GuitaRasmus
Member
Hi guys - I just wanted to share my experience of my newly aquired Dynacord Axm-12a monitor.
Preambel: I've been using modellers for the last 4.5 years, exclusively, for my live cover band. For the past 2.5 years, it's been the Ax8, and I don't see that changing - until the next generation comes out. I also use a Roland GR-55 guitar synth, which is sent to the monitor as well.
I've been using a Yamaha DXR10 for the entire time I've been using monitors, and I've been very pleased with the size, weight, portability, reliability and loudness. The sound however, has been a sort of frustration for me. While it sounds pretty good, I've been having this feeling that it doesn't do the Ax8 justice. It has a tendency to amplify some of the "wrong" frequencies of the guitar sound - it gets more pronounced the louder it gets. It has some grating frequencies (to my ears) that don't come through through the mains. I've tried all the DSP settings on it, and while "monitor" works best to me, it still lacks punch, fullnes and guitar feel. While the DXR has lots of low end, it is sort of "wooly" sounding and not very defined, and it is very directional when laying down as a monitor.
A buddy of mine, who is a sound engineer, explained to me that the reason for it lacking "punch" is probably some phasing issues, due to the speaker/tweeter arrangement, which has a tendency to become more pronounced the closer you are to the speaker - as in using it as monitor.
Intrigued, I decided to seek out some coax options. I tried a Line 6 PowerCab - which I think definitely parts the waters, regarding sound. Lets just say that I, and my modelling-geek-buddy, Sustainerplayer, thought it sounded like it was broken.
Enter the Dynacord Axm-12a:
Most guys around here praise the CLR, and probably rightfully so; it's a (presumably) great sound coax design monitor, quite loud and pretty portable. I am definitely willing to spend the dough on a great speaker, however; living in Scandinavia (Denmark) it is not readily available, and would be very expensive to return, should it not live up to the hype. Therefore I sought out other options.
I came across the Dynacord Axm-12a. While it may not be a familiar brand in the US, in Europe it's very well known, and regarded as high quality german engineering. We use one of their mixers in the band, and they're know for being built like tanks, so I have utmost faith in this as well.
I ordered one and I used a couple of days off from work to evaluate it against the DXR. Again, Sustainerplayer was invited, and while the difference wasn't night and day, like the DXR against a Behringer, the Dynacord was immensely better at projecting in a larger angle, much better spread and it had a certain something to it - the bottom end was much more defined as well. However, we only tried it out at loud, but not gigging loud, levels in my man cave, so the real test was on my next gig. I decided to go all in, and only bring this (not the DXR) to our gig last night in large Copenhagen music venue (a crowd of about 800 people) to take it to the test.
The stage was very loud, due to some surprising funky acoustics at a live music venue (our first time playing there). We measured the stage sound to about 118-120 dB! The Dynacord held up beautifully, not once running out of juice, punch, fullnes and just kept on feeding me glorious, glorious sound for two 1 hour sets. It is by far the best experience I've had running a modeller live, and I am VERY impressed by this little 30 pound beast. I could hear myself clearly in a large 4 meter perimeter on the stage, and I felt more like playing a guitar amp than I've ever did in the last 4.5 years using modellers.
It is definitely a keeper. It is loud (128 dB SPL), clear, punchy, full, and very versatile due to it's routing options. It is pretty lightweight (30 pounds), and the compact footprint sits nicely on the stage next to my pedalboard (Ax8 and GR-55).
As written above, I haven't tried the CLR for myself. However, others have, and from what I've read, the difference is negligible - the CLR has the tiniest edge in sound, while the Dynacord is more compact.
I urge anyone using a modeller with a monitor, that has the opportunity to try out one in person, to give the Axm-12a a go - I am VERY impressed with it, and it really feels like a major upgrade from the DXR once it gets to stage sound levels.
Preambel: I've been using modellers for the last 4.5 years, exclusively, for my live cover band. For the past 2.5 years, it's been the Ax8, and I don't see that changing - until the next generation comes out. I also use a Roland GR-55 guitar synth, which is sent to the monitor as well.
I've been using a Yamaha DXR10 for the entire time I've been using monitors, and I've been very pleased with the size, weight, portability, reliability and loudness. The sound however, has been a sort of frustration for me. While it sounds pretty good, I've been having this feeling that it doesn't do the Ax8 justice. It has a tendency to amplify some of the "wrong" frequencies of the guitar sound - it gets more pronounced the louder it gets. It has some grating frequencies (to my ears) that don't come through through the mains. I've tried all the DSP settings on it, and while "monitor" works best to me, it still lacks punch, fullnes and guitar feel. While the DXR has lots of low end, it is sort of "wooly" sounding and not very defined, and it is very directional when laying down as a monitor.
A buddy of mine, who is a sound engineer, explained to me that the reason for it lacking "punch" is probably some phasing issues, due to the speaker/tweeter arrangement, which has a tendency to become more pronounced the closer you are to the speaker - as in using it as monitor.
Intrigued, I decided to seek out some coax options. I tried a Line 6 PowerCab - which I think definitely parts the waters, regarding sound. Lets just say that I, and my modelling-geek-buddy, Sustainerplayer, thought it sounded like it was broken.
Enter the Dynacord Axm-12a:
Most guys around here praise the CLR, and probably rightfully so; it's a (presumably) great sound coax design monitor, quite loud and pretty portable. I am definitely willing to spend the dough on a great speaker, however; living in Scandinavia (Denmark) it is not readily available, and would be very expensive to return, should it not live up to the hype. Therefore I sought out other options.
I came across the Dynacord Axm-12a. While it may not be a familiar brand in the US, in Europe it's very well known, and regarded as high quality german engineering. We use one of their mixers in the band, and they're know for being built like tanks, so I have utmost faith in this as well.
I ordered one and I used a couple of days off from work to evaluate it against the DXR. Again, Sustainerplayer was invited, and while the difference wasn't night and day, like the DXR against a Behringer, the Dynacord was immensely better at projecting in a larger angle, much better spread and it had a certain something to it - the bottom end was much more defined as well. However, we only tried it out at loud, but not gigging loud, levels in my man cave, so the real test was on my next gig. I decided to go all in, and only bring this (not the DXR) to our gig last night in large Copenhagen music venue (a crowd of about 800 people) to take it to the test.
The stage was very loud, due to some surprising funky acoustics at a live music venue (our first time playing there). We measured the stage sound to about 118-120 dB! The Dynacord held up beautifully, not once running out of juice, punch, fullnes and just kept on feeding me glorious, glorious sound for two 1 hour sets. It is by far the best experience I've had running a modeller live, and I am VERY impressed by this little 30 pound beast. I could hear myself clearly in a large 4 meter perimeter on the stage, and I felt more like playing a guitar amp than I've ever did in the last 4.5 years using modellers.
It is definitely a keeper. It is loud (128 dB SPL), clear, punchy, full, and very versatile due to it's routing options. It is pretty lightweight (30 pounds), and the compact footprint sits nicely on the stage next to my pedalboard (Ax8 and GR-55).
As written above, I haven't tried the CLR for myself. However, others have, and from what I've read, the difference is negligible - the CLR has the tiniest edge in sound, while the Dynacord is more compact.
I urge anyone using a modeller with a monitor, that has the opportunity to try out one in person, to give the Axm-12a a go - I am VERY impressed with it, and it really feels like a major upgrade from the DXR once it gets to stage sound levels.