I am still learning here but have always wondered with these cheaper speakers - if the crossover is always such a compromise why not go active with something like a minidsp and some cheap class D amps? Would that not be a better way to solve crossover errors than with passive components and crossover redesign?
I get here that the tweeter replacement also made a huge difference.
I am saddened that I didn’t pull the trigger on any of the Dennis Murphy speakers when he was still making them. I wonder how the BMR and my favorite, Philharmonic 3s measure.
I think the BMR can be bought as a kit. What about the 3’s @Dennis Murphy, are those available as a kit?
Dennis improved the response in the frequency domain. How did his crossover mods affect the response in the temporal domain?
It really is such a compromise, even with non-cheap speakers. But audiophiles are obsessed with component matching and tweaking so that's why basically every home speaker is passive.have always wondered with these cheaper speakers - if the crossover is always such a compromise why not go active with something like a minidsp and some cheap class D amps? Would that not be a better way to solve crossover errors than with passive components and crossover redesign?
Yah, I kept waiting to buy the BMR's. Woops, why did I do that?Hearing about Dennis's retirement hit my hard a couple years back. The Phil 3's were my end-game target.
It really is such a compromise, even with non-cheap speakers. But audiophiles are obsessed with component matching and tweaking so that's why basically every home speaker is passive.
You have to think about the complexity. Adding a minidsp and a amp for each drive unit is really a fairly advanced task. Correctly programming the minidsp and even just correctly setting the gains on the amp requires skills and extra gear such as REW software and a microphone. Many people do this and the net is filled with ideas and examples but this is not consumer mentality, it is DIY mentality. There is no better way to become a tweaker than to get something like a home brew system.I am still learning here but have always wondered with these cheaper speakers - if the crossover is always such a compromise why not go active with something like a minidsp and some cheap class D amps? Would that not be a better way to solve crossover errors than with passive components and crossover redesign?
I get here that the tweeter replacement also made a huge difference.
I'd love to see a GR research design here. He does come in a mixed bag that is for sure, some artists are just odd (no way on those tube connectors) but seeing the results here would be interesting for sure.Next, one of Danny "Tube Connector" Richie's mods -- he sells parts kits for dozens of popular, relatively low-cost speakers. His affinity for silliness like those connectors and "audiophile" Mills resistors notwithstanding, he seems to know exactly what he's doing when it comes to crossover and enclosure improvements.
I totally agree. Didn't mean to suggest people should be building their own speakers/ripping out the existing crossovers in their passive speakers, just that off-the-shelf active home speakers are few and far between. There's plenty of studio monitors, but a lot of people discount them for home use due to their aesthetics.You have to think about the complexity. Adding a minidsp and a amp for each drive unit is really a fairly advanced task. Correctly programming the minidsp and even just correctly setting the gains on the amp requires skills and extra gear such as REW software and a microphone. Many people do this and the net is filled with ideas and examples but this is not consumer mentality, it is DIY mentality. There is no better way to become a tweaker than to get something like a home brew system.
If you want to make a consumer product all of that has to be in one box and well integrated and easy to use, you end up with something like the KEF LS50w and that costs cash.
Or if you are smart and don't need the wireless and the app, you go with some solid studio monitors. There are some real decent budget studio monitors out there with true active design.
You also have to remember that many folks (audio nuts included) are not actually buying to get better sound. In our consumer culture buying is a sport and a pastime. Not saying this is good or bad but many folks are not buying new 5K speakers for better sound anymore than they bought a 2k watch for more accurate time, or 50k car to get better at getting to the grocery store. 90% of what many folks buy is simply because we buy stuff here.
I am saddened that I didn’t pull the trigger on any of the Dennis Murphy speakers when he was still making them. I wonder how the BMR and my favorite, Philharmonic 3s measure.
I think the BMR can be bought as a kit. What about the 3’s @Dennis Murphy, are those available as a kit?
The 3 is just to complicated for that. Also, if you combine the BMR with a good sub, you're awfully close to the sound of the 3 for a lot less money.
Speaking of which...
Is there any plan to review the BRM Philharmonitor?
@amirm, @Dennis Murphy ?
#flattenthecurve
Is this the original design or the revision when you had to use different cabinets?I hope not. They've already been subjected to a full Spinorama test on Audioholics, and I had them measured by NRC. I never published the latter because the NRC tests aren't calibrated correctly to show bass response accurately for many speakers with rear ports. There's a bump in those measurements around 100 Hz that just isn't there. I did show the far off-axis results on my web page, however, because all speakers have a rising bass response in those tests. Since members on this forum are a lot more sophisticated about and interested in measurements, I've included the on-axis through 30 degrees off axis results below. I don't think there's much to be learned from another test. I will soon be working on a Super BMR that uses the Purifi 6.5" woofer that's in high-buzz-mode on the Internet. My pair will arrive shortly and if they live up to the hype, I would be happy to send the upscale BMR to Amir. I think people would find those results much more interesting.
Neat. The on-axis variations all but disappear in the listening window too.
Dennis is a really talented crossover designer. Not just because he can make expensive speakers that perform well, but because he can do the same cheaply.
I’m also glad Amir measured these. Now I can complaint to Dennis that i was in fact correct that the Pioneers have a distortion issue in the treble. I did comprehensive measurements on these a few years back and noted that the distortion rose dramatically near the crossover point when played back at levels that are modest in a room. He didn’t measure distortion but strongly disagreed with me that there was ant such problem in the original design. Yet clearly his upgrade and replacement of that problematic tweeter dramatically lowered the distortion.
I would be curious about how my updated version of the "Affordable Accuracy" measure. These were based on a widely available Dayton kit from Parts Express. I had an email exchange with Dennis a few months ago, where he informed me that he is no longer making speakers, and that he offered the crossover for the Dayton Affordable Accuracy version to Parts Express and that they turned him down. That is a real shame, since I prefer these to multiple budget speakers that got good reviews here.