Definitive Owners Thread - Page 24

Lowell,

I did some balancing and adjusting of the crossover point last night, and the PM900s are sounding much better. I had the subs up too high, and also my separate sub (Velodyne CHT-12). Once I did that, the sound was more like the 450s, but still not quite as crystal clear as you put it.

The balance between the PM900s and all the rest is better than with the 450s, and since I adjusted it, the sound is very nice. They do sound more like the CLR3000 center. I think I like the 450s better for music, but the 900s better for HT. Since that system is used 90% for home theater, I believe the 900s are best.

I also determined that the Velodyne CHT-12 is kind of tubby and boomy. Makes me glad I ordered a new SVS PB-12 NSD to replace it.

I did notice one interesting thing about the 900s that was different from the 450s. When I play them in stereo without the rest of the speakers, the center image is so good that I had to walk up to the center speaker to make sure it wasn't playing.

All my speakers are set to small on both systems. On my system with the 2300 and 350s, I have the crossover set at 80. In the HT with the CLR3000 and PM900s, I have the crossover set to 60. I'm sure I'll want to revisit that with the SVS sub when it comes next month.


-- Martin

For the longest time Bjorns was the only place to buy Def Tech as far as I know. Now we have the Best Buy Magnolia store too. Bjorns does offer a buy one get one half off sale every year. If you go to the store you can get on the mailing list to receive mail on all their special offers.

The new BB store manager said he would match anything Bjorn was advertising, but I feel a little unloyal doing that. Bjorns will usually negotiate at anytime. Best Buy wouldn't. I tried on a discontinued receiver and they only one left was on the shelf. They wouldn't budge. I ended up at Bjorns because of it. I understand why BB wouldn't do it being a chain retailer and all; but if they want to compete with the highend stores they need to change their policies and work with the customer like Bjorns does. In BB defense, their retail prices are a little less on some models.

Martin, when I had the 350s, I found no need for the CC. The bi-polar 2006s changed that though. I was hoping to get away from a separate sub, but unless I go really large, I don't think I can. The two towers with subs are really good with the WAF though. :-)

I spent the afternoon with Avia tuning the speakers and sub, and the system now sounds fabulous. Better than it did with the 450s. I'm a happy camper.

-- Martin

i have the 7002 bpx clr2500. 7002s do give a great surround field for movies. for straight on music i actually preferred a klipsch tower that was close to half the price.

i gotta figure out how to EQ each speaker on my receiver.

Thanks. I am in Dallas and I think I will give them a call

Tarheel72,

Is there any reason you are not looking at you local dealers? The Def Tech website shows locations closer to Dallas.

they all look like small HT shops wothout store fronts except for Magnolia. I do intend to check them out.

Tarheel,

I exchanged the SM350s in my bedroom with the SM450s, and they are still a good match for the CLR2300 center. If I listen VERY critically to something that pans from one side to another through the center, I can hear a VERY slight difference on some material, but most sounds like a perfect match. I suspect that the powered sub makes up for the smaller drivers. On material that is not panning, the match sounds perfect. I also suspect that if I spent some time with Avia, I could adjust the sub on the 2300 and make the match even better. I am really happy with the sound of the system, and looking forward to putting the 350s in my office.

-- Martin

thanks. I am keeping my options open and keeping an eye out for good deals.

Can anyone tell me is there a big difference betweeb BP7002 & BP 7004 is it worth spending the extra money.

Also
Can anyone tell me is there a big difference betweeb BP7004 & BP 7006 is it worth spending the extra money.

Can anyone please compare them to B&W 603's

thanks in advance

How much do the following setups cost roughly
Bp-7004 for Front
CLR-2500 for center
Bp2X for back

OR

Bp-7002 for Front
CLR-2500 for center
Bp2X for back

My sales person told me I do not need a SUB for either of these.
Is it true that I do not need a sub. Please help

You can find the prices for all of Definitive Technologies speakers here:

http://www.definitivetech.com/loudsp...dspeakers.html

-- Martin

hello all,

these definitive 7000 series have peaked my interest. however, i have a dilemna. my tv (entertainment center - i guess you can call that are) is placed inside a niche. its about 2.5-3ft deep and about 5.5-6ft wide and it extends way up to the ceiling, i wanna say like 12ft ceilings. im really thinking of the bp7004s(or if my credit allows me to step up to the 7002s ) and a good center. i think i have a bigger problem since this little niche area would pose a huge problem with some reflections and bass traps since the bp's are bipolar...someone correct me if im wrong? due to space restrictions, i think im going to make a bold move and not get a dedicated sub for now, so im hoping the built-in subs in the bp's will hold me off till i the budget will allow it.

my room is roughly about 10x16 in which one side opens up to the kitchen and dining area. its not the best built room since im in a townhouse. do you guys think the 7004s would be a bad idea in this type of environment? would you suggest i go with the direct radiating speakers instead?

