Upgrading from def techs to???

[Prizefighter]

I had inherited a mint pair of def tech bp20 and clr2000, have them for about a year now. Love them, sounds good enough for me.
2 of my friends have a kef Q 300 system and the other have a BW dm602's i believe. The clarity on both sounds better than mine in my opinion, but the bp20s just have a better or stronger sound stage.
I honestly like the way 602's sound and i would only think their higher end spekers would sound better.
Boils down to, selling all my speakers, and possibly picking up a pair of cm10 and paying the difference. These are the only 3 higher end brand that i have personally heard, so i would like to stick to these name for now...



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[GIEGAR]

Hey Prizefighter, don't discount the effects of the room they're in.

What you're really hearing is how the speakers play the room. A good check before you proceed would be to take your Def Techs over to one of your friend's room and listen. Even better, you could also have your friend bring over his B&W's to A/B them with the Def Techs in your room. Perhaps swap speakers for a week or two?

I only suggest this as you seem relatively happy with the Def Techs, and this is a way to lessen the possibility of disappointment.

 

[Prizefighter]

Giegar- great point. I really overlooked the room itself and just compared apples to apples.
Going from my yamaha set up to the def tech was a good step up and even today am still quite satisfied. When I upgrade again i want to have the same feeling. Again good point , thanks



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[AcuDefTechGuy]

Bipolar speakers are usually trickier with room placement. Pull the BP20 away from the walls and toe-in towards the center.

And unless you can compare the speakers in the same room, I would not trust your memory, which is also affected by bias.

I would ask your friends if you could bring your BP20 to their houses for comparison.

 

[Hobbit]

I have mixed feelings with my deftechs. For home theater I really prefer them over my NHT's. The big soundstage makes me feel like I'm more immersed in the scene. Conversely, I much prefer the NHT's for music. The deftechs are just kind of washed out in this regard. Besides placement and doing a direct comparison, keep in mind what you'll be mostly using them for.

 

[Prizefighter]

Acudeftech- i have the bp20 away from the back wall by a foot, and away from the sidewalls by about 16inches. They are both toed in already.
I will be auditioning the bw and kef in the next month, but i will be asking my friends to bring their speakers to my house, easier to transport plus i want to hear them through my emo's as well...
Since i hv ur attention, does the bp1.2 surrounds match the bp20?


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[AcuDefTechGuy]

Acudeftech- i have the bp20 away from the back wall by a foot, and away from the sidewalls by about 16inches. They are both toed in already.
I will be auditioning the bw and kef in the next month, but i will be asking my friends to bring their speakers to my house, easier to transport plus i want to hear them through my emo's as well...
Since i hv ur attention, does the bp1.2 surrounds match the bp20?


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Yes. I think the BP1.2 will match the BP20.

What is your room dimension?

 

[Prizefighter]

Roughly 14x14x9


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[Prizefighter]

Hobbit- i completely understand what u are saying. I feel the sm way about my def techs.
I have a pair of yammy ns555 that sound just as musical but completely fall flat in comparison to movie watching. So i know there are way better musical speakers, luckily im in to more movies and games than music. 80/20 id say


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[AcuDefTechGuy]

Roughly 14x14x9


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Temporarily pull them out another 12" both sides and back if you can just to see if the clarity improves.

I get the feeling bipolar speakers sound better in larger rooms like 18' x 20'.

I guess that's one good reason to buy speakers that fit your "need". In this case, because your room is 14' x 14', you may need direct-radiating speakers, not bipolar. Just maybe.

But you will know more only after you compare the speakers in the same room, not just by memory.

I used to own the BP7000SC & BP7001SC and they sounded great to me for both music and movies. So I don't buy the cliché some people use about how DT speakers are only good for movies, but not music.

It could be the room, though. Every case is different.

 

[Prizefighter]

Alrite will play with them during the shootout but isnt this almost unfair being the speakers closer to me? I dont know
Honestly ur statment got me a little excited as i am in my 4th bedroom and i am actually going to have my attic as a dedicated theater by end of 2015.
The dimensions would be more like 16x24x9 and i was planning to overhaul my gears for when the time comes. So hopefully they do sound better in a bigger room

I can however testify to what hobbit say. I dont think its a knock on def techs but more of praise for other brands. I like my yammys but they are very bright and musical, if my lifestyle was more to listening music then i would def recommend them for a budget concious consumer. Alast i watch movies and shows every other day and listen to music once a few weeks.


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[AcuDefTechGuy]

Alrite will play with them during the shootout but isnt this almost unfair being the speakers closer to me? I dont know
Honestly ur statment got me a little excited as i am in my 4th bedroom and i am actually going to have my attic as a dedicated theater by end of 2015.
The dimensions would be more like 16x24x9 and i was planning to overhaul my gears for when the time comes. So hopefully they do sound better in a bigger room

I can however testify to what hobbit say. I dont think its a knock on def techs but more of praise for other brands. I like my yammys but they are very bright and musical, if my lifestyle was more to listening music then i would def recommend them for a budget concious consumer. Alast i watch movies and shows every other day and listen to music once a few weeks.


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I believe most experts would say bipolar speakers tend to sound their best in larger rooms and farther away from walls. This makes them more difficult to place.

It seems like you watch videos most of the time and spend the minority of the time listening to music. So why change speakers towards music?

I just don't know about going from Definitive Technology BP to B&W CM or KEF Q.

Really, if you upgrade, start a speakers fund or allowance - a small amount each month agreeable to your wife.

And then set your goal towards "reference" speakers like KEF R-series, Revel Performa, RBH SX-Reference, PSB Synchrony, Philharmonic/Salk, Ascend.

You could probably get big discounts on KEF, Revel, RBH, PSB.

Unless you buy used, you would have to pay full price on the Phil/Salk, Ascend, and other ID brands.

For example, people can get 30-40% off MSRP on the Brick & Mortar brands. For ID new, you pay 100% MSRP.

 

[Prizefighter]

Acudeftech- sounds expensive. Realistically if/after i sell my gear to upgrade i'd have about $2,000 max to spend... I dont mind used but it would have to be mint. I just dont know if i can swing the price.
Im surprised that u told me to bypass a cm8-cm10 upgrade since i thought this would be a substantial upgrade but i will listen to ur inputs and save my money for the other brands u recommend.


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[AcuDefTechGuy]

Acudeftech- sounds expensive. Realistically if/after i sell my gear to upgrade i'd have about $2,000 max to spend... I dont mind used but it would have to be mint. I just dont know if i can swing the price.
Im surprised that u told me to bypass a cm8-cm10 upgrade since i thought this would be a substantial upgrade but i will listen to ur inputs and save my money for the other brands u recommend.

Just wanted you to be sure. It seems that with the exception of the Diamond series, most B&W speakers get criticized more often than not.

I believe that in the end, whatever sounds best to you is all that matters. But it may not be as simple as that, such as life.

You don't want to buy speakers and then later regret that there are better speakers available.

Comparing your speakers with other speakers in the same room is a start.

 

[Hobbit]

....

I used to own the BP7000SC & BP7001SC and they sounded great to me for both music and movies. So I don't buy the cliché some people use about how DT speakers are only good for movies, but not music.

It could be the room, though. Every case is different.

I have had my DT's in a large room in my last house (20x25 with a cathedral ceiling) and in a smaller room (18x14 with an 8ft ceiling) now. Same results. I remember for a while in the late 90's some manufacturers made bipolars with a switch to turn off the rear projecting speakers for music (correct me if it was for another reason?).

OK, so I'll flip the question to you, how do I place my NHT's to fill the room like the DT's for movies?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I have had my DT's in a large room in my last house (20x25 with a cathedral ceiling) and in a smaller room (18x14 with an 8ft ceiling) now. Same results. I remember for a while in the late 90's some manufacturers made bipolars with a switch to turn off the rear projecting speakers for music (correct me if it was for another reason?).

OK, so I'll flip the question to you, how do I place my NHT's to fill the room like the DT's for movies?

I suppose it varies with the actual speaker, room, processor, system setup, and person's preference. My main speakers were the BP7000SC.

I don't think the NHT (direct front radiating) will "fill" the room just like bipolar speakers regardless of placement.