Dynaudio BM5a

[Ermz]

So since they stopped making Event ASP8s I'm a bit lower on options. I went into a shop with a dedicated listening room recently (completely acoustically treated from the ground up) and really liked what I was getting with the Dynaudio BM5as.

Do any of you guys have any experiences with them? General thoughts, opinions etc.?

 

[Metaltastic]

I've heard really really good things about 'em (after doing a fair amount of research), but I'm going for the Adam A7's because they're front ported (I may have to put my speakers close to a wall behind them, making the rear ports of the BM5A's a bad idea) - if I knew I'd be able to have my speakers away from a wall, though, I'd get the BM5A's, because I've really just read nothing bad about them (unlike the A7's, which are almost universally liked but are accused of being hyped by some).

 

[nwright]

I've always heard good things about Dynaudio monitors.

 

[Ermz]

Hey metaltastic,

I actually shot out the A7's directly against the BM5a's in the listening room I was in. The guys who say the A7's are hyped are right, IMO. The A7 has a very open top end, but it really is a little too prominent, and the bass response is a bit too great for a speaker of that size, if you know what I mean. Its midrange seemed to suffer as a result, whereas the BM5a seemed a lot more even throughout the spectrum, with a very open top-end of its own.

Anyhow, thanks for chipping in guys.

 

[iekobrid]

Those Dynaudios are definitely my "some day" speakers. Through months of painfully extensive listening tests at B & H, Manny's and Sam Ash in NYC; one Sam Ash and one Guitar Center in NJ; two Guitar Centers, Bill's Music House and Chuck Levins in MD; and two Guitar Centers in VA, the BM5As were the only set that always sounded not just accurate and clear, but also good. To my ears, they were the only speakers (in my long term price range) capable of reproducing the lower midrange 'meat' of a distorted guitar tone.* In comparison, Yamaha HS80s and Adam A7s sounded like someone had their hand over the woofer; Event ASP8s sounded like a subwoofer coupled with a reverse-karaoke vocal isolation device; KRKs sounded like an entry level car stereo (not always in a bad way); the 'cheaper' Genelecs sounded grainy and dim; and M-Audio BX8As... dear god... they sounded like someone stabbed pencils through a set of Mackie's tweeter domes and then shoved them in the back of a closet. I quickly started to wonder if all these people I read saying that BX8As are "awesome when you're on a budget" are just having a laugh.

* The Dynaudios didn't just sound better than all the others to me, they were the only ones that didn't sound wrong or broken in some way. I got to thinking that maybe my ears are just totally, irrevocably screwt. I mean, the logic of logicalness tells me that the possibility of there being something mutually wrong with {Dynaudios and me} is FAR more likely than the possibility of there being something wrong with {all other powered monitors and listeners in the world}.

 

[Melodeath]

I listened to those Dynaudio's at a GC near me, not knowing their price. They sounded extremely bassy, and lacked treble.

Maybe I should take another listen?

 

[Ermz]

The GC may have had the low-end shelf cranked and possibly the high-shelf taken down. They certainly didn't sound *extremely* bassy to me, nor lacking in treble. Actually the 'openness' of their high-end was only second to the A7's, which sounded quite hyped in the high end.

@ieko: Is it the BM5a's that you consistently had the good experiences with? Have you taken a listen to the BM6a MKII's, or BM12A's? Reading through your experiences is interesting. I personally didn't find ASP8's to be so bad. They were in fact easily the flattest speaker in their price range that I could find. When comparing to a ton of other shit in the store the BM5a's really seemed to be my choice for easy and detailed listening. I even preferred them to the original BM6a model. Down here it doesn't seem like anybody has any larger BM series monitors on display, so I figure you guys in the US would perhaps have more luck with trying them.

 

[iekobrid]

The GC may have had the low-end shelf cranked and possibly the high-shelf taken down. They certainly didn't sound *extremely* bassy to me, nor lacking in treble. Actually the 'openness' of their high-end was only second to the A7's, which sounded quite hyped in the high end.

+1 to all that

Is it the BM5a's that you consistently had the good experiences with? Have you taken a listen to the BM6a MKII's, or BM12A's?

Yes to the first question, No to the second. I've been in a room with Dyna 6s and 12s but their prices tags kept me from listening to them, lest they emit the Troo Voice of God and I instantly regret every major life decision I've ever made.