Bi polars can be very tricky to place. It sounds like your situation could be even more trickey. See if your dealer will let you try them in your home, that is the only way to know for sure.

You can negotiate sale pricing and some dealers will do that while others will not. Many dealers have a factory-authorized sale once or twice a year and you should be able to get a 25% savings. I have seen postings in which Magnolia has sales which amount to a 25% savings.

Regarding the need for a sub -- YES, IMHO you WILL need a dedicated sub. For example, I have a pair of 7000's as my mains and with their built-in Reference Supercubes, I figured that no sub would be required and they did sound great. After a couple of months, (out of curiosity) I connected up my old PowerField 18 sub and it was like night and day difference in the LFE output -- a tremendous improvement which really did surprise me. Since then, I added two more Ref SC's. Since my dedicated subs were scarring our two new kittens a few rooms away, the family forced me to box up the subs and send them to storage in their future HT room under construction in the basement and suddenly I am missing most of the LFE in movies. The bass is good but the LFE is just not nearly as good as with a dedicated subwoofer and I have wired them every way possible with every possible set up in my pre/pro too.

MikeSp

I have that EXACT setup (PM 500 L/R, C/L/R 2300 center, BP2X surrounds) plus a ProSub 100TL. I really love it and have no problems with any component dominating the system. A tip: place the two PM 500 on a 29" stand to dramatically improve the soundfield. I bought a pair of Lovan Affiniti 29" stands from www.Audio-Video-Furniture.com, a couple of weeks ago, and am very glad I did. I'll post some pics over the weekend.

Need? Hmmm.....Depends on what you are looking for. I do tend to agree with Mikesp, and both personally and professionally, I do recommend separate subs to my customers even with the 700X line of tower speakers (generally in a dedicated home theater).

I have BP7000SCs, but have dual Velodyne DD18 subwoofers in the back left and right corners of my showroom and the gut wrenching bass this combo delivers is truly a religious experience and unlike anything I have ever experienced anywhere .

I have found that using the Def Tech towers as full range speakers (which still very much utilizes the benefits of the built-in supercube drivers) and then employing a sub or dual subs into the home theater to deliver just the ".1" LFE works incredibly well. Although Subwoofers need to be moved around to find the optimal placement, start with full range speakers like Def Tech upfront and then place a subwoofer in the back corner of the room.

I always invite people who are in the downstate NY area to stop by the showroom for a listen (almost) anytime, and I always get that WOW response.

I have 7000sc mains, 3000 center, and a Polk PSW650 sub in the back right 1/4 of the room. I set the mains to small, and split the LFE from my Denon Receiver to the 2 mains and Polk sub. I don't use the LFE on the center. I didn't need more bass than the 2 mains provided, but adding the 3rd sub in the back gave me smoother bass.

Scott

[quote=Adz523]I have BP7000SCs, but have dual Velodyne DD18 subwoofers in the back left and right corners of my showroom and the gut wrenching bass this combo delivers is truly a religious experience and unlike anything I have ever experienced anywhere . QUOTE]

Adz -- TWO (2) DD18's!!!! -- makes me drool just to think of that

(I did add an SMS-1 to control my three subs--an old PF1800 and two Ref SC's and it made a TREMENDOUS difference in LFE quality but while I loved the result, it had NO WAF for SWMBO* since she nor her new kittens could handle the result.)

*SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

MikeSp

[quote=MikeSp]

I did have the dual 18s upfront but I thought they competed too much with the 7000SCs and drowned out some of their mids and highs. So I moved them to the back corners about 6 feet behind my theater seating and it works real well. It smooths out the bass and really gives my back a work-out.

Is is true that DEFTECHS are not good to listen to Music.

