Definitive sm55 bookshelfs Vs definitive bp6 towers

K

Kyle Braunlich

Junior Audioholic
Would upgrading from the sm55s to the bp6 be worth it. I have looking at reviews and i am not sure.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
How could anyone tell you with so little to go on? Besides, you're the best judge since it's your setup and your money :) What do you think you'd gain with the BP6 model over your SM55s?
 
K

Kyle Braunlich

Junior Audioholic
How could anyone tell you with so little to go on? Besides, you're the best judge since it's your setup and your money :) What do you think you'd gain with the BP6 model over your SM55s?
I don’t know if the bp6 would be better all around. I don’t have experience with tower speakers so I don’t know if these would change much for my system. If I got them I would probably take one of the sm55s and use it as a center which would be much better then my ProCenter 1000 from definitive. Would you think that the bp6 is a good upgrade path?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I don’t know if the bp6 would be better all around. I don’t have experience with tower speakers so I don’t know if these would change much for my system. If I got them I would probably take one of the sm55s and use it as a center which would be much better then my ProCenter 1000 from definitive. Would you think that the bp6 is a good upgrade path?
Couldn't tell you much about DT speakers. Have heard nice things about the SM55/65s and their bi-polar speakers, don't think I've heard either (or they made no particular impression on me if I did). Knowing more about your room, speaker setup, and use might help understand what you're looking for. Why not just three SM55/65 across the front as another idea?
 
K

Kyle Braunlich

Junior Audioholic
Couldn't tell you much about DT speakers. Have heard nice things about the SM55/65s and their bi-polar speakers, don't think I've heard either (or they made no particular impression on me if I did). Knowing more about your room, speaker setup, and use might help understand what you're looking for. Why not just three SM55/65 across the front as another idea?
I have a 19 x 9 ft room. Surrounds are sr9040 bipolar speakers. Pro sub 1000 and two pro monitor 1000s as Dolby Atmos top middle speakers. I was planning on the 3 sm55s but came across a good deal on the bp6s.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I have a 19 x 9 ft room. Surrounds are sr9040 bipolar speakers. Pro sub 1000 and two pro monitor 1000s as Dolby Atmos top middle speakers. I was planning on the 3 sm55s but came across a good deal on the bp6s.
Personally that DT "sub" looks to be the weak link at this point, I'd get a better sub to start.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Personally that DT "sub" looks to be the weak link at this point, I'd get a better sub to start.
Completely agree... I was quickly dissuaded from pursuing DT subs by a DT salesperson!... He said an SVS PB1000 would be way better, and a PB 2000 epic in comparison. He was the first person to inform me about DTs inflated specs on output and FR.
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
I can imagine moving the sm55 to center and adding bp6 as mains will still require a decent sub. You might replace the sub with a HSU VTF2 mk5.
 
B

Bunion

Enthusiast
SM55 are awesome fronts. Incredible bass. I can set the crossover at 60 and they really pump it out at high volume. I have no idea why they discontinued these.
BP6 are better as surrounds. The bipolar design really fills the room with sound.
 
MR.MAGOO

MR.MAGOO

Audioholic Field Marshall
Personally that DT "sub" looks to be the weak link at this point, I'd get a better sub to start.
Not sure if it's DefTech or the reseller, but the ProSub 800 price has increased an added $60 from 3 years ago.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Agree with @lovinthehd, get a better sub. I had SM55s when I first started posting here and they're not bad speakers. You get a good sub in the mix and you can have a pretty nice sounding system. I've had 2 big "wow!" moments when I started upgrading. The first was my subs. I went from a pair similar to yours to a pair of VTF 3 MK5s. It wasn't what I expected. I expected deeper bass for sure, which I got, but it was also much cleaner. In fact, my new 15" subs seemed to actually sound quieter than the old 10" subs they replaced. At first I was a little confused, then I realized what I was missing in volume was the distortion. A good sub can help clean up your sound across the board. Who'da thunk?! True story tho, good subwoofage is often underrated. I was genuinely surprised.

If you were to upgrade your front speakers I'd suggest moving out of the deftech family and look at some other brands such as SVS, Salk, Ascend, RBH... as I'm typing I'm realizing there are too many to list, lol. If you stay with bookshelf speakers instead of towers you can get better quality parts and build for the same money. That was my second "wow!" moment. I bought a pair of SVS Ultra bookshelf speakers from their outlet for $399 apiece (where that links leads to) in piano black gloss after some research and suggestions from here. They're a clear step above the SM55s across the board (again, the 55 isn't a bad speaker, but you pay more for the Ultras too). I loved them so much I ended up getting the towers and moved the bookshelves to surround duty.

But I digress... upgrade that sub! I think you'll be surprised like I was and you might end up hanging onto your 55s a little longer. A good sub integrated properly with a good set of bookshelf speakers will sound great and play lower than many towers will.
 
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S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
HSU subs are a great deal. They can work with smaller bookshelves too.
 
R

Rick330

Junior Audioholic
I have 4 sm55's. I preferred them over my 9040 def tech towers. They have a full range sound and blended in to my 15in subs perfect. People say they have good bass and it's true but since I have big subs that's not really important.
 
B

Bunion

Enthusiast
Awesome mid bass from these little suckers though. I can crossover at 60 at full volume and they don't flinch
 
R

Rick330

Junior Audioholic
Yeah I agree. I'm only selling 2 of my 4 because I went from two rooms to one. Love them though.
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
Awesome mid bass from these little suckers though. I can crossover at 60 at full volume and they don't flinch
If it were me I'd cross much higher for better integration. Not taking room gain into account, the roll off of your speakers starts just below 100hz. I'd assume you are missing information at 60hz.
fr_listeningwindow.gif

Also note the two humps, those would indicate a rise in mid bass that you are hearing.
 
B

Bunion

Enthusiast
If it were me I'd cross much higher for better integration. Not taking room gain into account, the roll off of your speakers starts just below 100hz. I'd assume you are missing information at 60hz.
View attachment 32048
Also note the two humps, those would indicate a rise in mid bass that you are hearing.
It could be the room. With most music If I crossover higher the subwoofers seem to get too much high frequency information.
I do crossover higher on recordings that sound thin.
I'm constantly experimenting to get the best bass for each specific recording. I've got 9 settings and they're easily changed on the remote control.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I have tower speakers that hot well into the low 30s and still run a high crossover at 120 hz. I hate it, but it just measures and sounds better with the higher crossover.
 
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