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What Are BMR Drivers?

Jan 17, 202315025 VIEWS

Earning a spot in the name of our BMR1 Desktop Speakers, BMR Drivers are the driving force behind the sound—and size—of these cutting-edge workspace staples. So, what are BMR Drivers? Let’s start with the technical explanation, from a white paper by their manufacturer: Tectonic Audio.

Ever since the first drive unit design (patented by Rice and Kellogg in 1925), loudspeaker drive units have been steadily evolving with improved materials, refined motor design, and modern manufacturing techniques. However, many of the component parts of a modern day loudspeaker are still very similar to those used in the original 1920s prototype.

Of all these components, it could be argued that the most critical is the diaphragm, as it provides the interface between the induced mechanical vibrations and the resulting acoustic pressure waves that we hear.

Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) technology provides a novel approach to diaphragm design that addresses two significant limitations of conventional cone diaphragms: “breakup” and “power beaming.” In doing so, BMR drive units confer a number of key improvements to loudspeaker fidelity.

(source Tectonic Audio)

What are some of the benefits of using Balanced Mode Radiators? - Wide dispersion. The extended output off-axis leads to a room-filling sound, improving both coverage and intelligibility for multiple listeners. - Improved dimensionality and soundstaging. The typical requirement for a crossover in the critical 1kHz – 5kHz region (where the human hearing mechanism is most sensitive) is eliminated. Usually, speaker manufacturers pull down this area of the spectrum, as it is possible to hear higher distortion when sound moves from Tweeter to Woofer, and vice versa. This same area (1kHz – 5kHz) is also where the “three-dimensionality” of sound occurs. In other words, the better this area performs, the better the soundstage sounds and feels overall. - Point-source integrity. The sound energy is coming from a single source and not multiple drive units located at different points in space. This, once again, leads to a better sound stage. - Superb timing. Thanks to a single acoustic source, the BMR1 is free of mid-tweeter comb filtering interference effects. - No megaphone sound. Flat disc diaphragm eliminates the “shouty” sounding megaphone effect produced by cone shaped diaphragms. - Reduced size. The flat disc reduces the build height of the drive unit and occupies less of the enclosure volume. We chose BMR drivers because they allowed us to develop a speaker with a smaller footprint than conventional speakers, allowing you to free up space on the desk or any other surface where you decide to use them. The end result? A compact footprint with a big speaker sound that competes with much larger drivers. The wide dispersion characteristics also enable more flexibility in placement. Whether you decide to use the speakers in portrait or landscape orientation, the sound quality will remain close to same.

How do BMR drivers work vs traditional drivers:

Pistonic speaker driver

Flat panel speakers

BMR speaker driver

Passive Radiators Another feature of the BMR1 is its use of passive radiators, which enable them to sound much fuller than their slim form would suggest. A passive radiator speaker is a clever way to get extra power and resonance out of a smaller speaker system. The reason they are called “passive” is that they do not have a voice coil or are connected to any wires; instead, they are powered by the air pressure created by the smaller active driver. Another benefit of passive radiators is the elimination of port noise, or “chuffing,” which occurs on bass-reflex ports when used at high volumes. The result is a more controlled low-end performance and better performance when the BMR1 is placed closer to back walls and other surfaces. Additionally, the BMR1 uses a pair of these passive radiators in a force-canceling design. With this design, the opposing radiators are placed to cancel out their own vibrations to reduce cabinet vibrations and improve the imaging capabilities. Since the BMR1 is designed to be a nearfield monitor, the force-canceling also means your desk will not be rattling even when played at high volumes. What speakers do you currently use in your workspace/on your desktop? Hit "Request" and stay tuned as we release more information next week.

edit: formatting

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Jan 27, 2023

Will they be better then Rokit KRK4?

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Qwervy

464

Feb 1, 2023

OmegaswitchCurrent generations of the Rokit 4's have more power output as well as onboard DSP. Aside from that they are a much bigger speaker and size matters as theres only so much you can do before you're limited by physics.

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slipjig555

Jan 27, 2023

Wondering if these would sound any better than the front L-R speakers in my Logitech Z906 setup. Those aren't 'audiophile' quality but I'm pretty happy with how they sound.

nodof

Jan 25, 2023

I need to know the connection used to hook up the subwolfer. 2.5, 3.5, rca? or thoughts on connecting powered subwolfer, Thanks

RubbertoMcQuack

Jan 22, 2023

Would i be able to use this on a turntable setup?

Jan 23, 2023

Great point, I hadn't considered that. The speakers don't have a knob or physical volume control; you would need to adjust the volume either with your computer controls or on your phone if connected via bluetooth, etc. For devices without volume control, an intermediary adjustment device is needed.

