BMC PureVox Feedback


Hi all,

Looking for feedback from anyone who's heard the BMC PureVox, even if it's just a listening session at a dealer and you didn't actually buy them. I thoroughly searched the archives, but I think only one person has commented about them previously, as of mid-2014.

Not concerned so much with how deep they go, more with how well they've implemented the Heil AMT drivers and how smooth and sweet the top end sound is.

I did a listening session yesterday, heard the B&W 805Di, Proac D30R, and Wilson Benesch Vertex, using Nordost cables, Line Magnetic CD player and ARC VSi75 amp, and to mine and my wife's ears the Vertex sounded the best of the three. I guess given the price point, maybe that shouldn't have surprised us as much as it did, but I had gone in expecting the Proac D30R to be our favorite. In a perfect world, I would get to now compare the Vertex to the BMC, but there's no BMC dealer in my state so that won't happen.

So I'm fishing for input. If you've heard the BMC AND the Wilson Benesch together, that would be even better, but I'd settle for just comments on the PureVox. Thanks in advance.
128x128bcgator
Just one bump, to see if anyone here has any experience with the BMC PureVox. Search of the archives produced a couple of hits, but all previous comments from just one person. I figure there has to be a 2nd person that's heard them. My closest dealer is 5 hours away, and they don't have them in stock, so I can't listen to them myself.

As mentioned previously, my reference points are Wilson Benesch Arc & Vertex, B&W 805 diamond, and Proac (both D2 and D30R), so those are the brands I'd be looking to compare against / improve upon / upgrade from. Thanks in advance.
Have you ever heard the Raal ribbon tweeter? It's supposed to be one of the best tweeters on the planet. Are the Benesch speakers around 7 grand? I think there may be a few speakers for way less money that could perform as good as these, if your willing to order from a smaller direct company, or buy used.
Guess I am late to your party!
I am familiar with Wilson Benesch and have also heard a full BMC Purevox with C2 and the mid-width sized DAC a few times at the dealers.

The WB Arc is a bit long in the tooth... And popped came the Vertex with semisphere tweeter. It is a good pair of speakers and you and wifey like it.

On the other hand BMC PureVox punches mid-range and down, better in my opinion. There is more "weight" in the music. And what's more I personally like AMT tweeters. (There is a trend there that most German brands like AMT tweeters on their speakers... I don't really know why but it is just so.)

Both Vertex and PureVox like powerful amps behind them, and I don't think you can go wrong with either, just that I think the PureVox has more "fireworks/flamboyance" in the sound. Tough choice!
@Toddnkaya, thanks for the input. I haven't heard the RAAL ribbon yet, but would like to. Are you speaking in hypotheticals, or have you actually heard a RAAL-equipped speaker in person that you thought handily bested the 805 Diamond or Proac D30R or Vertex in an A-B test? I should emphasize that I'm not trying to save money specifically, so a lateral move to something that is better only in terms of cost-benefit isn't what I'm going after, though I can appreciate a dollar saved as much as the next guy. For this purchase, I'm looking to upgrade or try something very different and/or better. If there is a $2000 RAAL-equipped speaker that sounds much better than the Vertex, I would of course be interested.

@Douglas_schroeder - thanks, I have read the review, and PMed you as well.

@Hamburger, better late than never! In my mind, that's sort of what I imagine the bi-pole configuration creates...more fireworks, as you put it. And I do also imagine it creates a more weighty sound, if only because it has larger bass drivers, and two of them. Thanks for the input!
Bcgator, I had the Vapor Breeze for a few years. This is a world class tweeter , and I did not have their top of the line . Actually it was their bottom . Maybe Doug could tell you more as he own Vapor in his reference system.
I would look at the Cirrus by Vapor, matching stands , crossover in stands .
6 months to receive these custom speakers though.
Pulsar speakers by Joseph Audio, Raidho c1.1 used here for 8,750 but usually retail at 18 grand , Selah Audio are factory direct for the Tempesta, which have Raal tweeter, Accuton dome mid, and Scan-Speak Illuminator woofer. These are a few more options of reference stand mounts from research.
I wanted to follow-up on my original post, about the BMC PureVOX speakers. I pulled the trigger on a pair, and have had a chance to live with them for a while and wanted to offer feedback for other prospective buyers.

