Dynaudio BM15a vs. Genelec 8050A

[ceprod]

Hey!

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a pair of new Dynaudio BM15a's or Genelec 8050A's. Coming from BM6a's, which I'm very happy except for one thing, my main reason for upgrading is the need and desire for more bass output and control. I'm not a big fan of subs, doodling around with placement and such, so I've ruled out buying one for the BM6a's. I tend to compesate for lack of bass by turning up too much (yes, I'm well aware this is less than ideal for mixing), putting a lot of strain on my already-tinnitus burdened hearing.

My studio is about 10,5 m2 big. Very asymetrical, built to be a production suite. The room is well treated, and I'm getting quite a few Auralex LERND Bass Traps and a couple of VENUS Bass Traps I intend to place right behind the monitors. I plan on putting the speakers vertically on stands. There's only one logical listening position in the room due a number of factors, one of them being the window to the recording room, so moving things around a lot won't be an option. I'm going to need to put the monitors very close to the wall, side by side to the rec room window probably.

If I may think out loud for a second... BM15a with it's 9,5-10" driver should have plenty of bass, and since I'm used to and comfortable with BM6a's I don't see how I could go wrong. However, I'm a little worried these might be too big for a 10,5m2 room. I've worked with Genelec in the past and really like them, too. Word is the 8000 series is a big step up from the 1000 series so I don't see how I could go wrong there either. I'm quite attracted to the fact that Genelec makes original stands for the 8050A's. One thing worries me though. Mix Magazine's review of the 8050A, whilst being very good, pointed out that it had less low end output than its big brother, 1032A. Of course, you may think, since 1032A has a 10" driver and 8050A has a 8". I remember auditioning a pair of 1032A side by side with a pair of Mackie HR824's. 1032A actually spat out *less* bass than the HR824, which had a very sloppy and exaggerated low end. The 1032A felt just right. And here is my concern; if the 1032A felt just right, perhaps 8050A will have a little bit less bass output than I'm looking for?

Oh, and I'm mostly into electronic music. Virtually no classical or all-acoustic stuff, but do record vocals quite a bit.

I'd love to get some input on this. Really. Thanks in advance.

[Cojo]

I've actually been demoed the new Genelec 8000 range by one of their sales men and I have never been found of Genelec monitors before (think they are to harsh) but the 8040 and 8050 was very pleasing. They had more bass then I had expected and they were really detailed in sound and not as harsh as other Genelec I have listened to. I was this close to buy a pair of 8040 but I come over a second hand blue sky system instead.

/Cojo

[scruffydog]

I have BM15'a speakers and noticed them to be brighter than the genelecs.
I like them and find them detailed even when at low level.
Bass is good but you will need to position them at the correct height which is probably a tad lower than I myself can place them...so I have them on their sides and am happy to work like that.
Apart from those I have NS10's and never really liked them as a main monitor although I have heard them used to great effect.

[Black Seal]

Hey,
I've had my Dynaudio BM15's for about a year. Gooooooooooooood Stuff!!!!!!!!!!
Have a Rotel RB-991 amp powering them. Good things!!
P

[doogie]

Originally Posted by scruffydog

I have BM15'a speakers and noticed them to be brighter than the genelecs.
I like them and find them detailed even when at low level.
Bass is good but you will need to position them at the correct height which is probably a tad lower than I myself can place them...so I have them on their sides and am happy to work like that.
Apart from those I have NS10's and never really liked them as a main monitor although I have heard them used to great effect.

I just bought 15a's and have NS10's with a sub , the 15's are very bright , I have the subs boosted 2 db on the trims... I'm happy with them

[goldphinga]

With regard to the Mackie's you can cut a lot of bottom end out with the switch if you require but i dont find they have a sloppy bottom end response.They are for me the best speakers in their price range, i dont care if people dont by them just because of the low end name.

I can work for long hours without ear fatigue and they tell me what i need to hear AND translate well.

Yesterday i went with a friend to check out similar priced monitors for his new setup and was very suprised by the harsh/thiness of the new Genelec 8050a's. They sounded awful. Overly bright even with the high cut in, tinny sounding and nasty to look at. Next to the old 1031's they sounded worse by a long stretch.