Evshrug

4144

Keyboard Club Member

Jan 23, 2023

HoffmanMysterHeadphone amps make great preamps, because they are very low noise. The ones with variable line-output are especially well-suited to be preamps.

(Edited)

LeGentlemanSwagger

Jan 22, 2023

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these the same tech as laptop speakers?

Evshrug

4144

Keyboard Club Member

Jan 23, 2023

LeGentlemanSwaggerDepends, from what I’ve seen most still use dynamic drivers. Since this is a relatively new type of driver, it may have been used in a few of the latest laptops (I haven’t bought a laptop since I started WFH, so I may be out of date), but even then I doubt laptops use the force-cancelling radiators due to the size requirements. Gotta fit the largest battery possible! Smartphone speakerphones use an array of MEMS drivers… a whole bunch of little piezoelectric “cells” that individually flex to cause air vibrations. Individually, they don’t have much excursion or displace much air, but they use a whole bunch of these “cells” and it adds up. Working in unison, they sort of look like the “flat panel speaker” GIF animation in the post.

skycake10

Jan 18, 2023

Currently using Monoprice monitors on my desk, but my desk is in the corner so I get a lot of resonance around 120Hz. Definitely tempted to give these a try to see if they're better.

Evshrug

4144

Keyboard Club Member

Jan 18, 2023

skycake10You will still get room resonance… but the bass reflex is facing forward instead of a bass port on the back, so you may avoid some of the room reinforcement (not much, bass is pretty omni-directional) and it will at least eliminate port chuffing and problems like that. Overall, these should be better near walls than other options.

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Evshrug

4144

Keyboard Club Member

Jan 18, 2023

I’ve been trying to convince my wife to let me make a turntable setup in our living room, by our home entrance. When it’s not Christmas, we have a bare wall which I think would be a great spot for the table and some speakers, and I would indirectly be able to hear them from the kitchen as well. However, my wife is flat-out against speaker stands or tower speakers in this space, and the accompanying tower of electronic components and cable spaghetti to connect them. At my current workspace, I have regained a lot of desk space by using VESA mount arms to hold my two monitors. I used to use a Creative Katana under these screens at our old home, but now I have our router and a Mac Mini taking up central space between the monitors, so I don’t have any speakers set up… only the one built-in to the Mini. So, essentially, the BMR1s would replace not having any speakers.

BACXPACE

Jan 18, 2023

My current speakers are a pair of old Wharfedale bookshelf diamonds - not sure if these would be an up/downgrade in terms of sound but im certainly looking for something less bulky and a smaller footprint on my desk.

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Timobkg

Jan 23, 2023

BACXPACEIt would be a downgrade. If space saving is of main concern, I think you would do better with a Logitech 2.1 speaker setup - it would still be a downgrade, but it would be even smaller and more space saving with better sound due to the sub at a fraction of the price.

Evshrug

4144

Keyboard Club Member

Jan 23, 2023

For sure, I’m no stranger to marketing, or products that were overhyped and turned out to not be so great. We’ll have to see what happens when the rubber hits the road; for myself, Drop has agreed to send me a sample in advance once they get them, and I’ll do my best to test it and hopefully make a useful video. No product serves ALL use cases… but I see some potential here. If it ends up having a very narrow use-case, I’ll say that.

jonny3000

Jan 18, 2023

Will these be available in UK?

The_Lone_Funman

Jan 18, 2023

Any chance of a passive version of this being produced? If this follows the production approach where the amplifiers and radios are in one speaker and the other is already a passive speaker it can be done at virtually no cost. Even if the left and right speakers have all the same electronics, it offers an opportunity to offer a product at a lower price, and higher mark-up, that can be both more accessibly and popularly priced, and is what many (like me) are looking for in an ultra-small NFM where we definitely don't want a consumer Wi-Fi radios and amplifiers (if this thing's f-response isn't all over the map)...

(Edited)

Jan 18, 2023

Oh. Well, I'm asking what amp would be good to use with a passive version (or two "left" speakers) of this. Seeing as how most headphone amps don't provide enough power (usually .250-1.5 W) and a lot of speaker amps might send too much power, and considering that part of the appeal of the BMR1 are their price tag, I was just wondering what amp would be good for, like, $20-$35?

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The_Lone_Funman

Jan 23, 2023

EvshrugAs these aren't going to be particularly high fidelity -- you could drive them with just about any inexpensive, tiny, class D amplifier. Something like one of these would probably be fine, and far better than what comes canned with the 'powered' version of the speaker: