Purple, Heard the Blue Sky "System One"?

[Bruce]

Have you heard this setup in a 5.1 config with the BMC unit in a room?

If so, what are your impressions?

Bright, detailed, harsh, what?

These are powered monitors.

I'm trying to compare it to the Dynaudio "AIR System" powered monitoring speakes which appear to have similiar but more extensive bass management control.

Have you heard the Dynaudio AIR system?

[purplepeople]

I'm pretty sure I was listening to the ProDesk and not the System One. And it was at Tom Lee Music in the studio department. I don't remember where I heard the Airs, but I think it was in one of the audiophile stores, maybe Hi Fi Centre or the one on 4th Avenue that is long gone. Both were 2.1 setups. Of course, since it was at different times and at different locations, a real comparison was not possible. I believe the Blue Sky is still being sold at Tom Lee. I haven't seen Dynaudio's around here in a while, but I haven't been looking either. Probably because they don't present good price/performance value.

My recollection is that the Airs were smooth but had too much bass. I'm sure that is due to the sub setup. The sats were big enough to be real mains and they seemed to have too much mid-bass. Hard to remember now, but I don't think they were well placed in the room. That is a pretty bad indicator for a high end retailer.

The ProDesk was also smooth and had just the right amount of bass. I would describe it as more tranparent than the Dynaudios. It was much harder to locate where mid-bass was coming from.

Over the next few days, I will try to pass by Tom Lee Music and see if a System One is setup for demo.

ensen

[Dexter]

Bruce,

I just bought a pair of Dynaudio Air 15 Studio Monitors. My application was a bit different vs. standard two channel stereo so I needed to go the pro route. I wanted a great sounding pair of speakers for standard two channel listening but also needed to output the signal from a midi piano set-up with powered monitors. The result is that I can have semi-live performances with standard CDs playing but with live acustic piano playing symultaneously.

Your question was regarding the sound of the "Airs". I couldn't do any side-by-side listening with standard equipment (i.e. B&W 805/804/803s, Dynaudio Contour S1.4/S3.4 etc.) since the pro set-up is quite a bit different and the home audio stores in my area don't carry the pro equipment. To my ears they sound amazing and they still need to be properly broken-in. They have a lot of different bass adjustments and a reasonably good set-up guide to help. They have a lot of bass so no need for a sub IMO. I have mine set-up in two corners. The Dynaudio set-up menu on the speakers has several different settings (e.g. Wall, Corner, Nutral etc.) to adjust for various room placements. It actually worked well and couldn't have been easier.

I would recommend that you try to listen to these speakers. They are reasonably priced when you consider that they have two 200 WPC Amps driving each speaker driver built-in to each speaker.

[purplepeople]

Okay, since I have the week off, I went in to Tom Lee Music to demo the Blue Sky System One vs. the Dynaudio BM5a. They also had the Blue Sky Prodesk, Mackie HR624, HR824, Genelec 1031, Tannoy 800, Tannoy 600, and various Events and Behringers, but... no Air series monitors. There wasn't much time so I only really tested the BM5a vs the System Ones. The Dynaudio's were 2.0 while the Blue Sky's had a sub. Test CDs include Pink Floyd, Aqua, Dave Brubeck, Strunz & Farah, J.S. Bach and Dave Grusin. I brought more just in case, but these told me all I needed to know.

Dynaudio BM5a:
Fairly smooth throughout the range, especially around the crossover frequencies. Hard to tell, but there may be some phase issues that show up as a "live" and pleasing sound but may make it a little inaccurate. The bells on Floyd's Time sound alive as if the event is happening in the room. I believe the track is supposed to be a little more dry that what I heard. Even so, imaging is good and the car on Barbie Girl does actually drives away. Mid-bass and extension are very good. Drum kit and upright bass on Take 5 are coming through clearly. Does not normally need a sub except to support HT applications.

Blue Sky System One
Almost overly smooth thoughout the range except near the sub crossing, which could be due to poor setup in that particular room. Strunz and Farah acoustic guitar sounds like all strings are plastic, which cannot be the case. No impact during Bach's Toccata and Fugue and the Dave Grusin's piano is not so alive. Clearly the lesser in this test.

For reference I tested against known quantities like the Mackie 624 and the Genelec 1031. As always, then Genelecs were a bit forward and the Mackies had fantastic extension. For main monitors, I would still buy the Mackies as the Dynaudios are bit too strong on the mid-range. However, these new BM5a's have nearly the same extension and would make a great center channel speakers. I think placement and set-up is absolutely critical for the System One... and even more so than for it's little brothers. In this set-up the sub was turned up quite high and that may have messed things up too much.

Even if the Blue Sky's were setup perfectly, the Dynaudios are the better buy since they are on clearance for $1225 CAD which is about half the price of Blue Sky.

I hope this helps.

ensen.

[Bruce]

purple,
Thanks!! Just to be inquisitive, I assume the Dyns were on stands, but how far away from rear and side walls?

Your comments about blue-sky mirrors what I remember about the sound of M&K speakers that I previously auditioned.

I've owned Dyn Contours for the last 6 years and they do require careful setup regarding wall boundaries, but I don't know much about Dyn's Promonitor series. Looks like I'll have to try and do some demo sessions myself in some pro audio stores.

[purplepeople]

Both the Blue Sky sats and the Dynaudios were on stands side by side about 40 inches off the floor. The sats were about 6 feet apart and the Dynaudios were about 5 feet apart. The Blue Sky sub was on the floor between the sats about a foot closer. Both sets were about 18 inches from the back wall. The 12'x10'x7' room itself was poorly constructed and set up. Glass was interspersed with egg crate foam. The low ceiling peppered with rafters and visible piping. One long wall held floor to ceiling shelves with all the other monitors not being tested. The test units were against one of the short walls. I'm sure the room and the setup had a huge effect, which is why I can only say that the BM5a's were better in this test.

As for pro studio monitors vs. non-pro speakers... I always tell people to go and listen to them. They are not only very well priced, but they are amazing speakers at any price. And, they have the added bonus of having matched amplifiers on-board. The only cons would be that they don't have grill covers and that they work best with balanced cable runs.

ensen.

[Bruce]

Both sets were about 18 inches from the back wall.

That would account for the heavy upper mid-bass of the Dyns, as that is typically too close to the back wall. Something like 36" is probably much better for a smoother response.

I'm intrigued by Dyn's AIR series with digital XO control.