Monitor Question

Peter Batah

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Hope you are all safe 'n sound. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question.

I am considering the purchase of the items mentioned below

Have any of you had any experience with or care to comment on the product(s):

Dynaudio BM15A and BX30A

Much appreciated. Peter
 

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Hey Peter,

I’ve not heard these speakers or the sub myself, but Dynaudio has a very good rep in stereophile circles. In doing a quick search, they’ve both been discontinued, so I presume the lure is that you can get a set in good condition and at a good price. The small amount of stuff I found indicates they were well received, though the BM15A was considered too big for the average room by one owner who said they really started to excel in larger spaces (Dynaudio suggests up to a 250WRMS amp and nothing smaller than 50W). They had good bass and the addition of a subwoofer seems like it could be overkill unless you’ll be in a good size space. Don’t know what you have for room, or where you’re expecting to go (e.g. a bigger space in the future?), but it’s something to think about.

No matter what, I’d seriously suggest you try to find a way to hear them, preferably with some of your own music, or even some commercial music that you know well. Even better would be if you could borrow them, even by placing a possible deposit, and try them in the very room in which you want to use them. Then, you’ll be able to see how they sound and how they “feel” in that space. Hopefully, that space has also already been acoustically treated as I presume you're considering these for your studio and you want your room to "color them" as little as possible. You'll especially want to walk around the room listening for nodes and other irregularities.

Sorry I can’t offer more, but I truly feel hearing them yourself, especially in your space with music you know will help you make the best decision. It's also a good idea to try some current monitors from a studio supplier if possible, or to order one or more sets on Amazon and return the ones you don't want. The BM15 has been around for at least a decade or so and technology marches on. Hearing these against current monitors will help you feel more confident about your decision whether you keep them or not.

Let us know what you decide.

Take care,

Jerry
 
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Hi Peter, I don't know the Dynaudios, but I think another thing to consider is: what will these monitors be for you? Main monitors, or an extra set as 'NS-10 - average living room equivalent' or something else?
 
@Arjan P Thank you for chiming in. They would be used as my main monitor system.
 
If you have the opportunity, give them a listen - if you can do so in your own environment, even better. Take some music you know very well and if possible change between your current monitors and the Dynaudios.
 
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@Arjan P Great advice as always. Didn't expect any less. I highly doubt the vendor would allow me to set them up here in my home. But, never say never, right?

You also stated: "if possible change between your current monitors and the Dynaudios."

Get ready to hold your sides because you are about to have today's biggest laugh. Take a look at my current monitors. I kid you not. This is why I am in the process of purchasing my first pair. The last pair of "REAL" monitors that I owned / used were JBL 4340 4-way back in 1985.

It's been a while. So, in reality there really isn't much for me to refer to. Feels like a roll of the dice.

Note: I am using the high-end cardboard monitors along with my Bosch laser level to fire at the rear wall where I plan on mounting absorption and/or diffusion. A lengthy "work-in-progress" I'm afraid!
 

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Ha ha, I guess the Dynaudios have already won over your current monitors!

However, you'll need time to get used to the sound of any monitors, so take anything you mix to all kinds of different audio systems and environments to check (car, home system, smartphone etc). When I started out with my first 'real' monitors (Yamaha NS-10s) I made the mistake of adding to the mix what I didn't hear, only to find out the NS-10s simply couldn't reproduce what I was putting in: everywhere else these mixes were very bass-heavy and had to be redone..
 
Peter, may I suggest that you make absolutely certain your monitors are the proper height off the desk. Basically at ear level.
 
@-mjk- Thank you for chiming in. I will do that. I also realize that in some cases the monitors may have to be angled downwards as well. You would think that Argosy would have taken that into consideration when designing the Series 70. I have not ruled out stands either. Have a safe and wonderful day! Peter
 
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Ah, and also don't forget to decouple the monitors from the desk. There are specialized products for that, but any type of heavy, dense foam should also work.
 
@Peter Batah I know what you mean. It would be cool if you could specify the monitor type and get the kit specific for them, but that alone would be like a second company within the company, lol. Iso-pads usually have wedges that you can use for the downward angle if you need. So at least angling them isn't such a difficult thing to achieve if you need to.
 
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I haven't decided if I am actually going to be going through with the purchase. I need more time to think about it. The $$$ is right, but that isn't everything. I may hold out a while longer and purchase new (possibly & not necessarily this model specifically) when the time is right!. And my room is complete.

Again, I thank you all VERY much for the valuable advice and the time that you took to help guide and enlighten me. Much appreciated! Peter
 
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Again, I thank you all VERY much for the valuable advice and the time that you took to help guide and enlighten me. Much appreciated!

We've all seen you do that many times over, Peter. Thank you for your advice and time spent helping many.
 
Bit late to the party but I second all that's been said. Fwiw, here's my long-winded 'amateur' perpective...