Reading through your experiences is interesting. I personally didn't find ASP8's to be so bad. They were in fact easily the flattest speaker in their price range that I could find.

You know, when I first started all this monitor comparing, I had read folks around here talking up the ASP8s so much that I'd all but convinced myself that they would be perfect and it was just a matter of finding a good deal. But then I heard them and they were just... okay. Not magical or mind-blowing -- and really, they'd gotten so hyped in my mind that my expectations not being met was more my fault than theirs -- just okay. And not US$1300 a pair okay, either.

But I found a demo pair of ASP6s for under $300, and thought, "What the hell, can't pass that up." Took 'em home, set 'em up where I could easily compare them to the set I'm trying to replace (6" Fostexeses). I liked them at first... sung vocals in particular sounded very clear and forward and gorgeous... but they wore out their welcome pretty quickly. After an hour or so, vocals and cymbals and THUD were all I could hear ("They have a face only an R&B producer could love", I commented to a friend), and mixes started sounding really weird and smeary -- as if the speakers weren't just under-reproducing mids and lo-mids, but were actually compressing the dynamic range of notes in those frequency ranges. I tried dialing back the EQ knobs on the back to bring the midrange out a bit, but then they just sounded (for lack of a better term) like really loud cardboard.

Initially I thought the specific ASP6s I bought were just knackered from years of demo abuse, but from that point on, I heard (or at least imagined I heard) the same problems in all ASP6s and ASP8s I heard throughout the months of testing. Not always quite so pronounced, but always there.. lurking. They'd probably be great for tracking vocals, but I wouldn't trust -- much less enjoy -- a full band mix.

 

[Ermz]

I agree that they aren't very stellar to listen to. Maybe with prolonged listening I'd have come to the same conclusion. The BMa's do strike me as a little bit cut in the midrange, so they sound a bit more open and exciting to listen to overall.

I'm reading through all the old threads on gearslutz at the moment, most shooting out the BM5a's against the Adam A7s, and most of the Dynaudio users seemingly preferring the BM6a's (the original, not MKII). I'm baffled at the moment. I'm gonna go see whether I can shoot out the A7s against the BM5as against some Adam P33a's and see how I go. Most people seem to prefer the A7's over the BM5a's but I just didn't find myself coming to the same conclusion.

 

[Metaltastic]

Hey, above all else, go with what works for you man. Keep us informed!

 

[Melodeath]

I took another listen to the BM5a at the GC near me, to make sure I made the right choice with the Yamaha HS80Ms.

It seems like there are more low mids in the BM5a, which made the guitar louder in the BM5a than in the Yammies. My reference CD was Slaughter of the Soul.

The low mids was the biggest difference between the two monitors, and who knows whether the BM5a is hyped in the low mids, or whether the Yammies have a more scooped tone. Other than the low mids, any differences were too minimal for me to notice. Yammies seemed to have better bass, but that's pretty much expected with an 8" woofer.

 

[Ermz]

The Yammies would be scooped, I'd imagine. That's been my experience with most of their monitors.

At the very moment I'm looking at a pair of Dynaudio BM15As, and also PMC TB2S-As.

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

I have the BM5A´s and ame really happy with them. I had to get used to the tight low end at first but they have really improves my mixes a lot

 

[Disconnekt]

I'd say better to have too much low mids in a monitor because that area can get out-of-control muddy in a big hurry if you're not hearing it enough. I like the way HS80Ms sound, but I feel like I probably wouldn't be able to make a terribly good mix on them. One plus is they have a pretty deep low end that I haven't heard out of the BM5As, though. Might be good to have a pair just to check the bass with, or get a sub with BM5As.

 

[AStudio]

Currently using the Dynaudios BM15As, genuinely great all round tracking and mixing biggish monitors. Nothing super fancy but they do make you work hard for the mix because they will become very muddy in the low-mids very quickly. Definitely suggest people check em out, worth the money.

Dont expect super-flat but id say it doesn't annoy you like some super hyped monitors (Mackie hr824's yuck! fucking hate those useless hyped shit boxes).

Always personal taste with these thing's, people have made classic albums on hr824's, there is no way in hell i could! hahaah