Dynaudio Core 5 - Active 2-Way 5-Inch Nearfield Studio Monitor (Single)

Demand for content only ever increases, while it seems physical studio space seems to go the other way. If you're working in immersive audio, where you might need up to 16 speakers in your room, that can be an issue. Luckily for you, then, the compact Core 5 professional reference monitor is specifically designed for smaller rooms and nearfield monitoring.

Core 5 is the most compact model in Dynaudio's range of high-end professional reference monitors. It's a two-way nearfield design that's been created to work in cramped spaces in a stereo configuration, or to provide width and height support in an immersive set-up. And, crucially, to give you usable SPL for those jobs – so if you're in an OB truck or a smaller mix-stage, you won't strain to hear, and your eardrums won't be blasted.

That's courtesy of the twin class-D Pascal amplifiers in each speaker: one 280W unit for the mid/woofer and 280W for the tweeter. Couple that with the advanced DSP tech on-board, and you'll get a flat bass response down to 45Hz at -6dB, and 51Hz at ±3dB. Impressive for a speaker this size, we think you'll agree.

Precision across the range
Up top you'll find a 28mm Cerotar Pro tweeter. Like all other Core speakers (and all other Dynaudio speakers, for that matter), it uses a precision soft-dome diaphragm in conjunction with a Hexis resonance-defeating inner dome. It'll play up to 30kHz – so you'll get all the detail you need – while still remaining a relaxed listen. That's crucial if you're working for a long session (once fatigue sets in, you might as well go home for the night).

The 5in woofer digs down to 45Hz. It's made from our proprietary MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) material – which provides precisely the right combination of lightness, stiffness and damping to produce the kind of accuracy that'll make your hair stand on end.

Make no mistake: these are revealing speakers. If there's a problem in your mix, they'll let you know about it.

Fine-tuning for fine tunes
On the other side of the simple back panel is the most advanced digital technology one could cram in. Core 5 has the same future-proof innovation as the rest of the range; the culmination of decades of research and development into exactly what studio professionals need.

Each speaker has two DSP filters to help you compensate for position and boundary locations. If they're on your desk, there's a switch for that (cunningly called 'Desk'), which deals with first-reflections from the mixing surface. Got them on stands or brackets further away? Choose 'Anechoic'. And if they're in a purpose-built wall, 'Soffit' is your go-to. Then you can drill-down into 'Free', 'Wall' or 'Corner' modes to compensate for reflections. There's also a low-frequency 80Hz Linkwitz-Riley cutoff for use with a subwoofer.

You know your room better than anyone, which is why Dynaudio went even further and gave you Sound Balance options to change Core 5's overall presentation between 'Bright', 'Neutral' and 'Dark'. These are much more than the typical shelving filters found in other brands: these ones use a full-spectrum band-pass filter that tilts depending on the sound you want. In 'Dark' mode, you'll get a 1.5dB decrease at 20kHz, and a 1.5dB increase at 40Hz. 'Bright' swaps to the inverse of that. Doing it this way means phase response is maintained between the drivers, which means timing is kept spot-on… which means your soundstage remains crystal-clear.

Choose your own input sensitivity
Precision is everything, whether you're using analogue or digital inputs. That's why you have the option to control the gain-staging between the monitor controller and the speakers.

Using the analogue inputs? There's a dedicated switch to give you between 0dBu and +24dBu to set the maximum analogue input level for the Core 5.

You can also set the maximum output SPL with the greatest bit-depth. Set this to 96dB (reference -20dBFS) for the peak SPL of 116dB for the maximum level, or optimise the bit-depth for both inputs for lower-level listening, switching to 79dB (reference -20dBFS).

If you're in a digital workflow, set which AES3 stream channel is going to the monitor using the 'Digital channel' switch. The DSP will operate at the input sample-rate (with no sample-rate conversion), and can either lock to the digital audio clock or the word clock for ultimate accuracy.