[MonkeyMan]

Bloody hell.

I have been researching for a decent set of monitors for a while now - and managed to get it down to two pairs. Although it must be mentioned that reading web reviews cannot in any way shape or form give you the big picture when making your mind up on which set to buy. You MUST go to the store and demo them. Although it is very handy taking on board user reviews and advice from the pro's.

I Recently demo'd a pair of BM5a's against the Hr624's - there is no comparison. I was totally blown away by the Dynaudios. Having run a few reference songs through both sets - here are my thoughts: -

The Mackie Hr624's have quite a "harsh" top end (to my ears). I definitely felt that I would suffer from hearing fatigue if I listened to these for a long period of time. The mids are clear (if not again slightly harsh) and the stereo spread is good. The bottom end however was very disappointing - you will most definitely need to purchase a sub(s) in my opinion. But again it depends on what music you are creating.

The Dynaudio BM5a's were a revelation. The top end had a nice less harsh appealing sound. The mids were very clear and smooth. The stereo spread and overall detail was excellent. The bottom end was much fuller and instantly audibly superior to the Hr624's.

These things are purely down to the individual, what may sound good to me, may sound like shite to you. I must stress that you go and demo ANY set of speakers you are considering purchasing. But in my opinion the Dynaudio BM5a's are fantastic and I would highly recommend them.