I bought the BM15A's back in the 90's. The local music store had a very friendly (or should that be 'cunning' ;)) manager who let me borrow loads of gear so I had both these and some Genelec 1031A's to test out side-by-side. They were both like a breath of fresh air, picking out details I didn't realise were missing on my old Alesis Spirit monitors, but it was a difficult decision to choose. It was only when I played one of our favourite commercial CDs through the BM15A's and my wife was reduced to tears, my mind was made up... although some may argue that was completely the wrong reason for choosing a mixing & mastering monitor!

The BM15As are classed as mid-to-near field, so as the guys said, you need a large room to do them justice. There's way too much bass for small rooms, but on the plus side you can actually hear very low rumbles such as air con, traffic noise etc. I plug the port hole with the supplied foam insert to reduce the bass response - the room resonates all too readily. This also gives a smoother tail-off in bass response as you remove the hump introduced by the port, so this apparently is recommended practice if your room isn't big enough to handle super low bass.

The BM15As are very heavy so are difficult to move around, especially if you use stands with spiked feet. These are the little things they don't tell you when they say "just move the speakers till you find the sweet spot"! As the guys said, the treble is very directional (as with any speaker) so you need to angle them so the tweeters point directly at your ears. I had mine on 42" stands to clear the back of the mixer, and if I didn't tilt them downwards, I found the treble increased whenever I stood up. The cabinet size dominates the tiny plates on my Quiklok stands so they always looked precarious when tilted so much, so I've since made larger platforms for them, and recently changed to 35" stands to reduce the amount of tilt required. The mixer meter bridge just covers the lower part of the woofer, but I think it's a reasonable compromise as bass isn't so directional.

Room construction is also a factor. I've used them in 3 setups in different houses. The first had stud walls, and sounded the best, presumably due to the the plaster board absorbing some of the bass. The 2nd house had concrete walls, and this was the worst, sounding very boomy.

My only problems with the BM15As was in hearing reverb tails. I found I was adding far too much reverb - this was apparent when playing the mixes elsewhere. I'm not sure how much of this was due to the room as I only noticed it when we moved to the 'concrete' house. Because of this, I always wondered if I should have gone for the Genelecs. At the time they were slightly cheaper, and their smaller size & weight meant they were a lot easier to lug around. I also read later that although Genelecs are very hard to get a mix sounding right, once you do it will sound right everywhere... but not sure how much of this was hype. Either way, it's too late now - they're very rare!

Interestingly, things have come full circle as my latest room has very poor acoustics - it's a loft space with a one-sided sloped ceiling, so I decided to bite the bullet and get some smaller speakers.. and ended up with some Genelec 8030Cs. These are perfect for the smaller space and I now feel I have the best of both worlds. I'm hearing reverb on almost any commercial recording I play! I've still kept the BM15s for their 'fuller' sound, although it's surprising how much bass the little 5" 8030s give out. The construction and tiltable isopod stands swung the argument against the newer M030s.

So apologies for the epistle, but hope that's helped. Good luck.
 
@Phil Tipping There is absolutely no reason to apologize Phil. I enjoyed and hung on to every single word. In fact, you could have kept going. I am so happy that someone who has had real world experience with the BM15A's has made the time to chime in. For the time being my gear is located in a fairly small room as can be seen in the attached photo. However, my wife and I have been discussing a possible move. Downsizing is something that we are considering however I would look for something with a larger space in the basement. I have spoken to a gentleman on another forum who recently sold his Dynaudio LYD5 monitors and replaced them with the Focal solo 6be’s. And, the fellow selling the BM15A's has moved to the Adam Audio S Series with S Series Sub. Decisions, Decision, Decisions !!! Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day. Please be safe. Peter
 

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Ah, and also don't forget to decouple the monitors from the desk. There are specialized products for that, but any type of heavy, dense foam should also work.

Correct me if I am wrong. But, I believe that you may have been referring to a setup similar to the pic that I attached where the stands act as a decoupling device. I also think that this model allows for angle adjustment as well.
 

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Yeah that's what I meant. Looks like the IsoAcoustics stands, a brand I've been looking into myself, though it's a set of Iso Pucks for my NS-10s I'm checking. They are now on very dense foam, but that's degrading a bit.
 
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@Arjan P By the way, what do you think about the monitors in that photo that I attached to my last post to you. Focal Solo6 be

Also being sold by a private individual not far from where I am located. Apparently, he purchased them new in May of 2019. Not very old. He claims that the reason for the sale is that he plans on leaving the country. Unfortunately, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I don't think that anyone is going anywhere at the moment. Thank you Covid. Have a great day / evening. Thanks again for your input. Peter
 
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@Peter Batah Sorry, I have no opinion of any monitor I haven't heard - I do know the brand, but more from the audiophile market, or high spec consumer market. The only way to know for you IMO is to give them a critical listen with music you know through and through..
 

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