Monitor selection (YSMP1 and BM5A)

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mikew

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There have been many posts about monitors starting as "I narrowed down to these two..." or "Which monitors?!?" I know because I just spent 100 hours of my life searching and reading this forum. Should I get Events,Tannoys,Yorkvilles,Wharfedales,KRK,Dynaudio, or.. or.. or.. AAAHHHH!!!!

First off, there was some good advice I read over the last week (I can't remember who posted it now) suggesting to get BOTH pair of monitors you have narrowed it down to as long as you can return a pair. Everyone has different tastes and listening to your mixes through the pair should be the deciding factor.

I have been stressing over this purchase and finally can to the realization "WHY?" I got so enthrawled in the discussions surrounding monitors that I forgot WHERE I was coming from and what I was trying to do. I currently mix on a pair of Dell computer speakers w/ a sub!! Just about anything I get off the short list of my monitors will be a huge step up.

That being said, my two selections within my budget ($500US) were:

Yorkville YSMP1 you will pay around $460US for a pair
Dynaudio BM5A you will pay around $449US for a pair

Coolcat was going to compare the YSM1 and the BM5A but he ran out of money. I was really looking forward to that post Coolcat! :) Ah well... from what I can gather:

The yorkies have better lower end frequency response. So if you really want that thump, or if you are doing hip-hop you would probably go with these. These also are probably a little more powerful than the Dynaudios so if you have a larger room, they might be better for you. bleyrad says: "Weaknesses of the Yorkvilles are in slightly scooped areas in the low mids and around 4Khz, and slightly boosted fizzly 9-14Khz range."

The dynaudio are probably a little better built with better components but are a little weaker on the low-end. This was stated by multiple people on this board and seem to be the chink in the armor of the monitors. There was also some discussion of how loud they can go. I mix in a 10x10, so probably no issues with these for me.

Both are praised for their clarity and their truthfulness to the mix although Dynaudios probably have the more flattering responses on the board as well as a more of a "following" if you will (gut feeling, no scientific counts etc - I'm sure if this is wrong someone will correct me). A major proponet (backed with some very good data) of the Yorkies is bleyrad although several others have praised them as well.

Of course there is outliers on both fronts, but these are far and few between.

Anyway, I'm probably going to go with the Dynaudios. Just wanted to share with people what my searching had wrought.

Thanks for all the information you guys provide! It is more than useful.

Regards,

- Mike
 
mikew said:
Yorkville YSMP1 you will pay around $460US for a pair
Dynaudio BM5A you will pay around $449US for a pair

Thanks for all the information you guys provide! It is more than useful.

Regards,

- Mike
Click to expand...

Dyns are $449 each.

If you like the Dyns you'll probably like Yorks.
 
Hi Coolcat,

ugh. Sometimes sites say (single) sometimes (pair).
Thanks for the clarification! Yorkies it is :)

- Mike
 
yeah, I like the Yorks...but I am a speaker addict. I like all the speakers in a way. Their different each one, but then some are just different tones or something.

Its fried. Like some geaheads buying 25 guitars or something....what ever floats your boat I guess. I like speakers best.

I still have these KRK RP6 and love them too. was getting ready to take them back and try something else just for kicks but, lost the receipt!

I don't even care anymore. how bummed out can a gearhead be to "have" to keep some KRK RP6's... :D
 
hey coolcat, have you taken a gander at those tascam vl-x5's? if you run into some extra cash, you could get a pair and tell me how they compare to the ysm's. :D
 
i was reading on the VL's since your post.

maybe we can convince mikew to change the decision and get a review? :D
 
anyway, GC allowed me credit on the KRK's RP6 Limited for $250, even though i lost my receipt and was past the 14days.

to add to my gearlust addiction & confusion, GCdewd said they'd work me a deal on the Dyn's demo' stock about $200-$250 off the Dyns, so $750. and with my $250 credit, $500.
I asked for a free weekend tryout but they declined. So I'll probably put them on layaway tomorrow. :D
Maybe by March unless the regular crap occurs again, like car repairs and terrorist electric bills... (I imagine GC cost on the Dyns is around $300pair? maybe $450)...

Compared the Dyns and JBL 6", in store some more,some Heavy Metal CD was pretty good...the JBl 6 and 8's still prefer the 6, but the 8 were not cranked all the way and may have need some more juice to shine. I still prefer the Dyns' but its wierd...the JBLS have this strange clarity. (and the electronics is too cool :)

Definitely two different sounds though imo, like a humbucker or single coil I guess, as I switched form the JBL LSR 6" to the Dyns BM5A's...both had something enticing.

BTW if any monitor heads noticed the E-MU PM5's are gone, that was a damn good deal at $99 each from $250 each. GC here never did get them in. :mad:
 
Well I got the BM5a's here finally (10months later?). :o
Demo models for $705 out the door. No box or manual.
GC offered $765 new in box.
these are definately broken in. but in mint shape.

Anyway, got them here.
First thing I noticed is no volume adjustments on the DYN BM5A monitors. I set everything to flat and then adjusted volume to the YSM1P and the BM5A's.

Initially the DYN BM5A were very nice. And made my YSM1p sound pretty light on bass and mid-range maybe too much...
but after setting the YSM1P EQ differently, they really matched up closely....could hardly hear a difference.....maybe too close for the added $$$$$$??? :confused:

I guess that was the most positive thing right away...setting up my YSM1P's to match the DYN's! I feel I gained something already for the effort.

The DYNS have rear port, its small but no big deal. I prefer NO Port...but front is best for my setup, which the YSM1P's have.

Luckily the YSM1P's have a volume knob so I could easily turn them up
to match the DYN's.

yeah...man touchdown. :cool:
 
crap Dyn's are rear port??, That blows it out for me.
CC, do you know if the BM6 are rear port?

T
 
not sure on the bM6, the JBL's are rear ported and larger.

turning it off for the night. dang it took a long time to get these here.

The DYN's are smaller in size, I like that for my desktop. the port's are pretty small, so I don't know the design and all the high level stuff, but
as I understand it... 2 to 3 ft away from the wall is enough?

Listening to all Rami's stuff on the web, and some others the DYN's have a certain upper mid clarity the YSM1's were tricky at dialing in. It's been a short listening session. there's some subtle differences, but subtle doesn't cut it for my financials...and my usage again is songwriter, solo stuff..other than recording some kids and doing some adding parts onto my brothers tracks.
So keep that in mind of anything I say is low-level HR in comparison.

Reading an article on tweeters while listening, realized its just personal taste of course, but I tend to like the non-metal dome tweeters...possibly a big plus for the YSM1 and DYNS....I always thought they sounded kind of similar.

The DYNS are better would be my first impression, if money wasn't a concern.

damn...this is fun! :D
 
COOLCAT said:
Listening to all Rami's stuff on the web, and some others the DYN's have a certain upper mid clarity the YSM1's were tricky at dialing in.
Click to expand...

i thought he said he uses a pair of truck speakers for monitoring. :rolleyes: :confused:
 
talkin cheap stuff that sounds good...

he does per his post. but it works and sounds damn good to me. ...great HR imo.
i find that more impressive of his skills than the gear.
What if he bought some $8000 Adams and his mixes went to shit!!?? :eek:

skills man....pfffftttt
its not all about science and specs and how much something cost right?

speaking of cheap speakers...my nephews have made amazing stuff, using $30 Technics monitors I bought from Montgomery Wards years and years ago....they are 2-way passives, bookshelf HiFi, with an old 1972 Marantz "tank" amplifier....their stuff is really, really mixed well....

skills..
but my neph mentioned he'd like to upgrade monitors as he's tired of "mixing around the Technics"...adding things that the speakers don't get, but he knows it'll be missing in "general" systems.

Anyway,

I have the YSM1's volume at 2 marks to the right of center.
The LF set to Full (+2db)
The HF Reflection Optimization set to A-Dampened room.

The DYN's are FLAT/EQ=0 on all three sliders. HF at FLAT, Level at 0 and again no volume adjustment on the speaker.


gone.
 
well, little update.
Listening to Escaped Velocity free downloads..
http://www.escapevelocity.com/
Love you and Go Back were used for a lot of comparisons.
Mono, stereo, left right etc volumes..
The two songs, mentioned above, have piano Bass Drums and Vocals mainly.
piano covering a great mid freq to low.
On GRN's EV tunes, (made a mention of MTV reality shows) the YSM1P's were setup to E setting on the LF, B setting on the HF, volume +3db (2nd mark past 0).Plugged the port...and almost exact duplicate sound of the DYN's IMO.
probably ~6 hrs on them today.
the Yorks were just fine, this is so subtle at this point, with this music, the speakers are matched up pretty good.

listening to various types of tunes, The Mighty Tunacock and Simple Twist of Fate
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=5075902&q=hi
http://www.trentsevern.com/paul/simple_twist_of_fate.wma

Probably a plus here for the DYN's, especially for a real engineer with customers! :p
a strange thing with the DYN's, they seem slightly more consistent from mix to mix it seems. Consistent, where as the yorks made me want to adjust the EQ to match the DYNS which I did.
But the DYNS sounded the same on everything. I don't quite understand how this could be, or what physical material would help accomplish this.

Bleyrad had a YSM1 and DYN's, but he went to the BM15 pretty fast I think.
Some of what he said makes more sense now. There is a upper mid difference, around the snare-range, that is more pronounced, yet the yorks on this setting, seemed to have a bit more hihat and cymbals.

starting to rethink the port in the back versus the front? at least its not flubbing air in the face?

hmm? :confused:
 
What you are experiencing here in my opinion is that the Dynaudios are just a better pair of monitors. Consistency is something in my opinion that is a must. Without consistency you never know whats really happening. It's great that you can make the yorks sound like the Dynaudio's, but those are just for specific things. As you ahve now experienced you have to keep changing the yorks for different things which would be a definate warning sign to me. In the real world process of tracking and mixing, you can't really change the monitors with any sort of guaranteed direction because you don't know how they need to change. I am not saying the yorks are bad, just that they Dynaudio's (in my opinion) are better. I started my Dynaudio experience with BM6's and loved them. Since then I have moved up to BM15's and like them even more, but my control room is 15' x 20' so the BM15's just fit my needs better.
 
So whats the deal with rear ported monitors. Is there a minimum distance recommended from the front wall? Maybe thats what I need. Seems the front ported ones blows mud in your face.

Low freq's are more omni vs HF are more directional. Is there a delay in the low end response? Gotta check out the Dyny's
 
Personally, I do not make my decisions on whether there is or isn't a port and where it is located. I make my decisions on how well whatever design is used is implemented.
 
call me crazy, but I like the yorks a bit more with the port plugged with a towel. the switches 1- left, 2,3,4 to the right/numbered side. Volume still at +3db. it's close as I can get to the DYN BM5A's. (in my HR room)

the Yorks were $377 per my old post?
the DYN's at $705 demo/floor models.

a few more hours listening...
I'm going with the Yorkies. (being a broke gear-head which plays the biggest part of this decision). If money was not a factor the DYNS, which is no surprise really.

liking the york's even a bit more now that I experienced a higher end monitor side by side. "tuned up" the Yorks.
Very interesting and enjoyable session; I'd recommend it to anyone wondering how their monitors sound side by side to some highly respected monitors.

I agree with someone saying the room could bring out more definition between the speakers too. But that's another topic. :D

For a smaller HR room... songwriter, friends and family recording place...these YSM1P's are good enough fa me. close enough.

...what a blast.
 
Agreed. I am sure Dynaudio has the design implementation high in regards to the performance.
I was concerned about the design and the usage e.g. some of us know that obviously you do not place a rear port monitor real close -like couple inches) from the front wall. At least that is what I've learned. But what is the consequences? does it give a erroneous response, or an exagerated response VS a front ported monitor.
Not that I would do this. I'm just trying to get some perspectives here.

Appreciate your thoughts.

T

xstatic said:
Personally, I do not make my decisions on whether there is or isn't a port and where it is located. I make my decisions on how well whatever design is used is implemented.
Click to expand...
 
COOLCAT said:
I agree with someone saying the room could bring out more definition between the speakers too. But that's another topic.
Click to expand...

I've had my monitors in 3 different rooms, for an extended amount of time in each, and I can say that the room makes a huge difference in the stereo field and perceived frequency response.
 
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