Just my observations.

By the way, i worked on bm15a's for a while and they were good but id still rather have my Mackoids!

[Chucho]

Originally Posted by doogie

I just bought 15a's and have NS10's with a sub , the 15's are very bright , I have the subs boosted 2 db on the trims... I'm happy with them

What differences do you see between the two?

I heard some BM5As recently and liked the sense of hearing 'everything' rather than making it all sound pretty.
I can't listen to Ns10s for long periods - do you get that with the Dyns ?

[kingofswing]

[QUOTE=goldphinga]

Yesterday i went with a friend to check out similar priced monitors for his new setup and was very suprised by the harsh/thiness of the new Genelec 8050a's. They sounded awful. Overly bright even with the high cut in, tinny sounding and nasty to look at. Next to the old 1031's they sounded worse by a long stretch.

QUOTE]


WOW!!! thats a first. Its normally the other way round. The 8000 series is amazing throughout the range. IMO far from harsh...no way near it.

[vixapphire]

if 1032s sound just right, why not get a pr of those? they're spkrs, not computers, thus unlikely to be "obsolete", u know? save the extra dough & use it on more room tmts if u need them.

[TonyBelmont]

1032's are the way to go if you don't want to buy subs....

Also, I recently heard the 8040's with the sub and was extremely impressed.

[Agno]

8050a's I recent was on the quest for new monitors.... I tried Dyns BM5a's, and the 8040a's... the 8040's won that shoot out. I didn't have any BM15a's at reach so I compared the 40's to the 50's.. man.. the 40's held their own. But the 50's have a magic about them that no matter where you are in the room they sound the same. Basically your room becomes the sweetpot. Can't go wrong with the 8050's at all.

[SiqDog]

I've been using the BM15a for about 4 years now, and must say the mix always sound better on any other system. I mean that as a compliment. I find them very honest, but my ears get tired after a while. Mostly due to a "sharp" response in the upper mid and above. When it comes to bass, I've used them in 4-5 different studios, and it's definitely a positioning issue. They can kick your wig off, but lack the low frequecies, so I'm using subs once in a while to check the lower end.

If I was to buy a set of monitors without subs today, I'd go for a different system.

[Bat Head Sound]

Originally Posted by Agno

8050a's I recent was on the quest for new monitors.... I tried Dyns BM5a's, and the 8040a's... the 8040's won that shoot out. I didn't have any BM15a's at reach so I compared the 40's to the 50's.. man.. the 40's held their own. But the 50's have a magic about them that no matter where you are in the room they sound the same. Basically your room becomes the sweetpot. Can't go wrong with the 8050's at all.

Very true, I experienced the same thing.

[mixerguy]

anyone compared the Dynaudio BM15 PASSIVE to the 8050's?

[vertical]

We just did a monitor shootout here and decided on the Dynaudio BM15a's. After soffit mounting them, they started pumping out significantly more bottom end, so having more eq control on the speakers would have been nice. +/- 3db isn't all that much when tweaking bottom end (we have it at -3 now for flattest response).

I don't need a sub, but again, soffit mounting them made a big difference in reinforcing the bottom end.

The speakers can fatigue ears, but part of that I think just comes down to watching the monitoring volume because it's so easy to crank these things up.

So, these won our shootout, but the 8050's weren't included because of the difficulty in mounting a rounded speaker like that. Incidentally I found out after the fact that Genelec sells a kit that makes mounting them easier.

Best of luck in your search.

tom
Vertical Studios: A recording studio in Vancouver, Canada

[NoisyNarrowBand]

I like the 8050 a lot. great accurate speaker - also check the dsp version, which will give you room-correction for difficult rooms. and last not least check the k&h O300D - a very, very good speaker in the same price range.

[vudoo]

I used the Dynaudio BM15A for years and really like them. I just recently bought a 5.1 NHT set up with M-20 and S-20 sub. My room is about the same size as yours so a 5.1 Bm15A set up would be overkill.
So far i really like the NHT. As you mentioned, using a sub is a challenge especially in a smaller room but after spending a few days tweaking them, it's sounding quite awsome.
Before buying the NHT, i tried the Genelecs 1032, did not like them, on the other hand the 8040 sounded very good but i still prefer the NHT.

