Purifi woofers were the obvious (though very expensive) choice for no-compromise distortion and power handling performance. Unwatch. For more information visit www.nic.org. I let him explain the mods but basically the tweeter was replace with a higher quality one and a new modified crossover was put in place. This means that the HT tower will require about half the power needed to drive the BMR tower to the same output level. These are effectively the paragon, of sorts, for speaker configurations in this price range. Introduction (Credit where Credit is Due): Enclosure.Bass-reflex Bookshelf, Stereophile Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Loudspeaker by Robert J. Reina, The Absolute Sound Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Loudspeaker by Neil Gader, The Wirecutter A Great Bookshelf Speaker by Geoff Morrison, Digital Audio Review Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Standmount Loudspeaker by John H. Darko. I did not go that route, preferring to do the cabinets myself. 2 x Scan-Speak, 18W8545-1 Paper-carbon cone woofer 2 x Inductors specified by Dennis 2 x Audy Q4 on tweeter and Solen Fast Caps throughout, (Audyn pictured) - or choose to your favorite brand 2 x Sand-cast Resistors - or choose your favorite brand Directions and build plans 2 x Add Choice of terminals (not included in base price) Revised Crossover for the Best Buy Insignia, Revised Crossover for the Norh 9.0 Marble, Revised Crossover for the Radio Shack LX550, Alternative Crossover for the Dynaudio Gemini, Crossover for the Revelator-RT1 Mini Monitor, Questions or comments? Attendees listened to the speakers throughout the day and were asked to list their first, second, and third-place choices. Everyone at the meeting seemed to approve. Just make sure to keep the mind and body active. I was hoping to buy some BMRs in the future. The silk dome on the monitor has absolutely no horn loading from the baffle. Dennis Murphy developed these monitors based around the Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) drivers. i'm thinking this mod corrects my feeling that they lack just a tad in the treble. This loan's status is reported by the SBA as "Paid in Full", which includes both loans repaid and those fully forgiven from repayment under PPP guidelines. The tweeters are very different. Watch :(. The net result is that these have usable bass down to 50 Hz per Dennis. All BMR cabinets are furniture quality and come with magnetic grills. They add nothing nor do they subtract anything from what is in the original recording the BMR Towers could easily be used as studio monitors for any sound engineer who wants to know the truth of their recording. These cookies do not store any personal information. Event Website Sponsor. He is an accomplished musician, and designer. I was thinking of building a CAOW1 3way with the Peerless 850146 speakers. If you have an immediate customer service issue, please email Parts Express at CustomerService@Parts-Express.com or call 800-338-0531, Monday-Friday 8am - 5pm EST. You must be logged in to join the discussion. The loan's status was last updated by . https://www.avsforum.com/threads/philharmonic-audio-dennis-murphy.1348949. The Absolute Sound magazine named the Towers "Best Bargain" at the 2021 Capital Audiofest and had this to say about their performance and aesthetics. Your Shopping Cart will be saved and you'll be given a link. Those four companies (including Philharmonic) all offered speakers of similar, competitive natures, but they're all good enough people to stick together and help out when one of them is struggling. So, for example, you can have deep rose-red curly cherry or electric blue curly maple. I actually shot Dennis an email via his Murphyblasters site but never heard back; perhaps I should try him at the Philharmonic site. Don't forget EDP, dBe, Phloodpants, pecker, Keith Kidder, Sheldon Stokes, Dave Ellis, Andy G., Rick Craig, and others Phil was PEB back then. Best of luck to Dennis in his continued recovery. This is a 3-way "bookshelf" (a big bookshelf) incorporating the following drive u. the components used are nice, very high grade,
