Dynaudio LYD 5 Studio Monitor Review

[Robbo99999]

I cant know if feature to adjust Z-axis in CAD software outputs this 100% right although will imagine its right or relative close but judge yourself what animation below tell, technical CAD software is feeded Amir's spindata which is pre calculated by his Klippel software to output acosutics performance at 2 meter distance called by the CTA2034 standard, in CAD software same standard 2 meter distance is set for microhone but then one have the feature to dial on speakers Z-axis and set it to negative numbers relative to the 72 derectivity curves in Amir's spindara.

Animation on axis of LYD 5..

View attachment 82794

Thanks for the reply, but for me that's throwing up more questions than answers, I was looking for answers to my post #28....maybe what you posted answers my questions, but I don't understand it.

 

[daftcombo]

Before I show you the directivity plots, let me post a new measurement I have not shown before which indicates at what distance the speaker acts as if it is in far field:

This says that above 400 Hz, that distance is 1.5 meters (where the circles is on blue line) Lower frequencies take forever to get this way so I have excluded them. Let me know if you like to see this display for future near-field monitors.

Hi Amir,
Thanks for the review. Any plan on reviewing the Evoke 20 from this brand?

I don't understand the new graph. What is N, and what does the vertical axis represent?

 

[Soniclife]

What does it actually mean when it's said a speaker transfers from nearfield to farfield listening? Is it something to do with the where the waveforms combine from the woofer & tweeter in terms of distance and/or something to do with when reflections combine in an average room? What do the different lines in the graph represent?
View attachment 82771
I can see that it's something to do with the distance at which the speaker reaches somekind of steady state, but I don't know what that state is.

I could do with the dummies guide answer to this too, it seems a very interesting measurement. @amirm, is if possible to compute this for previous speakers?

 

[DanGuitarMan]

Thank you for the data/review, @amirm . You have my permission to hang on to it to continue tests if you like Fiddle with those switches back there.

So, I want to give a few insights in to how they are working for me in my space:

I set the bass extension switch to -10. It makes a measurable difference in my room, especially considering I don't have a sub.​

I set the sound balance switch to Dark. It tilts the entire frequency spectrum 3dB in total. That takes care of the slight bright quality I feel the speaker has. The effect is measurable.​

I set the position switch to Free, manually measure using REW, and correct any anomalies using the peqs on my MOTU 624. I could not measure what the position switch was doing when I tried it. Maybe it's a fake switch ​

"Your Room™" is the defining factor...

Here is my in room response with the LYDs before and after EQ:​

It's a relatively small living room (14' x 12' x 9'). I can not treat it like a studio. We have a thick carpet, a sectional sofa that takes up half of the room, fabric shades, and a large piece of art made from wool on the back wall. It's as good as it gets for a small residential room.​

No matter what speakers are in my room, I witness the same general anomalies occurring in the bass region. The room's not terribly reflective, so mids and highs are less affected, but it seems to resonate like a drum and does terrible things to the bass.​

I generally only EQ cuts, not boosts. I've tried boosting some holes, especially that 450-850 dip, but I can't definitively say I like the effect, as I can say about the cuts.​

​

Pick the curve that best fits...

​

My preferred target is a line sloping -10dB from 20-20k. I believe that's the Sean Olive tilt, or something like that? Anyway, I prefer it in my room, because out of all of the possible house curves, this is the one that I observed occurring naturally when I measured.​

​

I tried EQing the hell out of it to fit other room response curves (EBU, B&K, Harman, Katz), but the more I EQd, the more unnatural it sounded. Minimum effective dose, Occam's razor, K.I.S.S. principle, etc... The speaker already measures quite flat anechoic, so I do as little as possible to alter that. At first I was using Dirac, which worked wonders for the bass region, but I did not like the effect it had on the mids and highs. It sounded unnatural to me. Not to mention there is a delay, which makes recording impossible. It's only works for playback. It felt like I was trying to tap in a small brass tack with a sledgehammer.​

​

The tilt switch on the LYD helped me to ever so gently nudge the entire frequency response to "fit" the house curve. It's the simplest little handy dandy control I've seen implemented in a speaker.​

​

Anyhow, I'm happy with them. They are more than enough speaker for to fill my space and then some. They work for recording, mixing, and general music/movie playback. I'm sure the Genelecs and Neumanns would also work well. I do prefer the look of the Dynaudio. The triangle tweeter cover is pretty cool.

