Nowadays the field has advanced and there's many alternatives to choose from..
Heck you could do almost everything with things like Fabilter Pro-Q and Pro-MB, or DMG Multiplicity..

And there's other units like like Waves F6, Nova TDR, Surfer EQ, HOFA IQ-EQ..

But back in the day the best, and one of the first proper Dyn EQ was -112db Redline EQ..
Not only it has Linear and Variable Phase controls, but also Harmonics exciter/booster, and ofc Dynamic EQ..

Very handy and well thought of design,
I still use it sometimes for solo instruments,
or for very surgical EQing where I need more phase control and harmonic coloration..


As for Multiband Compressors, there's now a bazillion units, Digital or even Analog recreations (Drawmer)..
But yeah the beginnings was Waves C6, Ozone, Flux Alchemist.. all very capable.

However my personal favorite has always been Blue Cat's MB-5, (with the old GUI)
I don't know why, but I like the workflow, the features/capacities (good for M/S), and ofc also the sound.

While other units feel more rough/imprecise, MB5 can be as subtle/transparent,
or as strong/apparent as you need.. and I donno, it just works for me

 

Last edited: Nov 1, 2021

Both Pro-Q and Pro-MB are very far from typical examples of their classes. Pointing at them first will not let people adequately grasp the difference.
Upwards-downwards and/or expansion are largely irrelevant in the context. Most of multiband compressors don't do expansion anyways.
On top of that, I find your explanation of dynamic EQ unsatisfactory. It once again doesn't let people grasp the difference if they don't know it already.
You just might've said "Multiband compressor is like a compressor but multiband, dynamic EQ is like an EQ but dymanic. Use the multiband compressor where you would have used a compressor, and dynamic EQ where you would've used an EQ". Technically correct, but what difference does it make.

 

Probably you didn't get the idea.
What I said, dynamic eq can be used as static as well, with its own curves, with dynamic section on or off, itbis way surgical. Multiband is like compressor, but divided on bands. What's wrong? Yes, maybe Pro-MB also has bands and bells and shelves, and even phases and dynamic phase, crossover filters, so probably not good example, as it is something between dyn eq and mb dynamics processor, or both, or "diffusion" of both, i dunno, but it would be more precise to say mb dynamics processor is Ozone's MB Dynamics.
Pro-Q3 has dynamic option on their original static eq concept, but it is not so advanced, no att/rel etc, so it is fixed or program-dependent or adaptive, don't know.

So, simply,
Eq curves based compression vs compression of bands (lo, mid, hi etc)