"I've found that when you want to know the truth about someone that someone is probably the last person you should ask." I heard these some years ago at an audio meet in northern va. Dennis brought them and played them there. Although I am an economist with no formal electrical engineering training, I have been an avid builder of speakers for over 20 years. This driver is used as both a midrange and tweeter in several commercial applications. The Pioneer is the obvious competitor for the new Towers Dennis Murphy is working on. 2023 - The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to support access and choice for Americas seniors by providing data, analytics, and connections that bring together investors and providers. PhilharmonicDennis said: As I've probably mentioned before, it's pretty much impossible for me to offer a high quality speaker with an attractive cabinet for less than around $1,000. The bass on the towers is a little deeper, but the monitor is a little tighter. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Designed by Dennis Murphy (Philharmonic Audio), the BMR's have gained a reputation for providing a level of performance previously available only in a premium tower speaker, but at substantially lower price. These were my first DIY speakers. Same. Additionally, I think a significant point to make for this review, is what Dennis Murphy has created with these two examples. Consider donating a small token of appreciation for his charity. D Dennis Murphy Audioholic General Oct 27, 2011 #309 AcuDefTechGuy said: The tonality revealed things in songs Id never heard before (in only one case did I find that to be a negative). Sensitivity is rated very conservatively at 88.5 dB. I sat at a distance of 15 feet or more. ", https://app.photobucket.com/u/wolf_teeth_speaker, http://techtalk.parts-express.com/blog.php?u=4102, If this is your first visit, be sure to
Just let us know your preferences and we can quote accordingly. Dennis Murphy VP Investments | Benchmark Senior Living. Where possible these components are reused to keep the cost of the new crossover as low as possible. Takes a Dayton kit, gives it a non-compromising crossover and assembled for you. It was a new experience for me to hear these kinds of details. This thread is a continuation (and to some extent repeat of) the linked thread below: I volunteered to review the new speakers, but one thing I have learned is that the human ear (mine, at least) is incredibly sensitive for relative (or comparative) measurement, but not so good at absolute measurement. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Distortion at 95 dB (one meter) does not exceed .3% from 250 Hz to 10 kHz. Co-conspirator in the development of the "CR Gnarly Fidelity Reduction Unit" - Registered Trademark, Patent Pending. See gallery for examples. Sad day for the audiophile community, but sounds like the absolute right decision for Dennis' health. What the heck Dennis. Parts Express has a number of bland circuit cards at very good price, but they lack the provision for added components that are typical in most designs. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Thanks for letting us know. This is a 3-way "bookshelf" (a big bookshelf) incorporating the following drive units: RAAL, 64-10 Ribbon Tweeter, BMR 2.5 Midrange, and Scan-Speak 18W8545-1 Paper-carbon cone woofer. Empty cart. Intro Dennis Murphy designed the Philharmonic BMR some years back and it lit up the DIY circuit. Specifications and full measurements for the BMR can be found here. By Text. The 17-element crossover uses the same high-quality parts found in our more expensive speakers and blends the three drivers seamlessly. This driver has long been noted for its superior bass reach and low harmonic distortion. The total cost of the Philharmonic system was $3,800, including speakers and electronics. You must log in or register to reply here. Affordable Accuracy Tower2 (AA TOWER2) vs Stock Pioneer SP-FS52 (FS52). Piece of cake. Fast forward to a few months ago (September 2020), Dennis mentioned that he was getting back in the speaker game with two updated designs using prefabricated cabinets built overseas. my MBOW1-3way speakers (original version). The RAAL 64-10 tweeter uses a narrow ribbon element for great off-axis response and highly detailed and transparent top end. Need help configuring audio for large Atmos theater. In the hospital. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how good these really are. Thanks. "Wolf and speakers equivalent to Picasso and 'Blue'" -dantheman, "He is a true ambassador for this forum and speaker DIY in general." This means you can experience the power of a pipe organ or bass drum without the expense of a tower speaker or the complexity of a subwoofer. It is higher in sensitivity than the original ScanSpeak woofer (shown in photos below) and is smoother on the top end. Dennis replaced the stock tweeter of the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers with a much nicer Vifa 1" silk dome tweeter from Parts Express and then designed a new crossover to match this improved tweeter to the stock 4" woofer. Much like its bookshelf speaker predecessor, the BMR Tower is a somewhat complex design as loudspeakers go. For specifications and full measurements of the new BMR Tower, click here. Premier Partners. The Audioholics reviewer sums up his impressions as follows: To order any of the tower models, just email Dennis at info@philharmonicaudio.com . A great all round design. Everything on this site is free, including crossover and cabinet descriptions for several designs I have completed during the past two years. The highest frequencies are much better served by the RAAL ribbon tweeter. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The new BMR HT is capable of 105 dB playback levels at one meter. Dennis Murphy does have the coveted Ph.D., but it is in Economics. As a result, the monitor can have a more open sound on very high frequency instruments, but the tower can extract more inner detail in the midrange, particularly on brass instruments. These offerings tend to be smaller 2-way designs with limited bass reach and restricted horizontal dispersion. I will have to increase the price to $120, however. Oh man. Thanks again Kurt for all of your efforts. Dennis Murphy said: Hi Yes, and I've already shipped a pair. They were a very nice sounding pair of speakers with really good bass for a 5" bass driver.They handled everything we threw at them with apparent ease. The woofer chosen is the 7, Scan-Speak 18W/8545. Privacy Policy. The RAAL true ribbon tweeter provides unparalleled horizontal dispersion and ruler flat response up to frequencies far above human hearing. That is who we are! Or that his design and choices are adopted by a larger mainstream HiFi manufacturer and he benefits financially from it. At $1,700, the BMR outclasses everything Ive heard in its price range. Damn. The design became very popular on several audio forums and received a rave review from James Larson of Audioholics. You have arrived at MurphyBlaster Productions, a site dedicated exclusively to the art and science of amateur loudspeaker design. Can't afford a pair right now, but that was always in the plans. Detailed specifications for the Revelator woofer are here. The new speakers have much more output capability and will be more at home in, say, a HT installation. These speakers cannot be characterized as weak or not dynamic. We are pleased to announce the arrival of our first speaker specifically engineered for state-of-the-art home theater reproduction, the BMR HT Tower. The most unique feature of the new design is theBalancedModeRadiator, a midrange driver. JavaScript is disabled. There is a flatpack available from another vendor. You can't go wrong with that design. Wide sound stage, very large sweet spot (a motivation for using the BMR driver), reveals subtleties in the music I had not heard before. He also has many speaker DIY kits such as the MBOW1 and CAOW1. Dennis Murphy is really one of the value leaders, even in the hugely competitive direct-sale speaker market. Apparently he had been working with a partner testing the viability of the new speakers on the DIY market and they were a smashing success. Neumi BS5 Bookshelf Speaker Review. In addition, the use of two BMR midrange units in an MTM configuration further improves power handling and provides increased clarity in the lower treble and upper midrange. I have provided plans for a version using the Seas CA15 midwoofer (the "CAOW1"). To order, just write Dennis at info@philharmonicaudio.com. Dennis Murphy -- CAOW1-3 way 07-09-2009, 03:10 PM Dennis, My brother asked me if I would give him (!!) We have sold out of the piano black BMR monitors, but all of the other cabinet options are currently in stock. I list a source for finished cabinets that will work with either woofer. Dennis Murphy designed a Mbow1 3-way that I can convert my 2 way into when I have enough space for a dedicated audio room! While complete systems from Dennis are on hiatus, you can build your own copy of this incredible monitor right now. I was planning on getting more of them for a 5.1 setup but guess I'll have to make other plans now. Bowers & Wilkins Px8 ANC Wireless Headphones Are Here. . Although I enjoyed building all of those original Affordable Accuracy monitors and towers, the price increase was a blessing in disguise. https://www.avsforum.com/threads/philharmonic-audio-dennis-murphy.1348949. Comment PostCancel Wolf Obsessed & Proud of It Join Date:Sep 2005 Kimberly Dennis, MD, CEDS. Whether it be time, space, or alternate realities, they mean nothing to us! The soundstage is incredibly large and well balanced and the reflections in the room help to extend the soundstage to a size Ive yet to hear from another speaker to date.. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Carrying in those bottoms of the 2s was a challenge, almost didn't make it. It just sticks out there and disperses sound very widely. I built a pair of MBOW1 and MBOW1-3way speakers a few years ago. https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/philharmonic-audio-bmr-philharmonitor-bookshelf-speaker-review.113725/post-1304784, Yup. Sad news. Are there any well known speakers they share characteristics with? http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/beta-tester-for-new-el-cheapo-speaker-needed.95183/, http://www.wavecrestaudio.com/products/WaveCrest HVL-1-1-two-way-loudspeaker-pair. Bass frequencies are handled by a recently improved version of the classic Scan-Speak 8545 7-inch woofer. By Phone Dennis, is this the "Philharmonic Bookshelf Speaker" ? Increasing tweeter efficiency, together with newly designed crossovers, allows the SP-BS22-LRs play louder using less power. And if you want to hear just how good your BMR's can sound, check out our demonstration tracks available here. Consequently, it made sense to find appropriate speakers for comparison. The sound, of course, is fantastic as you would expect from Dennis. These speakers are awesome. . You need to have a plan for how to flush-mount the BMR driver which does not have a circular profile. Speakers. The BMR midrange is a flat-diaphragm driver that features greatly reduced breakup and extremely broad dispersion above 2,000 Hz. All of the rectangular BMR's are priced at $1,700/pair, plus shipping, and come in either piano black or rosewood cabinets. I don't doubt that but I'm curious if anyone can make some specific comparisons. Budget-minded audiophiles simply need to hear the BMR. Don't listen to me - I have not sold any $150,000 speakers. I really appreciate your input and experiences here. You cant go wrong with that design. Says just as his work started paying off he gets sick and can't benefit. And nice to see such strong support from the audiophile community, including some of his "competitors.". If you intend to build your own, I would say this is not a good kit for beginners. Dennis Cubero in Skokie, IL received a Paycheck Protection Loan of $10,862 through Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC, which was approved in May, 2021. Both designs have two ER18 woofers and the same cabinet, but one uses a dome tweeter and the other a ribbon tweeter. Rediscovering Our Identity: Repositioning and Making the Most of Senior Housing Properties. You, or anyone with the link, can use it to retrieve your Cart at any time. Audio Circle Cheap and Cheerful HiFi Pioneer SP-BS2-LR are really nice, Affordable Accuracy Monitors at the bargain price of $165.00/pair, http://www.parts-express.com/sonic-barrier-3-4-3-layer-acoustic-sound-damping-material-with-psa-18-x-24--260-530, http://www.parts-express.com/crossover-pc-board-3-way-12-db-small-4-x-7--260-132, parts-express-260-132-3wayxover_specifications-47132.jpg, Sonic Barrier 1/2" Acoustic Sound Damping Foam with PSA 18" x 24" (Parts Express 260-520), (You must log in or sign up to reply here. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. found in the New Philharmonitor. The speakers look to be a terrific value. There are many choices for high quality bookshelf speakers at less than $2,000 a pair. View Dennis O Freeman results in Skokie, IL including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. I'd maybe add 1/4" Faston terminals as well to speed-up assy and for repairs if necessary. These flat cone drivers have very smooth response with great off-axis performance. Discussion in 'DIY' started by MCM_Fan, Aug 22, 2014. Finally, the ceramic SB Acoustics 6-inch woofer delivers a rare combination of deep bass extension and linear frequency response at higher frequencies. Listening position is about 13-14 feet away from them. These include piano black and piano rosewood for $3,900/pair plus shipping, and a new satin "zebra wood" finish (pictured to the left) for $4,100/pair plus shipping. Dennis brought them and played them there. Kim Dennis, MD, CEDS is a board-certified . 