Definitive Technology BP2000 Amp Died - Replacement Options?

[Jwheel]

Audioholics friends,

I have a pair of Definitive Technology BP2000's that I've owned for 20 years. Just the other day, the plate amp (300w) in one of them died. Of course it's an old model no longer supported making replacement parts impossible to find. Rather than ditch the speakers, I'm thinking about buying a replacement BASH amp and just modifying the tower to accomodate it. The amp powers the 15" 4ohm sub. Of course the speaker terminals for the mids/tweeters are on the amp too so I'll need to add a new speaker terminal for those.

I'm pretty handy and am confident I can modify the enclosure. The technical side of this is what I'm wondering about. Anyone see any issues with this amp or have another recommendation of a possibly different one I should use? If there's a reason why this wont work, I'm all ears.

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Bash 300S Digital Subwoofer Plate Amplifier 300W RMSBASH patented amplifier technology was developed to offer extreme amounts of power without the wasted heat and energy of traditional amplifier designs. Add to this an intelligent circuit design, and you get benefits such as extremely low...

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Also, if I should move this to the subwoofer forum, happy to do so. Since It's a loudspeaker, I figured I'd start here.

Jeff

 

[Pogre]

The problem you're going to run into is what kind of dsp DefTech is using with that amp. You might get the woofer woofing again, but most likely way out of balance with the rest of the speaker.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think it should work. Good luck, man!

But yet again, this is the exact reason why I would never buy speakers and subs with built-in amps - unless you are extremely handy with these types of things (which I am not ).

 

[Jwheel]

I see. It's never easy is it? I did find a company in Atlanta, GA called Wizard Electronics that claims to be able to repair amps, etc. Maybe I'll give them a call and see what they can do. Thanks for the reply, Pogre!

 

[slipperybidness]

The problem you're going to run into is what kind of dsp DefTech is using with that amp. You might get the woofer woofing again, but most likely way out of balance with the rest of the speaker.

I suspect you just nailed the real problem here!

Seems that most people that get into this situation tend to just cross the mains at 80Hz and add a sub woofer.

 

[Jwheel]

I think it should work. Good luck, man!

But yet again, this is the exact reason why I would never buy speakers and subs with built-in amps - unless you are extremely handy with these types of things (which I am not ).

I think for the cost of the amp, I may give it a go. I'll post back results on findings and what I decide to do.

 

[Pogre]

I see. It's never easy is it? I did find a company in Atlanta, GA called Wizard Electronics that claims to be able to repair amps, etc. Maybe I'll give them a call and see what they can do. Thanks for the reply, Pogre!

Nope, lol. Depending on what they charge to rebuild the amp, it might be time for a little speaker shopping.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think for the cost of the amp, I may give it a go. I'll post back results on findings and what I decide to do.

Definitely cheaper than buying new speakers. Good thing you are handy.

 

[Pogre]

I suspect you just nailed the real problem here!

Seems that most people that get into this situation tend to just cross the mains at 80Hz and add a sub woofer.

This would also be an acceptable solution! Tho if it were to come down to buying subs or new speakers I'd prolly start looking at speakers. Tough call tho...

 

[Pogre]

Definitely cheaper than buying new speakers. Good thing you are handy.

You don't think he's gonna run into any issues with dsp?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You don't think he's gonna run into any issues with dsp?

I don't think there's any DSP with the built-in amps for these DefTechs.

When I owned the BP7000SC and BP7001SC, the sub amps only had gain/volume levels.

 

[Pogre]

I don't think there's any DSP with the built-in amps for these DefTechs.

When I owned the BP7000SC and BP7001SC, the sub amps only had gain/volume levels.

Maybe they're using passive crossovers then? If that's the case then yeah, level matching would be the only thing to worry about. I always assumed that powered speakers also employed a fair amount of DSP for crossing over.

 

[TLS Guy]

I have just pulled up Julian Hirsch's review of those speakers. It seems the reason the other speaker terminals are on the plate amp is because there is an interaction between those 5 1/2 in drivers and the sub drivers. Julian's description is not precise, however it seems that the very low end of those small drivers is at least partially offloaded to the sub drivers. This would make sense and is a technique I have used in my main speakers.

So the speakers may well not sound the same and there may be risk of damage to the smaller drivers at higher powers.

So some caution is needed. If you really want those speakers then repair should probably be investigated first. However repair if these type of amps is highly problematic. So you do run the risk of investing time and money in a plate amp and having to ditch the speakers anyway.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Maybe they're using passive crossovers then? If that's the case then yeah, level matching would be the only thing to worry about. I always assumed that powered speakers also employed a fair amount of DSP for crossing over.

If these DefTechs are like the ones I owned, you can remove the Metal Jumpers and use the built-in subs with LFE from the AVR.

So the tweeter and midrange can be powered by the AVR's regular Front Left/Right and the built-in sub can be fed by the AVR's Sub Output.

I do think the XO of the woofers are still connected to the rest of the speakers, but I think it will still work.

If it doesn't work, then here we go with the speaker shopping - except this time buy speakers WITHOUT built-in amps.

 

[snakeeyes]

I would contact Def Tech for help. Maybe they can replace or repair. Good Luck!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would contact Def Tech for help. Maybe they can replace or repair. Good Luck!

Oh, yeah, I guess we assumed the OP already contacted DefTech. But if he has not, then definitely contact DefTech first before doing anything else.

 

[Jwheel]

Oh, yeah, I guess we assumed the OP already contacted DefTech. But if he has not, then definitely contact DefTech first before doing anything else.

Yes, I did call DefTech. They no longer support these speakers or have parts availability for them. I did take the amp off to look at how it's all connected. There are three sets of terminals on the back coming from the amp. They are (see photo):

High (top)
Mid (middle)
Low (bottom)

Then the LFE in. The terminals labeled 'low' level on the inside have jumpers that run to the amplifier. I'm assuming that's how they're sending lower level frequencies to the sub via those jumpers.

All three terminals on the outside of the amp are 'jumpered' via brass terminals. If I decide to try an aftermarket amp, I'd disconnect the jumpers from the inside 'low' terminals to the amp and just run as is. Then I'd set the x-over on the receiver to 80hz and connect the sub out from the receiver to the line in on the amp powering the subwoofer.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, I did call DefTech. They no longer support these speakers or have parts availability for them. I did take the amp off to look at how it's all connected. There are three sets of terminals on the back coming from the amp. They are (see photo):

High (top)
Mid (middle)
Low (bottom)

Then the LFE in. The terminals labeled 'low' level on the inside have jumpers that run to the amplifier. I'm assuming that's how they're sending lower level frequencies to the sub via those jumpers.

All three terminals on the outside of the amp are 'jumpered' via brass terminals. If I decide to try an aftermarket amp, I'd disconnect the jumpers from the inside 'low' terminals to the amp and just run as is. Then I'd set the x-over on the receiver to 80hz and connect the sub out from the receiver to the line in on the amp powering the subwoofer.

Sounds like a good plan.

 

[Gmoney]

There are a Lot of powered speaker’s out there.
Bookshelves for sure. Those powered speaker amps always go out way before the drivers do. I never liked the idea of a amp inside a speaker. When I first saw a pair of Boss 901’s and saw they needed a “Special” amp I knew than that was a mistake.

 

[TLS Guy]

Take the speaker that works and place a dummy plug in the LFE input. Now just connect a signal to the low input only and see if any sound comes from the sub as well as the low driver. If it does your plan will not work. If no sound comes from the sub driver under that test, then your plan will work.