Dynaudio BM5A's or Paradigm Mini Monitors: Purchasing new reference mixing monitors

[Hershal Pearlma]

I have listened to both and I am confused. Both sound amazing,

The BM5A's seem to have more focus on the mids and they are forward quite a bit. They have incredible stereo imaging, more detail in the mids than the Paradigms but them could also be a bit hard sounding or ear fatiguing?

The Paradigm Mini Monitors just sound fantastic and they make all program material sound wonderful which could be a bad thing when mixing. They are very smooth, nice big full low end and not flubby, great stereo imaging and could listen to these for hours. The Mini Monitors are home hi-fi speakers and they are designed to make music sound good at home of course and they deliver this in spades.

If I were just going to listen to music, I would pick the Paradigms in a heartbeat. They just make everything feel right, like the first time you record an acoustic guitar through a Neve 1073, where you don't ask why the sound is focused a certain way towards a certain frequency range. The Mini Monitors are very natural and make music sound better to listen to than any speaker of this size I have heard. But that could be why they are bad for mixing right? Becausae they sound too good and my mixes will then not sound as good elsewhere????

I'ts rather puzzling. I don't want to get both. Anyone with expereince mixing on these and could enlighten me as to what may work out best in the long term please give me your opinions.

Thanks Gear savvy folks!

[squeegybug]

You've already stated the answers. Don't just listen to them, you have to mix on them and make recordings to take to other systems.

I've owned and mixed on Paradigm Reference, and Dynaudio BM15, among many others. The Paradigms are indeed excellent playback speakers. They are made that way on purpose. Paradigm engineers have a long history of referencing their design equations to actual listening evaluations. Their speakers are not intended to be flat, they are intended to make a variety of music sound pleasing to the human ear.

Mixing was always a grueling experience on the Paradigms. Sure you can get it to sound great right there on those particular speakers. And then you take the CD to another home system, or headphones, or car.... and hear junk.

The Dynaudios are intended to be mixing monitors. Much more accurate representation of the actual audio.

But, for my needs, once I found PMC TB2 I removed or sold every other speaker in the home and studio, and put PMC everywhere. Nothing I've ever heard approaches the purity and realism of those monitors.

Steve

[rashadrm@hotmai]

i've got the bm5a's and they are very nice speakers, great clarity and smooth sounding, while they translate the low end very nicely, you may want to get the sub if you need a little more bottom end thump