03-28-2008, 02:44 PM. Thanks very much for starting this thread Kurt, particularly since my regular Philharmonic thread below doesn't appear to be working anymore. I cant comment too much on the base as I have not listened to it without the 2 subs I have. The result is smooth, peak-free response with great off-axis performance. Depending on how far you are from Washington, D.C., shipping for the towers will range from $260/pair to $310/pair. Save Reply Quote mdrake Registered Eventually, the response becomes chaotic as severe breakup modes develop from the applied mass of the voice coil interacting with the driver mass, which greatly restricts the usable range of operation. He joined the #1 Friday newsmagazine in 1994. The curved cabinets are $1,900/pair plus shipping and are available in either rosewood or the new satin zebra wood finish shown above on the BMR tower. I was not paid for this review and I am not affiliated with Philharmonic Audio.If you are curious about Philharmonic Audio: http://www.philharmonicaudio.com/. . Its not perfect, but Im very proud of my setup! Although the towers will sound best on short stands of some kind, they can be placed on the floor if need be, and will cost a good bit less than the monitors + stands with that placement. Useful bass response extends to 34 Hz, and the smooth upper end allows a second-order acoustic crossover that boosts sensitivity more than 2 dB over the previous BMR model. Retiring, now that is an accomplishment. The Meniscus kit includes all of the crossover parts, hardware, drivers, and plans for about $940/pr. The bass response extends to 34 Hz in a bass-reflex cabinet thanks to the optimization done by Paul Kittinger an expert in mass-loaded transmission line design. Please add products before saving :). Fundamentally torn between which direction to take my PAULS REFERENCE AudioQuest Dragon ZERO Speaker Cable. The speakers fared extremely well on both large-scale orchestral and chamber music. Upcoming: Tech Talk Podcast with Scott Wilkinson, Episode 18 Click here for details. Over the years, the SongTower has proven to be the most popular speaker we have produced. The Arizona Audio and Video club recently hosted a speaker demonstration of 16 stand mount speakers priced at or below $3,000/pair. Please don't hesitate to contact. The mid-range is an innovative Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR). Upcoming: Tech Talk Podcast with Scott Wilkinson, Episode 18, The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo, VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. Im New at this Solderless Terminals would be helpful, https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/philharmonic-bmr-speaker-kit-a-few-build-notes.381789/#post-6908411, 2 x Scan-Speak, 18W8545-1 Paper-carbon cone woofer, 2 x Audy Q4 on tweeter and Solen Fast Caps throughout, (Audyn pictured) or choose to your favorite brand, 2 x Sand-cast Resistors or choose your favorite brand, 2 x Add Choice of terminals (not included in base price), 2 x Crossover mounting board and solder lugs. Dennis is another highly talented designer who has always been a big supporter of the DIY community. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. This is the latest iteration of the classic BMR Monitor uses a 6" SB Acoustics woofer with a ceramic coated cone. You must log in or register to reply here. i truly think these could almost become the main speakers in my system even without a sub but that's a large almost and i already have some speakers that these could never match. The BMR driver operates as a piston at lower frequencies, but shifts to a bending wave motion mode in the lower treble, and to a second bending mode in the upper treble. JavaScript is disabled. Here's to hoping that his mental health improves but also hoping that he decides keep making speakers for people later on. He was kind enough to send me a sample. I think I've included all noticeable nicks in the pics below. while Tom Murphy served the longest consecutive tenure as state legislative speaker from 1973 to 2002. The design became very popular on several audio forums and received a rave review from James Larson of Audioholics. Our BMR Monitor fills that void. I'm sure others are too. Get well Dennis! Problem with the m130 woofer solved. A full review of the BMR Tower with extensive measurements can be found here. Dennis Murphy designed the Philharmonic BMR some years back and it lit up the DIY circuit. Not as heavy as they are ackward!!! Since the HT will almost always be paired with a subwoofer in home theater applications, the woofers have been tuned for maximum headroom rather than maximum extension. Here's Dennis' post saying he can't continue Philharmonic Audio . John k.. Music and DesignNaO dsp Dipole Loudspeakers. We recently demonstrated the BMR Tower at the Capital Audiofest in Washington, D.C. r/audiophile is a subreddit for the pursuit of quality audio reproduction of all forms, budgets, and sizes of speakers. Back in 2007, Dennis Murphy approached us about a speaker