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

anyone compared the Dynaudio BM15 PASSIVE to the 8050's?

anyone?

[Audio Hombre]

Originally Posted by kingofswing

WOW!!! thats a first. Its normally the other way round. The 8000 series is amazing throughout the range. IMO far from harsh...no way near it.

i agree the 8000 series are great and the word tinny doesn't apply to any model and i've heard them all.

[ToneRexx]

So how can you compare the Genelecs 8050a with the Focal Twins 6Be or Solo6?

and there is a very big difference between the 8050a to the 8040a??

[Jantex]

8050 deliever more power and low end than Focal Twins. They are also more flat and sound more natural IMHO.

[HomeProducer]

Originally Posted by Agno

8050a's I recent was on the quest for new monitors.... I tried Dyns BM5a's, and the 8040a's... the 8040's won that shoot out. I didn't have any BM15a's at reach so I compared the 40's to the 50's.. man.. the 40's held their own. But the 50's have a magic about them that no matter where you are in the room they sound the same. Basically your room becomes the sweetpot. Can't go wrong with the 8050's at all.

hm ... are you hired by genelec ???

Everywhere the same? NO WAY!!!!

They are as sensitive to room acoustics as any other monitor, this is my experience. I had to try a lot of positions until bass was right. The same for the lower mids.

You can mix with these if you are able to get along with the tweeter.



And another thing:

Watch out the lower mids. Your mixes may sound boxy on other systems.

[mixerguy]

anyone compared the Dynaudio BM15 PASSIVE to the 8050's?

[edham]

Originally Posted by ToneRexx

So how can you compare the Genelecs 8050a with the Focal Twins 6Be or Solo6?

and there is a very big difference between the 8050a to the 8040a??

Had the 8050's next to twins for a week.
Twins are more forward at 100hz and more forward in the upper mids. tweeter is harsher imho. This combination of factors actually work well for certain types of engineers.
8050's go lower and flatter. stunningly so. They come off a bit warmer in the lower mids and more relaxed in the upper mids compared to the twins.
8050's are still on my desk.

Some say the difference between the 40's and 50's is the bottom octave but my ears prefer the mids of the 50's. The 40's were a bit more congested.

If you need forward mids than S3a's or twins. If not - 50's are excellent monitors.

[Don S]

I owned the BM6A for a couple years. If you want the same sound with more low end, the BM15 is NOT it! The BM15 does not sound anywhere near as accurate. I remember thinking the mids were really mushy when I auditioned them. I'm not sure the 8050 is much better. I prefered the 8040 to the 8050.
I should add that I work mostly with classical and jazz artists. FWIW, I ended up with a pair of K&H0300's.

[Bob Amirian]

Originally Posted by Agno

8050a's I recent was on the quest for new monitors.... I tried Dyns BM5a's, and the 8040a's... (...) Can't go wrong with the 8050's at all.

They're not bad, but everything sounds NICE through them. And it's not right. dfegad

Right now I'm demoing 8050's and 1032A's and the winner is obvious.

1032A. Really good stuff, especially if you configurate them right

I'm impressed by the level of detail and stereo field, it's really right. Just the way it should be.

8050's are not useful just because of their overhyped freqs you can't set right.

Cheers

[Rev2010]

Originally Posted by Bob Amirian

They're not bad, but everything sounds NICE through them. And it's not right. dfegad

Not meaning to be a biotch or anything but you do realize the post you are responding to was from 16th February 2006 yes?



Rev.

[Parametex]

lol

[Bob Amirian]

Originally Posted by Rev2010

Not meaning to be a biotch or anything but you do realize the post you are responding to was from 16th February 2006 yes?



Rev.

I sure do

it's you who wrote even later than me

WTF, it's Gearslutz, every thread can be brought to life

[mrghostie]

Originally Posted by Bob Amirian

I sure do

it's you who wrote even later than me

WTF, it's Gearslutz, every thread can be brought to life

Yeah - even if it's four years old