Auditioning the Stereo Integrity BM 12"

[JimJ 11]

First off, I'd like to thank Nick Lemons of Stereo Integrity for giving me the opportunity to demo this driver. Having listened to the previous generation of BM's, I was curious as to what the new ones would do. Just to get it out of the way, I did this review for free, I'm not being given anything...the driver in question's going back to North Carolina as soon as I finish writing this

First thoughts:

When I received the BM, it was packaged in an almost identical fashion to my e12a.22 - a simple but effective cardboard frame, with the speaker itself wrapped in plastic. No damage was sustained in transit, it arrived perfectly.

On first inspection, the biggest cosmetic difference between this generation of BM and the previous one is the basket. The 12-spoke has been replaced with a 6-spoke, curved design. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I liked the 12-spoke much better; it was more understated, DIYish if you will and quite frankly didn't remind me of something sold at Best Buy. But this is really only a valid concern if you're mounting inverted. The quality of the parts seemed impeccable; this was only a prototype so obviously things like the dustcap, motor boot and backplate weren't finished. Even without these finishing touches added, the woofer lives up to the quality standards set by the Magnum and BM before it.

[JimJ 11]

Listening impressions:

The following comments are based on sealed testing, in 2 cubic feet with 500W from a PG Tantrum 1200.1. Vehicle used was my '94 Ford E-150. The low pass crossover point was 63Hz with a 24dB/octave slope. Woofer firing towards rear doors. Front stage consists of 6.5" Memphis M-Syncs with passive networks, PG Tantrum 500.2 for amplification.

Let's get started...

Eva Cassidy - Wayfaring Stranger (from "Songbird")

If you've read any of my reviews, you know this is one of my personal favorites, I love this track musically and becuase a lot of woofers simply get it wrong. The BM handled it impressively, not blurring the notes together like I've heard with other speakers. This track demonstrates well that it's not the woofer's job to determine what frequencies get reproduced louder, it's the performer's...The key here is playing each note without overpowering Eva's vocals, and I thought the BM did a good job blending with the front stage - each note was distinct and equal in amplitude.

The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over (entire album)

From "Hotel California" to "Life in the Fast Lane" to "The Last Resort", there's plenty of tight, precise kickdrums to go around. I thought the BM did well with all three. I couldn't distinctly localize it when it was playing, but as soon as the sub preout was turned off the difference was obvious. That's really the mark of a quality woofer matched to the install - letting you know it's there without letting you know it's there

Harry Gregson-Williams - The Battle (from The Chronicles of Narnia OST)

Displacement, plain and simple. To accurately reproduce the deep, resounding kettle drums in the first minute without choking, a driver needs to have a lot of linear displacement or an enclosure alignment to really let it shine. Here I thought that the recommended sealed enclosure was limiting what the driver could really do. The BM did its best, but tracks like these don't come into their own unless you have an infinite baffle setup with a lot of cone area or physically large enclosures such as transmission lines. Placed in an environment like that, I think the BM would have fared a lot better.

Deanna Bogart - OK, I'll Play the Blues (from "Great Unknown")

Some audio reviewers have a fetish about something called PRaT - Pace, Rhythym, & Timing...sometimes "Attack" is thrown in there as well. Toe-tapping ability, in other words. If a speaker can't accurately convey that, it's doing something wrong and I don't want to waste my time listening to it. On this track, both the bass player and the drummer lay down a driving beat that sounds deceptively simple - but if the woofer isn't up to the task, the entire underlying rhythm sounds muddy and indistinct. Jazz players talk about being "in the pocket"; being right on the beat. The BM certainly was, and it always seemed to be where it should be.

Blue Man Group - Drumbone

This is a layered, complex track with a lot of different "stuff" going on, and here's where I thought the BM made its biggest misstep. I've heard very few woofers that do really well on this track, and the introduction played on the pipes didn't sound as realistic as I've heard it before. Like "The Battle", this track demands intense low frequency ability and is very unforgiving of crossover points above 50Hz - what I felt I was hearing was the top end of the driver that really shouldn't have been playing that high.

Dream Theater - Stream of Consciousness (from "Octavarium")

I love the kickdrums all throughout this, they're simply unrelenting and I've heard far too many drivers condense the ending into one incomprehensible sonic mush. The BM kept its cool - you're going to run your front stage into distortion well before the subwoofer here.

Ported Notes:

To give the driver its fair shake, I also listened to it in a ported enclosure; at 1.5 cubic feet, tuned to 27Hz - slightly smaller than recommended in contrast to the sealed enclosure which was slightly larger than recommended. Personally, I'm a fan of it in sealed or possibly other, more unorthodox designs. I didn't like the overexaggerated bottom end I got from porting, even tuned as low as it was. It lost some of the naturalness that I liked. If you consider yourself a basshead, you'll probably love it in a ported environment.

Overall Thoughts:

Having been familiar with the previous generation of BM's, I'd say that SI has built more than a worthy successor, and a very good driver in its own right. It's not an infrasonic monster in the recommended sealed alignment, but it'll command the bottom octave and do a very good job with all but the biggest orchestral arrangements. The new basket change might make a difference if you like inverted baskets and don't like the cosmetics.

It's just refreshing to see a driver that doesn't need a kilowatt or more to come into its own - the BM is proof that if you've got a couple hundred watts, you've got enough to have a solid subbass platform for the rest of your setup

[Electrodynamic 2]

Thanks for the review Jim.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Good job Jim.

[JazzScreamer 1]

"Jazz players talk about being "in the pocket"; being right on the beat. The BM certainly was, and it always seemed to be where it should be."

Great Review! The "in the pocket" quote was very well put.

[emperorjj1 2]

nice... i actaulluy really like the basket

[tejcurrent 13]

Great review. I agree with you on the basket btw.