Anyone here using Dynaudio BM5a mk2 monitors? (or other Dyn models)
I’ve found a second-hand deal on these monitors, but my local music store don’t have them in stock, so I can’t listen to them. (And I would hate to embark on a 2-hour drive to the seller, only to find out that I don’t really like them after all.)
Of course I’ve read all threads on gearslutz, but I would be interested to hear some elektronauts’ opinion on these monitors.
Peace.
yep - you can’t go wrong with Dynaudio’s…used to have BM15As in my commercial studio ( they are just basically the bigger version of the 5’s ) …then upgraded to AIR Series…which are even better.
Lovely things, well made…you won’t be disappointed. 
Great, thanks.
My only concern is that the BM5A’s might have insufficient bass response for electronic music. (They have 6,9 inch woofer)
I’m guessing that’s not an issue with the bigger models that you have had…any thoughts on that…?
Great speakers! The MKII’s have better bass than the originals. These are my favorites in that price range. They are still plenty loud and have great bass. They are rear ported so they need to be away from the wall by at least a foot.
What is the size of your room? Room treatment always helps and can improve the bass response of any speaker.
Glad to hear that, thanks.
My room is 12 x 16.5. I’m moving in in a couple of weeks. Gonna do some treatment before.
I’m actually kinda torn between ADAM A7x and the Dyn’s. I have heard the A7x several times at a friends place. I love the way they sound. But to work on, I fear that the extremely detailed and “in-the-face”-high freq response of the ADAM’s will be too much for my ears - and that, as a result of that, I’ll end up making tracks with too little high freq.
Thats why I’m thinking about the Dynes, as I’ve read they are softer in the highs. But still it would be nice to listen to them before bying. 
I’ve always preferred the dyns to adams but that’s just a personal choice. I do agree being able to A/B speakers is pretty important though. Speakers are very personal and highly subjective. I doubt you’d dislike them though.
How much are the used ones? Pro Audio Star always has killer deals on them on ebay with free shipping. You can return them too! Just be on the hook fro return shipping. $735
I live in Denmark, so bying from Proaudio* is prob not really an option for me. But many thanks for the tip though.
The used ones are 900 USD for a pair. Mint condition. I can get the ADAMs for 870.
One advantage of the ADAMs (that I come to think of now), is their bass reflex port being placed in the front, so you can place them closer to the wall.
wow!! They ARE cheap at proaudio*. A pair for 850,- USD: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dynaudio-BM5A-MKII-Single-MK2-BM-5A-PROAUDIOSTAR-/300981507995?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Speakers_Monitors&hash=item4613e5579b#shpCntId
Still shipping to Denmark might be a hassle - but this is waaaay cheaper than in Denmark. (Which is a little ironic since Dyn is a danish company:-)
Oh well!
Yeah shipping is not an option! If space is tight and they need to be close to a wall then you don’t want rear ported.
dynaudio BM6a MKI since around 2004… and got the BM9s sub a few years later.
i like them a lot. gotten really used to them over the years. quite detailed, nice realistic low end. i added the sub as a luxury i guess but also because i moved to a new place and wasn’t sure about the low end… now it’s just a reference thing .
they’re great for electronic music… nice detail, reasonable sweet spot for mixing…
before the dynaudios i was using tannoy reveals which i hated. they had no low end extension and i’d get ear fatigue after a few hours… the mid range is terrible on them.
I‘m about to buy a set of Dynaudio Air 15s (used, of course, for a reasonable price), if anyone has had any experience with these, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them, especially in the context of 2021. (eg @xmit, saw you had these!)
I sadly have no experience with those, but have the BM6As that I got for a steal, and they are probably one of my all time favorite gear purposes. I absolutely love them. They make great stuff.
Thank you for your feedback! I just went ahead and got them, figured the risk was manageable and then I’m also a Dynaudio fan (loved the BM6/12s when I got to use them for a while during my time in London).
I purchased two Dynaudio Air 15s (Masters) + an Air Base 1 Subwoofer.
What made these speakers special in 2003/4 was that they had a digital signal path with their own converters etc (that whole part was designed by TC Electronic). The ones I got have the audio input modules in them, so mine can also take an analog signal.
I was worried that they would be outdated despite having been a top-of-the-line product back in its days, as I wasn‘t sure how dependent they would be on the internal DA conversion and the whole TC Electronic spiel.
Turns out, they sound phenomenal. Super dry and crisp, very good separation, good stereo field, though surprisingly weak bass but the sub will make up for that (the bass crossover point can be set on the speakers…from 50Hz to 120Hz). Bass IS crisp, tight and fast though and the perceived lack of it could also be a room issue, as these are significantly bigger than my previous monitors (I had 5“ and 6“ woofers before these) and I haven‘t bothered to arrange things accordingly yet. In general I‘m impressed with the separation on these, so clear and surgical, nothing muddy or messy at all.
On how I’ve set them up (because I wondered about this before I decided to take the plunge):
I‘ve tried them through their digital path, sending my Apollo 8‘s SPDIF Out to the speaker‘s AES/BUS IN using internal clocking first. It sounded good, the obvious quality of the speakers came through but the conversion seemed a little bit „closed“ for a lack of a better term.
Then I tried that setup with an additional word clock sync from the Apollo 8, but unfortunately that introduced weird sibilance/distortion in the high mids & high frequencies. Maybe it‘s the cable I‘m using, not sure (if anyone has any ideas, I‘m all ears :))
Finally I decided to try out the analog path on these and plugged in the main outs of the Apollo 8 into the Dynaudio Air 15 master speaker - even though I at first felt hesitant to do so as the marketing material from 2004 stressed how the superiority of the Dynaudio Air series partially came from its integrated top-level conversion.
But man, what a difference! Much more open, even more detailed, spacious…it seems like the technological advancements in DA conversion have not at all been trivial these past 20 years or so. Even my wife noticed the difference immediately while I was tinkering around. BIG difference, but then I also really like the converters on my UAD Apollo 8.
Overall I’m really happy that I ventured out to get these and took the plunge. I can‘t believe the value-for-money I got here.
I write this partially because it was already hard to find any information on the Dynaudio Airs from their own time let alone in the context of today. So I hope that this will help others who may be considering these speakers in the second (third) hand market.