that he, along with Paul Kittinger, had designed and encouraged us to bring it to market. Dennis Murphy Shutting Down Philharmonic Audio Sad news. My mains are rated pretty much the same as these and they have no problem being run off of a little QSC GX5. This may be old news but Dennis Murphy is now offering his own line of speakers. You already have these speakers and are a competent, experienced DIYer. . BMR Cabinet Drawing 1 The resolution reveals little details such as slight inflections in voices and even accentuates the breathing-in of a vocalist before they begin their next line. They use either the Parts Express .5 cu ft cabinet or the .75 cabinet for deeper bass. They were a very nice sounding pair of speakers with really good bass for a 5 bass driver.They handled everything we threw at them with apparent ease. Although the BMR can function acceptably in this fashion, its true strength is upper midrange performance. The BMR has room-filling dispersion, superb tonal balance, and a low-end reach that belies its size. A simple question turned into a buck wild display of thoughts, gazillion graphs, multiple interpretations, philosophies, and overall mayhem! Foreword / YouTube Video Review This pair of speakers was loaned to me by Mesanovic directly for review. Components without Parts Express part numbers are part of the original crossover. Sounds like Dennis Murphy is still struggling with his mental health, and will be dropping out of the speaker making business for good. A new and more robust Balanced Mode Radiator is used in an MTM configuration with a broad-dispersion premium AMT high frequency driver from the German company Mundorf. I will continue to offer the old Affordable Accuracy MTM center channel--it's a good match sonically and visually. We are happy to customize this kit for you different capacitors, etc. The governor is responsible for enacting laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly. I am still exhausted..must be the age.ugh!!! Some component upgrades are listed above in the drop-down when ordering. David Fabrikant of Ascend personally reached out to Dennis. Show everythingShow all reviewsShow all questionsShow all videosShow all photosShow helpful positive reviewsShow helpful negative reviewsShow unanswered questions, This is my favorite speaker kit Ive done (have done about 10). I did it back in 97 and it's been a great ride ever since. They do have some scratches and nicks and I'd rate them at a 7 on the Audiogon scale. All times are GMT-5. The result is greatly reduced breakup and extremely broad dispersion above 2,000 Hz. A satin zebrawood finish is also available. That alone would be hard to deal with. On the basis of sonics alone, the speakers are a bargain; add in the exquisite carpentry and finish and they become an incredible bargain. All we usually hear is that the are really good and a great bargain. The satori monitors Dennis Murphy made for me are, to this day, my absolute favorite speaker even compared to my LX minis. If you don't wish to build your own cabinets from scratch, Leland Crooks at Speaker Hardware will provide Baltic Birch flat packs for $149 - $169 a side depending on the quality of the birch veneer. the bass is more than you expect in a speaker this small. The engineer, Dennis Murphy, tells me that the BMR Towers were more challenging to design than the BMR Philharmonitors. Because the name of the new speakers was not known when that thread started, It is a good write up - however, I have not heard them - I would like to hear. DieselWang 7 yr. ago. I used the 3-layer, 3/4" one (Parts Express #260-530) for my speaker projects. i don't have any other high end small speakers, but from other reviews they compare favorably. Neither the original Pioneer tower mod nor my mod of the super-cheap Dayton T652 is available. In our opinion, the Revelator woofer is the finest available in this size class and provides flat in-room response to 25 Hz with absolutely no port noise. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. I just wanted to post this in case anyone is looking for speakers they would have another option to look at. Dennis is the expert, but from what he has said in the past.the three way BMR allows a more tweeter-friendly crossover, because the BMR mid can go higher that some mids and also, the Philharmonitor is midrange-less speaker, so that means the tweeter/woofer crossover won't be as optimal! Audiokarma.org Speakers Pioneer SP-BS22-LR, the real deal or hype? Wood veneers can also be dyed. The BMR midrange and RAAL tweeter provide exceptional lateral dispersion and an expansive sound stage. !