Dynaudio BM15a replacement

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Philly Joe

New member
Hello,

My new studio is on the attic (3,5 x 4,5 meters and maximum 2.3 meters high) with a slanted roof. My room has been acoustic treated.
Because of that slanted roof, I have almost no room for my monitors (Dynaudio BM15a). So, I decided to sell my monitors, although they sound very good.

I use them now in combination with a Presonus Temblor T10 subwoofer, all calibrated with Sonarworks Reference 4.

After reading a lot of reviews I cannot decide what new pair of monitors I should buy. My budget is about 2000-2500 euro for a pair.

a) Focal Solo 6 BE (+ my own T10 subwoofer)
b) Genelec 8040 (+ my own T10 subwoofer)
c) PSI Audio A17-M (a little above my budget)
d) ...?

This options seem to be a step backwards compared to the BM15a, but I'm not sure about that. Both the Focal and Genelec have a 6,5 inch woofer, the PSI 7 inch (the BM15a has a 10 inch woofer). Of course I don’t want to make a step backwards in my main monitor system.

For me is very important, that besides a ‘pleasant’ neutral image, the monitor is absolutely quiet (no amp-noise, tweeter hiss, hum or whatever) and optimal shielded for RF-noise.

I am a musician and composer of mainly jazz and classical music. I mix and master my own music.

What would you recommend?

Cheers, Jan
 
Hi Philly Joe....and welcome to the forum. My first impression is that your space is rather small for 10 inch monitors.....including a 10 inch sub. I know you mentioned that you calibrated with Sonarworks Reference 4 but it's difficult for me to imagine that reflections and other room effects aren't a problem. Don't get me wrong.....I surely assume that you're results are fine.

Any new monitors you buy are not likely going to be much "better" than the Dynaudio's in terms of quality......only in how they interact with your room. If it's just a space issue you're obviously dealing with a VERY cramped area if a few inches are that impactful. Do you except that someday you'll be moving or in a different space?

Just ignore my 2 cents if need Be.

Mick
 
If you have a pair of monitors you like, one option you have is to build what would be considered a hybrid soft soffit of sorts. I am in the middle of a redesign of my attic studio space but what I have for monitors are temporary. So I did a lot of testing and mocking up various ideas. I've left the middle portion open in the treatment of the front wall just so I can build out a hybrid trap/boundary panel if I decide on something more midfield. A 1x1.3 meter hardboard panel will give you enough of a boundary and if the ceiling is similar to mine, will help reduce the interaction with the corner that is the kneewall/ceiling junction. The added benefit is that it could be built into additional bass trapping.

It would be pretty simple and cheap to mock it up and measure the difference in response. It won't deal with all the SBIR but likely enough to be workable and give you the added height for bigger monitors.

Move and measure first before making any decisions. Any issues you have now will likely follow with the new monitors, so better to understand the interaction of the odd dimensions of such a room first.
16inchDistance.jpg

Front-filled.jpg
 
Hi,
unfortunately I have to deal with this room/space. It has a lot advantages as well. f.i. It is possible to play and record my drums live, without disturbing my neighbors. The slanted roof is on the left and right, so I’m dealing with a flat back- and frontspace.
The Sonarworks management-tool analyses was more positive than I suspected. There was only +5dB on the 50-100 Hz and -3bdB on the high-end. That is controlled via the high en low-end knobs on the back of the Dynaudio’s. The sub is acting really as a supplement. After calibration it is not too loud. Beautiful.
My problem is that the BM15a giving to much RF-interference. I’ve tried everything to solve this, but this is mainly caused by a bad design and the placement of my studio. I cannot move to another room in my house.
 
Question.....have you always used this room since you've had your Dynaudio's? Have the Dynaudio's always given you an interference problem? Are you saying your monitors produce the RF intererence......or are they just being affected by it? How bad is the problem? The noise issue might not have anything to do with your monitors of course. Do they make the same noise when nothing else is on? Of course it could be something in your house or close outside. It sounds like you've been doing the trouble shooting for some time now so forgive me if you've eliminated everything.

