DYNAUDIO BM15 active or passive?

[janek 68]

Hello . i`m testing DynaudioBM6 - nice piece of monitors I need more headroom and bass so there are two possibilities - BM15 acitive ( my dealer offered me really good price today although they are still pricey...) or BM passive ( i have brand new Alesis RA500 power amp).I like this sound simply....i dont want to search too long....i`ve read many reviews , i`ve tested Blue Sky`s ( i don`t like it) , probably Genelecs could be also nice but i need clear answer - are internal power amps in BM15A worth of double price of BM15passive?

[HudHudson]

In my experience, the passive BM15s (which I own) require very high quality amplification to bring out their best. I doubt that anything Alesis makes would fill the bill. FWIW, I use a Hafler 9505, as do several other BM15 users I know. I think there are some threads on this topic as well as comparisons of the active vs passive BM15s.

[Jay Kahrs]

The active versions are a bit more extended on the extreme bottom & top... but personally, no. I don't think the actives are any much better.

If anything they're too bright & edgy on top.

The passive boxes are much smoother & not as fatiquing.

When I was shopping a few years ago even the Dyn rep told me that the passive boxes with a good amp sound better and are a better all-around deal. I rolled on the passive boxes with my existing Hafler figuring that if things weren't working I could either buy a different amp or just exchange them (in the first week or two) for the 15a's... but the combo seemed to work well and still is.

[janek 68]

Yes , DYN`s 6 are bright but they are not ear- fatiguing , i think that highs are detailed ... but maybe speakers are not broken-in yet.. .The most significant for me is that they are compressing at higher volumes - watching the red light is annoying....Thanks for answers ! And what`s bad about Alesis power amps ?

[Kiwiburger]

I bought the passive BM15's. I was trying to eliminate all sources of annoying noise from my mix room. I just hate to hear hiss and hum, and in my experience, active monitors by defininition have cheap amps in them that hiss and hum.

ANY monitor needs a great amp to sound best. Great amps cost serious money. You just aren't going to get a great amp in an active monitor.

Even if you get a great amp, they can still make acoustice transformer buzz if your power has harmonics. I just don't think that mounting buzzing power transformers inside your nearfield monitors is a good idea. Period.

Look at all the threads where people have bought gearslutz approved active monitors, and they are asking about hiss etc

My 2c - i'm enjoying the silence.

[Sqye]

..

i haven't heard the 15s yet, but i've got quite a few friends using them now.

FWIW, dynaudio has been making kickass passive monitors since the m1 -

Dynaudio M1 Passive Monitor

which is my absolute FAVORITE monitor ever - and i've used MANY -

for EVERYTHING - tracking, mixing, and pseudo-mastering in ALL styles of music...
crystal clear, warm, punchy, clean, articulate across a huge frequency range,

and like jay says (and he may not agree on the m1s), they are not as fatiguing
as active dynaudio monitors i've used, and active monitors, in general...

this is a bit ot, and sorry if i sound like a broken record @ the m1s....

..

[mixerguy]

anyone else using the BM15 passives?

[kurt]

Originally Posted by Kiwiburger

I bought the passive BM15's. I was trying to eliminate all sources of annoying noise from my mix room. I just hate to hear hiss and hum, and in my experience, active monitors by defininition have cheap amps in them that hiss and hum.
My 2c - i'm enjoying the silence.

Well, I have BM15-A, different Genelec´s & have worked with a plethora of different other, powered & not powered monitors. It newer occurred to me that inbuilt amplifiers are inferior, not adjusted to the speakers they drive or experienced anything else but silence when driven from any, electrically proper source at full output.

[Eganmedia]

Originally Posted by kurt

Well, I have BM15-A, different Genelec´s & have worked with a plethora of different other, powered & not powered monitors. It newer occurred to me that inbuilt amplifiers are inferior, not adjusted to the speakers they drive or experienced anything else but silence when driven from any, electrically proper source at full output.

I have 5 BM15as and 2 BX30 powered subs, and There's no hiss or hum. To assume that the amps are inferior to outboard amps merely because of their location is silly. Sure, you can buy hyper-expensive matched monoblocks if you want to power your passives with the best, but plenty of great monitors, from Dynaudio to Genelec to Griffin to Adam to ATC (and many, many others) have found that matching amps to cabinets and crossovers and drivers is great way to maximize the potential of the system. Of course there are also companies like Behringer who will slap a crummy amp into a crummy enclosure loaded with crummy components, but you shouldn't confuse those with the companies who do it right.

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by Sqye

FWIW, dynaudio has been making kickass passive monitors since the m1 -

Dynaudio M1 Passive Monitor

which is my absolute FAVORITE monitor ever - and i've used MANY -

for EVERYTHING - tracking, mixing, and pseudo-mastering in ALL styles of music...
crystal clear, warm, punchy, clean, articulate across a huge frequency range...

i had those for a few years.. cool speakers.

ever try the M1.5s?

i like those even more... really good useful balance. i could put on any record and experience, "ahh, so this is what the record is supposed to sound like.." not "what were they thinking?!"

they were forgiving enough that mastered cds didnt sound WRONG. cuz you gotta figure that the mastering engineer AT LEAST had some grip on reality. they werent so clinical that mastered cds sounded horrible.... which meant i wasnt chasing things that dont matter when i mixed on em.

unfortunately i had to sell the 1.5s when i moved to asia... they were a lil too big to take with me. i'd love to get another set tho.

[lbruun]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

anyone else using the BM15 passives?

I have them along with Genelec 8040s. BM15's need a proper amp before they really kick in. I don't really care much about their bass response(could also be my acoustical/placement issue.) but their mids are nice and I check quite often my vocals on them rather than trusting merely with 8040s. I don't find them fatiguing.



T

[RCM - Ronan]

A quick bumped to see if anyone has had a chance to do any comparisons on the Dynaudio BM15 active vs passive with a good amp.

[kurt]

Originally Posted by rcm

A quick bumped to see if anyone has had a chance to do any comparisons on the Dynaudio BM15 active vs passive with a good amp.

Hej.
Interesting discussion as I have 3 BM-15A´s. They are soffit mounted without any isolation or finish yet. They can be moved horizontally +-120cm. without change of distance or angle to listening position.
There are bass traps in all corners & soffit.
Treble in dynaudios was piercing & hurting mine ears.

Then one day I was reading (I hope I may Mr. Bob Katz.):
"The three K-System meter scales are named K-20, K-14, and K-12. The K-20 meter is intended for wide dynamic range material, e.g., large theatre mixes, "daring home theatre" mixes, audiophile music, classical (symphonic) music, "audiophile" pop music mixed in 5.1 surround, and so on. The K-14 meter is for the vast majority of moderately-compressed high-fidelity productions intended for home listening (e.g. some home theatre, pop, folk, and rock music). And the K-12 meter is for productions to be dedicated for broadcast."

.................................& since then. After 6 years of moving & adjusting various settings. Ad libitum. ….
…Moving monitor controller ~ 14db up & daw analog in, out & insert levels down to ~ -18db = 0db cured everything.


These speakers have Danish type (TC) top that can musically open very high top. They, like another 4 1030A genelec´s, really like monitor level knob at 01:30 – 02:00 & nice, -20-12db of what ever kind signal from daw.
Hope someone will make sense of it.

[audioboy6]

I used to have a pair of the active BM15A's that I sold about a year ago. I ended up getting rid of them just because I was looking for something a little more neutral. I found the actives to be ok. I have a few friends with the passives, the little bit that I heard them they sounded similar but different.

If I was to buy them again I would go passive. You can get some great deals on power amps these days and you can probably come out with something that sounds better for less money. One of my friends powers them with a Hafler 9505 which seemed to be a pretty good match.

Also If you are in a big room, do really bass heavy material, or like to listen really loud the actives may be a little light on headroom.

take care,
Jared

[kurt]

Originally Posted by audioboy6

Also If you are in a big room, do really bass heavy material, or like to listen really loud the actives may be a little light on headroom.

take care,
Jared

So true..fuuck

[Don S]

What about subs with the BM6A? IMHO, the 6A is much more accurate monitor than the 15A. The mids are better defined, and a better image. When I owned these, I had the low end rolled off at about 100. BTW- I had to spend thousands more to get a better monitor. Best bang for the buck in it's range!

[radicalron]

I have been using a pair of Dynaudio Passive BM15's for several years. I am running them with a pair of Manley 100 Watt Tube Mono Blocks. The sound is exceptional!
While I would not say the sound is ruler flat, they reference very well, and I find it is a happy medium between an inspiring playback, and the ability to mix.
I am running these in conjunction with a pair of Focal Sol 6's.

[TML]

I sold my 15a's after having them for 3 years. Got a pair of Focals w/ sub and a/b mixes with NS 10's. I will never go back to the Dyn's. A friend has the 6's... I like them.... the 15's though... glad their gone... just didn't feel right......like I was mixing against what I heard.
TIm

[666666]

I own and love the BM15Ps.

Can anyone shed any light on the Dynaudio M3s?

[mixerguy]

bump to an old thread.....

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by 666666

Can anyone shed any light on the Dynaudio M3s?

they're big and loud. guy from Prodigy used em like club speakers while mixing. stike

[ohmsweetohm]

I've been using BM15as for a few years. They're very nice but I have heard quite a few times that the passives with a good amp are a little better.

I haven't heard the passives but I can't imagine it's a huge a difference. They're just great speakers period. No fatigue, extraordinarily transparent (and trustworthy) midrange. The highs are not hyped like waveguides or certainly ribbons but they translate very well.

I guess my ideal would be to have ribbon tweeters for tracking so you get that highly detailed view to make sure you aren't missing anything, then for mixing and mastering I would absolutely prefer the Dyns.

One thing about the Bm15 in general: It's truly a mid-field speaker. If you're planning on cranking them up (and they sound great when you do) you MUST have good acoustics in your control room. These things go down to 35hz and you can basically get by without a sub (although I'd still like one) but once you get that loud you are going to reveal every little problem with your room.

I generally keep mine pretty close and play them low to do my actual work and then just crank them up for fun at the end. I have taken them to an acoustically constructed control room and cranked them up and they're fantastic under those circumstances but it's a different thing. If you didn't spend at least $100k on construction and literally build your walls for optimal acoustics....I would use them as if they were nearfields and keep the volume on the low side. They're still a pleasure to work on that way.

It's the price of less trickery in terms of the tweeter and a much wider sweet spot than any ribbon or waveguide.

When I bought my Bm15s I got to do a wonderful A/B of several monitors at Dale Pro Audio (thanks to Tim Finnegan!). I had a Coles switcher so I could fast switch to any of a number of pairs. I had 1031s, BM6a, HR824s, some JBL, and SA2.5, SA3 (ADAMs). The BM15s won hands down, mainly for the most transparent midrange with the most natural sounding top and bottom. I also noticed that the midrange was noticeably more detailed on the BM15s than on the BM6s, even at low volumes. Believe me, I wanted to save the money and get the 6s but I couldn't when I heard the midrange differences. The crossover is actually higher in 15s, further away from 1khz.