I wanted to know from those that have worked with the Dynaudio bm15/ AIR 15s, is there a difference in there sound and can they be trusted for true referencing, considering there power? And would you recommend them over Genelecs 1032s or ADAM sa3s?

Thanks.

there's a huge difference in sound. In fact ... the air's do not sound anywhere near the BM15A's and I've allways thought that Dynaudio should have concentrated more on the way they sounded then on all the features. It's almost as if at some point, after programming the features in those things someone woke up and said 'hey wait a minute, we have to make 'em produce sound too ... '

AIR's ... don't like them. They're a puffed up features with twists and bells marketing thing.

The BM15A's ... love 'em.

At some point TC offered us to replace my 5.1 set with Air's. And it was a pretty good deal on paper too ... in fact ... one that wouldn't have cost a penny.

The Air's are not the only 'mistake' that dynaudio made over the last year imho.

They put some dfegad dude in charge of TC and Dynaudio benelux sales that thinks he invented the wheel if you know what I mean. The very well sales technique trained dude that doesn't know the difference between a box of washing powder for your dishwasher and a speaker.

Sad ...


Anyhow ... back to the topic ... I actually think the genelec 80** series could be placed next to the BM15's ... No the same sound ... but definately similar things I like in them.

The BM15 definitely sounds better (IMHO) than the Genelec, high sounds more clean and detailed while not as britle or thin. mid and bottoms sound better, too. But I haven't listened to the Adam enogh to say anything.
While we are at this, I am wondering anyone who would suggest a step up from the BM15. I had it for a few years now and am thinking it's time to move up. From listening to those mic/pre CDs, I don't think I am hearing all the details and nuances on them. If my budget is around $3000, which one would you recommend?

Ok. I see that most of you are saying the same as far as which monitor is better. But, can monitors( the bm 15s in particular), that powerful, be good for true referencing or even mastering purposes? And would you suggest a smaller pair in addition? If so, should it be of different brand than Dynaudio?

I've got to disagree, the Airs are definately the way to go, the Genelec 8000 series are very good, probably better than the Dynaudio Bm series, but there is something about the Airs which blows you away, they sound great on anything from dance music to opera, speakers are like women, everyone has favourites, but I would defiantely recommend the Airs if its only for listen

I'm not looking for "good sounding" monitors.

I'm looking for accurate monitors.

So what is the suggestion?

About a year ago I auditioned both the BM15A's and Air15's and was not impressed by the Air15's. I've never much liked TC Electronic gear and I didn't really like their component on these speakers either. For the money, I'd look elsewhere.

The BM15A's are nice but given the size of the box, I feel the amp is underpowered but otherwise they are pleasant to listen to for long periods.

Genelec 1031A's had lots of power but were like razor blades on my ears most of the time producing ear fatigue quickly. Didn't like this monitor much at all.

I guess it's fair to say I'm still not convinced with the amplifiers used in most active monitors.

Both the S2.5A and S3A ADAM monitors were more pleasing to mix with and the end result translated to other systems better. Since I use NS10's with a Bryston 4B-SST-Pro, dare I say I find the ADAM monitors similar but with a fuller extension but still a bit lacking in the bottom end. Otherwise they are a good monitor and the S2.5A would probably be my choice of the above mentioned.

have BM15As - when i heard the AIR series, my 1st impression was that they'd be fine for a home theater or home hifi system - IMO they sound hypey in the high and low end - disco curve. didn't do an A/B or anything of the sort, but after listening i quickly lost interest.

am also looking to get another set of spkrs - thinking of focals or adam S3As. haven't heard either.

Ok. You described exactly what I am not looking for. No one has described them as a great hi fi speaker. That peaks my interest because EVERY time I hear about them, I hear great things. They're LOUD. They have very detailed highs. They can be a near and midfield monitor. Blah, blah, blah. BUT, I never hear about how accurate they are.

Thanks for your insight. What did you get in the bm15as, that you did not get in the air series?

don't know if i'd call them a 'great' hi fi spkr actually... what i meant is that they sound hypey - in someone's living room i'm sure they'd sound very nice. not something i'd want to mix through though.

what i get from the BM15s is the mix translates to other systems - didn't get the impression the AIR series would give me that. however, i did not try them in an actual mixing situation so i can't say for sure - my initial impression was that i would not be able to believe these as i do the BM15s. as always, it's best if you listen to them for yourself. i don't like genelecs - other people do - i don't like NS10s, other people do and get great mixes out of them... etc.etc.

at their price range, BM15 is more accurate than msot other speakers (in fact, all that I have heard, Mackie, Event, KRK,...) But as far as the accuracy goes, the price-no-object monitors are still better than BM15. So, if your budget is around BM15 range, this is your better choice. Yeah, it's sad, once you heard the better ones, you won't be satisfied with anything less. Sky is not the limite, you pocket is.
Nevertheless, I would suggest you search more ont he ADAM because at the $3000 range, they are pretty good, too.

what would be your pick for price no object spkrs?

I actually haven't heard all that many, but WestLake is pretty good, besides the large Dyanudio. From these forums I also think Barefoot is worth auditioning. These $10k+ speakers are not price-no-object, but for me, they are out of my reach at this stage.

Thanks for the feedback.

The reason why I ask about so much gear on this forum is because all the gear retailers here in Michigan never have the real high end stuff on display to really check out. You have to buy it, use it, and if it isn't for you, bring it back.

It really f#cking sucks.