 

[watchnerd]

I have a pair of these and have had them since released about 2 years ago.

I run them on my desktop as monitors, hooked up to an RME ADI-2 Pro and an iMac, on Isoacoustic stands, about 3" from a wall / window.

The settings I use on the back are:

Input: -6 dB
Bass Extension: -10 Hz
Position: Wall

Primary use is nearfield, but they go loud enough that I can get plenty of volume on my midfield "mastering couch" 15 feet away.

I've considered adding the matching 18S subwoofer, which has DSP pre-integrations for the LYD series built in.

 

[watchnerd]

Linearity is just outstanding.

Form 200Hz onwards it’s more or less +/- 1dB in the listening window.

This is why I like them. And low listening fatigue.

90% of my listening to them is nearfield, <1 m, on a desktop.

FWIW, I also have the JBL LS305, but don't use them on my desktop anymore.

 

[watchnerd]

Looking at their product range, hypothetical question comes to my mind.. LYD48+LYD48 versus LYD5+9S+LYD5..

I have the LYD 5.

I've considered adding the 18S as the upgrade path.

 

[watchnerd]

Looks like a Skaaning woofer, if it’s the AT 18H52, it’s showing the same dip around 1.4-1.6k that I’ve measured in my own units.

Dynaudio makes all their woofers in house -- for them to use a Skaaning would be a break from their usual vertical integration practice.

 

[YSC]

anyone have an idea will the "wall" setting brings down the excessive bass?

 

[watchnerd]

anyone have an idea will the "wall" setting brings down the excessive bass?

I use mine with the "Wall" setting.

My perception is, yes, it reduces boundary effects, including in the bass.

Here is what the manual says:

"If you have positioned your speakers within 50cm of a back wall boundary, the position switch should be placed in the “Wall” setting. This will help with anomalies created by reflections coming off the back wall, especially in the lower frequencies. If your speakers are placed further than 50cm from any wall surface, use the “Free” setting."

And if you want it to sound brighter:

"Sound Balance
The sound balance, or tilt filter, represents a refined way to affect the overall tone of the speaker. Depending on the room treatment among other factors, it may be necessary to make the loudspeaker darker or brighter than the normal setting. A dead sounding room with a great deal of treatment might need a brighter setting than a live room with many reflective surfaces.

Sound Balance has three settings:

• Bright (20 Hz -1,5dB, 20kHz +1,5dB)
• Neutral
• Dark (20 Hz +1,5dB, 20 kHz -1,5 dB)

What this filter actually does is tilt the entire spectrum by 1,5 dB at either end using minimal phase or linear phase filters to either brighten or darken the overall response. This minimal filter alters the tonality without inducing audible phase anomalies, thereby maximizing the linearity of the loudspeaker."

 

[watchnerd]

That PIR graph is surprisingly smooth!

I think it’s worth setting the bass extension switch to -10 Hz and evaluating the speaker that way too. Deeper bass but with how much more distortion? Hmm...

Here is what the manual says:

"
Bass Extension
Low frequencies take an exponentially larger amount of energy to reproduce than high frequencies. That is why the bass extension setting affects how loud the speaker will respond.

At its lowest setting (-10 Hz), the low frequency range is extended by 10Hz. This will also reduce the maximum volume that the speaker can achieve. The default setting of 0 Hz limits the range of low bass while increasing the maximum volume of the loudspeaker. The +10 Hz setting has the least amount of bass extension but the loudest volume possible from the loudspeaker.