You will get many different opinions on that question. I have 7 def tech speakers in my ht. The main l/r are 2002tl's. They are bi-polar towers with built in powered subs. They are an older version of the 7002's. I am a rare dt owner who uses mine for music as much as ht. I Like them for music, some people dont. They can be tricky to place, they need breathing room. They do not posess the pinpoint imaging of good monopoles but to me they more then make up for that in presenting a wide, full soundstage. Maybe its because I have had them for 7 years and are accustomed to their sound but I prefer them to almost all other monitor type speakers for music.

No, it's not true. If you set them up properly, they sound great for listening to music. I have Def Techs in my HT and in my bedroom, and listen to music every night in the bedroom. It sounds awewsome. The HT setup sounds great too. As with any speaker, if you don't take the time to set it up properly, it can sound awful for music, while still sounding OK for HT. However, when properly set up, they sound great for both.

I can't speak for the bipolars in front as the PM900s and SM450s are not the bipolar design. However, I've heard people whose opinions I respect say that they like the bipolars as well.

-- Martin

HT
PM900 fronts
CLR3000 center
BPVX/P surrounds
Velodyne CHT-12 sub (soon to be SVS PB-12NSD)

BR
SM450 fronts
CLR2300 center
Yamaha in ceiling surrounds
Yamaha sub

As the others have stated, it's entirely a matter of personal taste and opinion. I have the unpowered bipolar BP10b fronts in my setup, and I enjoy the way music sounds. It's not pinpoint imaging, but it's a nice wide soundstage with plenty of instrument separation. It may depend on the type of music you enjoy; I listen to a lot of jazz, vocal jazz, and classical, as well as a variety of classic and newer acoustic rock. I enjoy listening to my music with the Def Techs as much as I enjoy listening to it with my Sennheiser HD580 headphones which do provide nice stereo separation. Like others said, the speakers are tricky to setup well but once they are they sound fantastic. Asking if Def Tech speakers are not good to listen to music is like asking if Pepsi is not good compared to Coke, or BMW not good compared to Mercedes Benz. It's a matter of taste, experience, and most of all, opinion.

Opinions vary, but my feeling is that my 7000's are VERY musical -- BUT, attention must be paid in more detail to position of the towers AND turning the subwoofers down so that the towers are a full range speaker without too much subwoofage that can, in some cases, be muddied by the extra volume settings of the subwoofers. I love the extra wide sound stage of the bipolar mains and only listen to music in stereo. FOR HT, I crank up the LFE. I have also noticed that Def Techs are sensitive to the power as well as the quality of what they are being fed -- the more clean power and the better the amps, the better they sound.

MikeSp

I think it would depend on the model speaker and, as it was already said, the source you're feeding it with. Years ago I was blown away when I auditioned the BP10's. Its' wide sound stage convinced me to by it. A Harmon/Kardon AVR30 receiver supplied the power. It sounded good, but could've been better. Hind sight 20/20, I should've had better interconnects and cables. I later purchased a BP2002TL for my home theater set up. And a Marantz pre/pro and amps to hook it up to. Sounding better musically, and great on movies. I just recently up graded that set up to the BP7002 towers. Def. Tech. is definitely getting it right. This new series are very musical and a pleasure to listen to. With my older model Marantz SR-18EX, I'm getting a very lush and unfatiguing sound from my CD's, FM radio, and the Direct TV XM satellite tranmission sounds fantastic. These speakers were bought for watching movies, which is what they do best, in my opinion. But I now find myself listening more to music than watching flicks. Find a dealer that sells them and bring your favorite CD's. They are worth a listen.

Are you saying there is a noticible difference setween the 2002tl's and the 7002's when it comes to music?

As a faithful owner of Def Tech speakers since 1993 and now a custom dealer of many brands, here's my take -- at its price point and even higher, nothing has of yet dethroned them from my showroom when it comes to home theater.

For music, I think it comes down to the quality and the type of the CD being played. Two channel stereo through a pair of 7000SCs can sound breathtaking at times - go ahead and play Norah Jones CD entitled Come Away with Me. While the sound reproduction on this CD is top notch and sounds great on any speaker, this CD sounds even better through a pair of bi-polar Def Tech speakers - it imparts a realism and 3D soundstage that bests anything I have ever heard -- I have taken that CD with me and have played it on almost every top brand speaker and the Def Tech presentation is just flat out better.

However, on the other hand, my rock CDs like my precious Van Halen and Zeppelin CDs do NOT sound so good on my 7000SCs and I prefer the direct radiating sound from a high end speaker like DynAudio (as one example) and other similar speakers of that quality.