The Philharmonic Affordable Accuracy Monitor ranks #11 out of 21 total Medium Size Bookshelf Speakers for sound quality. See Top Recommended Speakers By Attribute for all the top speaker suggestions.
#11 Philharmonic Affordable Accuracy Monitor: $995 Audiokarma
Pros: This is a DIY crossover/driver mod of the budget Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speaker, designed by Dennis Murphy. CEA2034 spinorama shows only small variations from a flat on-axis response with some directivity error near the crossover, a marked improvement over the unmodified Pioneer, which the reviewer notes shows much more variation from flat. Distortion at 86dB SPL/1m is reasonably controlled above 200Hz, and tweeter distortion barely rises even at 96dB SPL/1m.
Cons: Some directivity error appears near the crossover frequency. Distortion climbs in the woofer’s range (below 200Hz) at both 86dB and 96dB SPL/1m. Minimum impedance dips to about 5 ohms with a couple of resonance peaks. As a DIY project, it requires building the crossover and modifying a donor speaker rather than buying a finished product.
How it compares: Just above it: Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 - $396 cheaper. Just below it: ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 - $196 cheaper.
| Driver | 1x 6.5" treated paper cone woofer, 1x 1-1/8" silk dome tweeter |
|---|---|
| Weight | 41.2 lbs / 18.7 kg |
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Product prices and availability were last checked August 7, 2026 at 5:43 AM UTC and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.