Dynaudio BM5's

Hey,

I'm looking for a second pair of nearfields, and I'm considering the Dynaudio BM5's. The price is right. I'm wondering what anybody's experiences with them are. I heard them in the showroom, and of course they sound fine, but five minutes of demo cds can't convey what it's like to work with the things. Any thoughts?

I was actually thinking about a set of the BM15 models (the passive ones) for my own studio. I don't think the Nelson Pass Zen amp will put out enough power for it, though, so I might try building Rod Elliot's 3A amp design to power it. Any thought on this would be appreciated.

Sorry to hijack your thread, neilium...

i did already some nice things on these Dynaudios, but still landed with Quested's for my own studio.... they just sounded more right for me.

0.02 ?

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=297

And check it out! A DIY Auratone project, called the Killatone. Thanks go to Barefoot for this one. :thumb: :guinness:

Thanks all,

Sage advice, Buttachunk. I don't have an Auratone, but my cheat is to listen to mono on headphones. I also have a small fullrange speaker in a sealed box. It's not the same as an Auratone, but it will tell me if I have any phase issues to contend with.

I should explain this wierd project: The band I'm in is all about home recording. We're going to track at one guy's house, where we can be loud, and mix at my condo. I was considering the Dynaudios for our impromptu tracking setup. I'm weighing my options between speakers that sound good and friendly (that would make tracking go a lot smoother) and the mythic "brutally honest" monitor that tells us what we screwed up. For mixing, we've got speakers we like and know well enough.

I'm pretty charged about the whole thing. We're recording to a 1/2" 8-track and trying to do as much live as we can.

Who here is familiar with Dynaudios?

I stated I was interested in the BM15, but it seems to me the BM6 would really be better suited to the rooms I'm likely to be stuck in. The web site says that it is a bass reflex speaker, but I can't see any ports, which means they must be on the back.

Now, I've been talked into believing by many people on other message boards that back-ported speakers are an inherently bad thing. Is anyone willing to set me straight on this?

Consul,

Looking close at the BM6, it looks like there are slots around the dustcap of the woofer. Would that be in place of a port?

-neil

Quested H-108 would be worth checking IMHO. I've never got on with Dynaudio drivers / monitors in any form (apart from the early M-1 which used Morel drivers I believe).

The H-108 has a Volt mid/bass driver and I do love a Volt driver, 'tis a thing of beauty IMHO.

If you haven't used an H-108 make sure to check it before buying Dynaudio. In terms of "useful-ness" I would rate the 108 alongside virtually any monitor I've ever used, and that would include an awful lot of monitors that cost many times the price.

Justin

Now, I've been talked into believing by many people on other message boards that back-ported speakers are an inherently bad thing. Is anyone willing to set me straight on this?

Click to expand...

That would depend on whether you rate ported designs at all, purists often prefer the infinite baffle concept.

I have compared certain designs which initially had front ports, and were then revised to use rear ports. IMHO no contest, if you're going to have a port the back is the place for it. To test this I suggest finding a set of rear-porters and put your ear to the port, all kinds of crap emanates from a port, well into the crucial mid frequencies.

If you have the space behind to use a rear-port and don't mind the reflex concept I would always go for rear porting. Oems I know that have revised their designs to rear-ports use anachoic chambers and have highly academically qualified designers.

There is also the issue that a rear port will balance the forces of moving air, rather than have all the air being displaced in one direction.

I understand that many will prefer an infinite baffle, but I don't mind a port and have never had trouble interfacing mixes made on rear ported monitors, although you will need at least 1m of free air behind the monitor (and maybe one or two broadband absorbers for safety).

Justin

Thanks, guys! You're all wonderful!

As far as the Questeds go, I assume those are in the same price range as the Dynaudios we're talking about?

i believe they're in the same pricerange?

Street price for pair of Dynaudio BM6 passives: $800
Street price for pair of Quested H-108 passives: $1600

The Questeds are twice as much.

It's a long time since I checked the price, but I suggested them as they were in that region. A quick Google supplied a price of $1,150 USD, first hit I got.

Personally I think there's a lot to be said for a simple 2-way design, less variables to get wrong. As I stated before, I would be comfortable mixing on H-108s in any studio, they are a modern-day LS3/5a IMHO.

I would even go as far as to say I trust the H-108 more than many, many triamped / 3-way mains and all kinds of high-end nearfields.

Funnily enough I'm off to a studio with BM-6s tonight

Justin

Cool! Maybe you could give us a quick review of the BM6 then? The Questeds fall outside of my price range.

Of course, when all is said and done, I still need to actually listen before I buy.

The price you have Darren could be due to importing into the US, I always remember the H-108 retailing for around £700-800 here in the UK, approx $1,300 USD with today's exchange rate.

edit: You would not want a review, the studio has lousy acoustic treatment, I'm just hanging out.

J

Really, I just searched around the web until I found a US supplier that carried each speaker, then I checked the price. There was nothing scientific about it. :guinness:

I used the BM-5's for a few days and found them lifeless, as compared to the BM-6's which I bought, they are chalk and cheese better than the 5's.

(BTW the BM6 series are rear ported).

just to state what is considered as common knowledge in studioland...

If your acoustics are bad, every monitor brought in will translate bad to real world situations, although some will flatter your ears more than others depending on the "misbehaving" roommodes.

If you hear a lot of difference when comparing the same mix tru (good quality) cans or the monitors chances are you need to work on your roomacoustics first.
Always listen to cans with the volume of the monitors turned down to avoid been mislead by the bassheavy crosstalk in the cans.

Besides, with the costs everyone seems to find very logical for new speakers, you could easely tune 3 rooms

just my 0.02 ? of course, albeit based upon real experiences

Good luck !

Tony dB

Believe me, room acoustics is at the top of my list, thanks to Ethan, Knightfly, and Barefoot. I was just searching around for a good, cost-effective monitor, and stumbling upon the Dynaudios seemed a lucky find.

cool, this means you're over halfway there :thumb:

:sam: