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Active speakers Dynaudio vs Mackie?

Rope said:
If you're located geographically where you're able to find active speaker dealers of choice, you owe it to yourself to audition and determine which is your sound of choice. No one here, hears the way you hear, or knows what what sound trips your trigger. Besides, the hunt is half the fun.

Rope



:text-+1: :text-goodpost:
 
Flint said:
I was giving advice based on the weaknesses of the Mackies, which is peak output and room filling ability.

Please go into more detail if you would. I admit that I may be biased because I use 5 Mackie HR824's in my setup but... at reasonable listening levels (approaching pain) I've not detected an inability to fill my untreated 17x19x10 room. I'm not arguing that the Dynaudio monitors aren't superior, just looking for your insight.
 
This quickly becomes a "size matters" discussion.

The Mackies are VERY good speakers and I have already recommended them as the best for the money if you want killer performance.

However, there are better things out there. My point was this... if you can afford the Mackies, get them. If you can afford spending more, get the Dynaudios because they will do a better job reproducing the higher SPL peaks that a good, dynamic recording might have. That isn't to say the Mackies are can't play loud. Instead, it is a recognition that at fairly high average SPLs, the Dynaudios will be less stressed and do a better job on the high SPL peaks.

Also, the Dynaudio active speakers generally have a bit more resolution compared to the Mackies at equal price points, or higher. However, at the same price point, the Mackies will play louder but have a bit less resolution.

I was basing everything in my initial advice purely on that high SPL peak issue and was ignoring all the other aspects of the speakers.
 
I am preparing to pull the trigger on a pair of Dyn BM6 II's. My only concern is that they have only balanced xlr inputs. I have ordered a pair of xlr to rca adapters from Parts Express.

Is there any risk of hum or other issues I should be concerned about? My preamp has only unbalanced rca outputs.
 
I don't mean to cloud your judgement but I'm curious about a few things. How far away from these speakers will your listening position be? In what capacity will these speakers be used? And why are you looking for active/powered speakers in particular?
 
Zing said:
I don't mean to cloud your judgement but I'm curious about a few things. How far away from these speakers will your listening position be? In what capacity will these speakers be used? And why are you looking for active/powered speakers in particular?

I live in a small studio apt of approx 400sq ft. My listening position is about 7ft from the speakers. They will be used primarily for 2 ch music listening with the hope of adding surround sound if/when I can afford it.

I do have a SVS PC+ sub which I cannot use because the neighbors don't like it.

I fell in love with active speakers when I first heard the Paradigm Active 20's. I moved from those to the Active 40's about a year later. I changed to a pair of Mackie 824's a few years after.

Ever since I first heard, then learned about the idea of active speakers they seem to offer some of the highest value per dollar options available, particularly for a component system. No receiver amp sections to deal with, and no outboard power amps required. I can rely on the speaker company engineers to use amps best matched to their drivers.

I am also drawn to the idea of using active line level crossovers and the ability to connect the power amps directly to the drivers.
 
Fair enough. Thank you.

I was concerned that your distance from them will exceed what they were designed for. Typically, studio monitors are designed for near-field use (3-4 feet +/-) and don't sound all that good in a far-field environment. But these Dyns you're looking at seem to be designed for mid-field use and I gotta believe 7 feet is in their wheelhouse.
 
Thanks for all the input. I pulled the trigger on a pair of Dynaudio BM6AII's. I will post my impressions as soon as I think my ears have adjusted.

I wish I could do a direct comparison of the Dyn's vs. the Mackies unfortunately it's not possible.
 
I have been dealing with serious medical issues over the last few weeks, and haven't been able to do much listening. I will post my impressions as soon as get a chance to do some critical listening.
 
2chnfornow said:
I have been dealing with serious medical issues over the last few weeks, and haven't been able to do much listening. I will post my impressions as soon as get a chance to do some critical listening.
I don't get on the forum as much as I used to, so I just saw this thread. First of all, more importantly than anything else, I hope you are getting better.

Thoughts and prayers,

John
 
2chnfornow said:
I have been dealing with serious medical issues over the last few weeks, and haven't been able to do much listening. I will post my impressions as soon as get a chance to do some critical listening.

Very sorry to hear that, I hope that everything is resolved quickly.
 
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