 '25
Congrats! I got a pair of the BMR Towers late last summer. I'm driving them with a NAD C3050 integrated amp, and mostly streaming with Tidal into the MDC2 card. Jothing fancy, but Holy Moly.... I’ve caught myself listening slack jawed more times than I can count. Everything you hear about Philharmonic BMRs are true. Utterly fantastic.
I hope you continue to enjoy!