• -10 Hz (greatest low frequency extension, - 5 dB output)
• 0 Hz
• +10 Hz (loudest output with least low frequency extension, +5 dB output)

As most professional mixers tend to mix at relatively low volumes (~70-85 dB SPL), the greatest amount of bass extension (-10 Hz) can be used. As you increase the playback volume, you may need to reduce the amount of bass extension in order to prevent overdriving the loudspeaker."


IMHO, to get rid of the hump, I wouldn't look to the bass extension setting.

I'd be playing with the Position filter, setting it to Wall, and if one then wants it bright, use the Sound Balance tilt filter.

 

[DanGuitarMan]

I use mine with the "Wall" setting.

My perception is, yes, it reduces boundary effects, including in the bass.

Here is what the manual says:

"If you have positioned your speakers within 50cm of a back wall boundary, the position switch should be placed in the “Wall” setting. This will help with anomalies created by reflections coming off the back wall, especially in the lower frequencies. If your speakers are placed further than 50cm from any wall surface, use the “Free” setting."

Mine are 7" (18cm) from the back wall and I couldn't measure any difference between "Wall" and "Free" setting.

 

[watchnerd]

Mine are 7" (18cm) from the back wall and I couldn't measure any difference between "Wall" and "Free" setting.

Your back wall must be mushier than mine.

Mine are also closer, like 3", and there is a window, too.

 

[DanGuitarMan]

Your back wall must be mushier than mine.

Mine are also closer, like 3", and there is a window, too.

The walls behind them are wood over drywall over brick. The sidewalls are 27" away. I tried putting 7" of denim insulation behind them and that made zero measurable difference either. I stress measurable, because I have a vivid imagination like all of us here. I desperately wanted to hear a difference, but measurements showed me otherwise.

Edit: and I'm not implying that the setting does nothing. Just that in my room it didn't have an impact I could measure. YMMV

 

[dddenis]

View attachment 82722

Those are interesting results. Dynaudio sets a very high crossover frequency to overcome the need for a waveguide for controlled tweeter directivity. That's a dirty trick which comes along with worse vertical directivity and IMD at 2...4 kHz. The estimated in-room response looks so smooth but the vertical directivity is critical. It looks like the listening position must be vertically centered within much less than +-10°. Pink noise and moving your head up and down would easily reveal this weakness.

 

[DanGuitarMan]

Those are interesting results. Dynaudio sets a very high crossover frequency to overcome the need for a waveguide for controlled tweeter directivity. That's a dirty trick which comes along with worse vertical directivity and IMD at 2...4 kHz. The estimated in-room response looks so smooth but the vertical directivity is critical. It looks like the listening position must be vertically centered within much less than +-10°. Pink noise and moving your head up and down would easily reveal this weakness.

That's been my experience. They're a little finicky vertically if I really start to bob my head around.

 

[watchnerd]

Edit: and I'm not implying that the setting does nothing. Just that in my room it didn't have an impact I could measure. YMMV

Huh, I find that interesting, as in my room it's pretty obvious.

And, yes, I don't think anyone thought you were saying the switch does nothing.

It's effects may be subtle, or over a really narrow band of frequencies. Both of which I would think are a good thing.

I assume the tilt control makes things sound different in your system?

 

[DanGuitarMan]

I assume the tilt control makes things sound different in your system?

Yes. That made a difference I could hear and measure.

 

[watchnerd]

That's been my experience. They're a little finicky vertically if I really start to bob my head around.

Yeah, agree, although this became less of an issue for me sitting at the desk once I elevated them on stands.

 

[jhaider]

Dynaudio makes all their woofers in house -- for them to use a Skaaning would be a break from their usual vertical integration practice.

They probably are (evolved from a design created by a team headed by Skaaning when he was at Dynaudio, before founding ScanSpeak) and probably aren’t (from Skaaning’s current company).

One interesting-to-me thing is the smoothly narrowing horizontal directivity. Charles Sprinkle opined a little while back that this is preferable to even directivity.