I've been considering the BM6A's for quite some time, and recently put more thought into the BM15A's. My only concern is that my room is not that big (12' X 13' X 11' ceilings + 4 Realtraps), so I'm wondering if having the 15's might be overkill, even if monitoring at a relatively low volume? Would the 6's be a wiser purchase yielding more accuracy, or can the 15's be just as accurate (perhaps more due to their size) in a small but also have the benefit of hearing your mix sound big for playback/clients Thanks for any advice on the matter.

i have both - 15As and 6As. it's nice to be able to have both references as they're very different. 6As are little boxy sounding, which is good for comparison sake, but the ones i 'believe' are the 15As.

still wondering if anyone's A/B'd or at least heard Focals, 15As and Adam 3As. i'd like to upgrade also, but haven't heard anyone say any of these is definitevely the best. closest i've gotten, is a friend of mine had 15As, heard the focals - got the focals and sold the 15As.

so question would be, cost no object for a mid-field monitor?

what i get from the BM15s is the mix translates to other systems .[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I have 5 BM15as and 2 Dynaudio BX30 subs. The subs are time aligned under the L/R pair and are crossed over with them for doing stereo work. I feed the five BM15as full bandwidth and feed the subs the .1 component when doing surround stuff. Alone the BM15as are impressive. Coupled with the BX 30S (in my room anyway) I love them. I have a pair of Tannoy System 12 DMT IIs which are a lot more fun to listen to, but they don't translate nearly as well on other systems- especially in the high-mids.

They can have my BM15as when they pry them from my cold, dead ears.

yeah... i have one BX30, and the combo kills. but even without the sub the 15As are very impressive (as in they translate).

someone offered to bring S3As and SLSs in for a shootout, but AFAIK there are no focals in mexico. wish i could hear all three.

UPDATE: demoed the S3As - i now have S3As and BM15As w/sub. i check the low end on BM15As, pretty much S3As for everything else, but i make sure things sound ok on both spkrs. the more i use the S3As the more i like them.

wow....now I really feel like forgetting about the BM6A's altogether!
So the 15's are that good, but again, in a small room, does having such a big speaker - even monitoring low - reap any benefits or would the BM6 be best?

my room is even samller than yours bro, excepting the ceiling which is much higher - you can always turn the things down as much as you want. IMHO the intrinsic sound is what matters - if the 6As sounded 'better' to me, those are the ones i'd use primarily.

on the other hand there are people who love BM6s -- can't you listen to both with material you're familiar with? when i bought mine, the dealer brought a set of both in for us to listen to.

I find the winning combo is the Genelec 1032s with the Genelec matching Sub and the Dyna BM15s. That is the heat. I do not like mains. They never do anything for me.

Also note, I have no experience with the ADAM speakers. I hear mixed reviews.

Dyna BM15 / Bryston 4B great combo
translate very well across the board.
my room is 13 X 18
which is probably borderline for these Dyna's

I have the DynAudio BM15A also, but I don't feel that they translate to other systems well... weird..
A friend of mine has the 6 airs and the mixes I made on his set (in his studio) translate way more.. Maybe it's because of the room size, I have a pretty low ceiling, maybe the BM15A are to big for my room..
I'm thinking of getting smaller speakers for my studio maybe the DynAudio 6 airs or the DynAudio 6a, I've never heard the Adam speakers everyone is talking about

Tried the adams... thought the highs sounded artificial and weird. Not to say some people can't get great mixes out of them. But the high end doesn't sound like the high end coming out of anybody else's speakers (incl. end listeners).

I use the BM15a in a very, very small room treated with real traps, and a pair of NS-10s with a sub. I check the deepest sub freqs. with the sub, the low mids in the NS10s, and everything else with the dyns.

Also, I find that rolling out some of the highs in the dyns seemed to help... I have pretty darn good hearing and usually mix sort of treble shy by today's standards. Also, I'm only about 4 ft. away from the speakers. I find that if I roll them off, then the mix sits just right in the leather interior of the client's car.

Love the BM15a series.

The passive Dyn's sound much better then the actives IMHO. The screechy highs are gone and the midrange is smoother. The low end isn't quite as deep and extended, some of that could be the amp...but overall...there's no comparison. Passive Dyn's with a good amp (Hafler, Adcom, Bryston etc) will be easier to listen to and work on then the active Dyn's. I listened the Dyn Air's for about 20 seconds before I had enough, no amount of DSP can make up for a speaker that sounds like poo.

Wilson WATT puppies, Mark Levinson amps, MIT cable.. got $50k laying around?

i'm thinking of getting a pair of Dynaudio BM15s for the studio.. just to have something a bit nicer sounding around... the passives, not the actives.. active speakers scare the hell out of me.

I've owned a few sets of Dynaudios in the past and liked them... they're a lil dark but I view that as a good thing. the M1.5s were fun to mix on.

I have a fair bit of experience with various Dynaudios (BM15, M2 and M3) and Genelecs (1030, 1025's and 1038) and yet when deciding which monitors to equip my own studio with (that I am in process of putting together), after listening tests, I opted for the ATC range of speakers. Simple reason is because they do not flatter the sound as much as Dynaudio and especially Genelec, which makes you work harder on the mixes. You can also deal direct with the company, which means that you get great value for money (no middle man to increase costs).

I wouldn't describe Dynaudio's as dark. Usually I have to mix a little brighter than I'm comfortable with (in a Recording Architecture designed room) in order for them to translate well to domestic systems.

Haven't tried the Adams. I still have a pair of passive BM15's for my nearfields (powered by 2 x Bryston 2B's in bridged mono) which I will keep, as I rate them highly and it is good to have different brands for reference. If you can demo your shortlist in your own room at the same time then that would be the best case scenario.