My 2 cents worth of........maybe...could be.....might be....etc....etc......

Mick
 
Genelecs have aluminum cabinets and advertise magnetic shielding. *Might* be worth a try. I’d like a pair of the 8030s or maybe those Neumann 5”-ers...

edit: auto-correct fixup
 
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The RF-interference is only on that space in my house. I had a specialist who looked to the problem. It’s because of nearby mobile telephone antennas in this part of the street. Besides that there is a light hiss from the bm15 amplifier/transformer.
In my bedroom there is no noise from the BM15’s. I had them recapped and a full service 2 years ago. Helped a little bit.
I Have a netfilter, but did not help. now both monitors is wrapped in Aluminum foil. That helps a bit Against high beeps and noises.
Before this studio I had another larger room. No problems at all.
I borrowed small Neumanns (120’s) from a friend. They were absolutely quiet. The sound of the relative small Neumanns was not comparable with my BM15a’s. The room is still 16 m2. So not super Small.
My idea is that the Focal solo6’s are bot that well shielded as the Neumanns or the Genelecs. May be there is no other way than buy them both and check it out.
 
Philly Joe said:
...
My idea is that the Focal solo6’s are bot that well shielded as the Neumanns or the Genelecs. May be there is no other way than buy them both and check it out.
Click to expand...
Neumann and Genelec have aluminum cabinets while the Focals are MDF. Shielding is only mentioned for the transducers in the user manual. But, it's possible it would be sufficient. You are probably going to have to just buy and test.

Is the power supply to the monitors conditioned? Have you looked into that?
 
Ferrite beads on the cables...? I had mad RF issues here at one point and a stack full of ferrite beads took care of basically all of it...
 
Thanks guys for all your help!
- Ferrite beads is a good idea, but the noise/humming from the monitors is there also when I unplug them. So they are only plugged into the power...
- The monitors (and all other equipment) is connected to one power source > to NowSonic powerplant/netfilter > to separate power distribution strip (all grounded)
- i have been told by an engineer, that ’magnetic shielded’ has nothing to do with sensitivity for RF-interference

@keith.rogers. May be I have an offday, but what is ‘mix guy’?
 
By the way, I just noticed that the Genelecs have a bass reflex system. I think this is a disadvantage, because I have no other option to place my monitors in the corners, max. 25 cm from the wall. This will give a unwanted boost of the lows I presume?
 
Philly Joe said:
Thanks guys for all your help!
- Ferrite beads is a good idea, but the noise/humming from the monitors is there also when I unplug them. So they are only plugged into the power...
- The monitors (and all other equipment) is connected to one power source > to NowSonic powerplant/netfilter > to separate power distribution strip (all grounded)
- i have been told by an engineer, that ’magnetic shielded’ has nothing to do with sensitivity for RF-interference

@keith.rogers. May be I have an offday, but what is ‘mix guy’?
Click to expand...
Sorry, that "mix guy" thing was a typo auto-correct that I did not see... Was supposed to read "might...." (edited that post now)

I don't know if I read the word "magnetic" in the product description where the "shielding" word appeared, but was thinking more along the "Faraday cage" concept, which is an RF interference technique. Where's Dave (@ecc83)??
 
but was thinking more along the "Faraday cage" concept, which is an RF interference technique
Click to expand...
That is correct. For that reason I use aluminium-foil wrapped around the speakers, but obviously this is not enough to keep all buzzes away. There is a bass-reflex port on the front, which is open (off course). This 'leak' can also be the case. On the back of the speaker it's all heavy aluminium and a grill.
I also ordered new TRS-jack cables for my interface>patchy routing. Perhaps this is also helping a bit.
 
Philly Joe said:
By the way, I just noticed that the Genelecs have a bass reflex system. I think this is a disadvantage, because I have no other option to place my monitors in the corners, max. 25 cm from the wall. This will give a unwanted boost of the lows I presume?
Click to expand...
The video I saw from Genelec said the minimum distance to the wall is essentially the width of the rear port flare. So 25cm would cover that (i.e., it's more than the cabinet width). I'd be concerned putting them in corners unless they're well trapped.
 
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