Analog sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable with Korf TA-SF9R tonearm, Korf HS-A02 Ceramic Headshell, Kuzma CAR-30 MC EMT JSD Pure Black, MoFi Electronics UltraGold, Aidas Tru-Stone Gold Web phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Tavish Audio Design Adagio (phono), Manley Chinook (phono), Rogue Audio RP-7.
Integrated amplifiers: PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid, Riviera Labs Levante.
Power amplifier: Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Loudspeakers: Voxativ Ampeggio 2024, DeVore Fidelity Super Nine, Volti Audio Lucera.
Cables: Interconnect: Agent Pur, AudioQuest…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Let's get this out of the way: The BMR Monitor may be a monitor, but it isn't a bookshelf or desktop speaker any more than a yacht is a dinghy. Heave a slick-surfaced, 32lb BMR from its shipping carton, then wrap your arms around its svelte figure, with its fancy array of drivers and rich-colored piano-lacquer finish, and you'll understand this speaker deserves better than to be tucked away amid books or flanking a computer screen.
I was so enamored by the look of the BMR Monitor, I initially thought its name didn't do it justice. It sounded too nondescript. But with time and growing…
With nothing left to do but listen to music, I started with a mono recording, the Ahmad Jamal Trio's At the Pershing (LP, 20th Century Masterworks 350259). I immediately liked what I heard: The BMRs offered an introspective clarity. Images were in their own zones, well-distanced from each other. Decaying notes, lower frequency reverberations, and other ambient information including clinking dishes and conversations among patrons offered a vibrant, richly layered framework of connective tissue that made an event that happened over 60 years ago seem like it was happening all over again.…
I realize I've spent an inordinate amount of space talking about what essentially was my failure to set up the speakers properly in the first place, but trust me when I say there's method to my madness. My experience in positioning them was the beginning of my awakening to the traits that define these speakers' character. Two of those traits combined make this speaker magical.
But first I want to talk about this speaker's resolution, which is impressive by any standard, and the first of this speaker's defining traits that was revealed to me by that positioning exercise. The BMRs…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: 3-way bass-reflex standmount with one flared port and one set of binding posts. Drive units: one RAAL Flatfoil 64-10X OEM ribbon tweeter, one 2.5" Balanced Mode Radiator, one SB Acoustics 6" ceramic-cone woofer. Frequency response: 36Hz–20kHz, ±2dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 86.5dB/2.83V/m.
Dimensions: 20" (508mm) H × 8" (203.2mm) W × 12.5" (317.5mm) D. Net weight: 32lb (14.5kg) each. Shipping weight: 39lb (17.7kg) each.
Finishes: Rectangle Piano Black ($1800/pair), Rectangle Satin Walnut ($1900/pair), Curved Piano Rosewood ($…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Rega P5 turntable with RB700 tonearm and Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 cartridge.
Digital sources: Simaudio Moon 260D CD transport, iFi iDSD Diablo DAC.
Integrated amplifier: Grandinote Shinai.
Loudspeakers: Focal Aria K2 936, Dynaudio Contour 30i.
Cables: Interconnects: Audience Studio ONE (RCA), Kimber Kable 1016 (RCA). Speaker: Kimber Kable Monocle-XL (w/banana plugs). Digital: Kimber Kable D60 (RCA S/PDIF). Power: Shunyata Research Black Mamba CX, LessLoss DFPC, DR Acoustics Red Fire Ultra.
Accessories: Shunyata…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
When I unpacked the Philharmonic Audio BMR Monitor, there was a rectangular yellow mask protecting the RAAL ribbon tweeter. I followed the instructions printed on the mask to slide it away carefully, before starting the measurements. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the loudspeaker's quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior in the farfield. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone, which has a small, ¼" diameter capsule, for the nearfield responses and Dayton Audio's DATS…
I think I just found the perfect Herb speaker. It uses a hand-crafted 5" wide-range driver with a cone made from Japanese calligraphy paper. It rolls off around 50Hz at the bottom and 30kHz at the top. It has no crossover. Its cabinet is made of MDF that responds loudly when I tap it with my fingernails. Inside is what its designer calls a "short horn," which appears to harmlessly disperse back-cone energy while adding energy below the driver's cutoff frequency. Mainly, though, it's a perfect Herb speaker because it is naturally phase coherent. And sparkplug fast. And completely unmuffled.…
Immediately, the Hagen2's flaunted their transient prowess and ability to track complex, high-velocity signals. Powerful tempos and finely wrought textures came through from both digital formats, but the Voxativ's phase-correct paper cones showed the CD version to have deeper spaces, thicker bones, and more hue-saturated tones.
Accurate-as-possible tone and conspicuously corporal textures are what paper cones activated by powerful magnets specialize in. The strategy behind using paper cones is to impose some measure of forest-nurtured naturalness on instruments and voices. The…
Ernie Fisher, the founder and longtime editor of Canada's The Inner Ear Magazine, passed away at age 89. Through The Inner Ear, Ernie provided audiophiles with hi-fi equipment reviews and commentary focused on achieving faithful musical reproduction. He was a regular fixture at audio shows for many years, always wearing his signature hat.
Fisher's clear writing style and insightful listening notes built trust among his readers, especially within the Canadian hi-fi community. Ernie's passion for music and audio gear is always evident in his writing. He will be missed.