The PureVOX replaced a set of Proac D2, which at the time were sort of a "holy grail" acquisition for me, not from a cost standpoint but because I'd always wanted a set of new Proacs and my dealer had the D2 in the Birdseye Maple that I liked. The reason I was considering replacing the D2 was soon after buying the D2 I also purchased a set of pre-owned Wilson Benesch Arcs for an office listening space, and loved how transparent those sounded, much moreso than the D2. I'm sure the Arc drivers had a lot to do with it, but I liked the effect of removing the wooden box from the speaker equation (WB Arc cabinets are steel and carbon fiber). After hearing the Arcs I found I liked the D2 sound much less, so I decided to try to replace the D2 with something that, like the WB Arcs, did away with the wooden cabinet. That's how I came across BMC, which makes the PureVOX out of extruded aluminum.

I got my PureVOX in the Titanium, which is really a blue titanium. It's a hard color to describe...sometimes deep grey, more often like a subdued sapphire blue color. Whereas oftentimes manufacturer pictures flatter the product, and the in-person experience can be less thrilling, with the Purevox it's the other way around. They're much nicer in person than in the photos - none of the photos I've seen captured the bluish hue like it appears to the naked eye.

Build quality is far beyond the price point. When I look at them, touch them, move them around, there's a disconnect between what I'm seeing and feeling vs. what I paid or even what they cost at full retail. I got a great deal on them, which only heightens the feeling of "why didn't these cost more?" Even before you compare their sound output, and just using full retail prices, the Proac D2 and the PureVOX seem worlds apart. Everything from the heft, to the solidity, technology, materials, overall quality - they are much further apart than their actual $2000 cost difference.

And there was a huge difference between the sound from the Proac D2 and the PureVOX. My ownership of both overlapped, so I had time to compare them side by side in the same room on the same amps (Peachtree X-1 Grand Integrated and Audio Research VSi55). The PureVOX does everything better - the sound is more open, airy, clear, transparent, and has greater weight and body. It's not a small, let's switch back and forth 10 times with 10 different songs to hear the differences kind of difference - it's immediate and dramatic. I'm not trying to knock the D2 by comparison, but I've always felt that sound reviews without reference points are harder to interpret, and the D2 is my reference point. I should also mention that the PureVOX is a sealed cabinet design - the bass quality, both in terms of tightness and depth, is far beyond what comes out of the D2 (or my Wilson Benesch Arcs).

The cool thing about the PureVOX is that because of the rear-upward-firing drivers, you can create interesting wall-of-sound effects by playing with toe-in and changing how the rear drivers reflect off the back wall behind the speakers. In our bigger living room, toeing the PureVOX outward (which you'd normally never do with a direct-firing speaker), which points the front drivers at your sides but the rear drivers towards each other, creates a wide concert-hall wall-of-sound effect.

Two other quickie notes - great packaging, with foam coffins that encase the entire speaker, making it easy to re-pack and transport should that be necessary. And I really like the removable hard plastic & magnetic driver covers. Very anti-feline, but easily removable for critical listening.

The PureVOX only come with rounded floor footers, and I have carpet so I got some stone slabs from Home Depot that match the speakers. If you have carpet, plan on either doing what I did, or buying some spikes.

Thanks to Doug Schroeder for his input and time - he did a review on these and was generous with his personal time in answering questions about his experience with them. Thanks also to Hamburger - his comments above were actually dead-on correct, he heard what I'm hearing.

Happy to answer questions, if you need a quick response PM me.