Shocking find with Definitive Technology BP 20 towers

[Ernie Schmuntz]

While roaming through the local sale adds, I found a guy that listed three items in a storage shed. It was a DevTech BP 20, a C/L/R and a cheap sub, all for $100. I am a well versed with Devtech, having owned many newer models.

The BP 20 has excellent Vifa drivers used for all six per tower. The great thing is this mounting cavity allows for easy upgrades with better Vifa or Scanspeak. I swapped out the Vifa D26TG-35 with a Scanspeak D2904/950000. This tweeter is not as efficient but it sounds incredible. Given the tweeter’s 4 ohm load, I put a small resister in line just to suit my tastes. I’m driving them with a Pioneer VSX-59txi. This receiver has the ability to drive any speaker to sickening levels. It’s old school power.

What I ended up with is a surpurb speaker. The imaging and balance and soundstage is superb, and the low frequency pressure waves created are very tight, very quick and menacingly powerful. It’s one of the best sounding speaker systems I’ve heard. My current systems are all RBH Reference class using the AMT style tweeter. Words fail me how good they are. They have few equals. I’ve owned several USA made JBL, KEF, Mission (older)Infinity. My early life was spent in concert bands and orchestra (French Horn). I have a very good ear. This speaker is one of the best I’ve owned. I could stop your heart playing “Fanfare for the Common Man (Telarc)”. It’s impossible to not believe that all speakers are in use, and the bass drum and gong strikes shake my entire house...every window, closed doors, sheet rock, floors, cats. They are immensely detailed, smooth. The addition of the new Scanspeak tweeter transformed the high end with incredible transparency. There is no fatigue with extended sessions. Effortless.

Why this BP 20 is not still highly sought after makes no sense to me. $100 bucks for a mint pair. Paired with my RBH 1010SEN sub (using new 10” reference drivers) taking everything below 50hz..........damn.

 

[zieglj01]

Continue to enjoy

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Cool bro.

 

[snakeeyes]

While roaming through the local sale adds, I found a guy that listed three items in a storage shed. It was a DevTech BP 20, a C/L/R and a cheap sub, all for $100. I am a well versed with Devtech, having owned many newer models.

The BP 20 has excellent Vifa drivers used for all six per tower. The great thing is this mounting cavity allows for easy upgrades with better Vifa or Scanspeak. I swapped out the Vifa D26TG-35 with a Scanspeak D2904/950000. This tweeter is not as efficient but it sounds incredible. Given the tweeter’s 4 ohm load, I put a small resister in line just to suit my tastes. I’m driving them with a Pioneer VSX-59txi. This receiver has the ability to drive any speaker to sickening levels. It’s old school power.

What I ended up with is a surpurb speaker. The imaging and balance and soundstage is superb, and the low frequency pressure waves created are very tight, very quick and menacingly powerful. It’s one of the best sounding speaker systems I’ve heard. My current systems are all RBH Reference class using the AMT style tweeter. Words fail me how good they are. They have few equals. I’ve owned several USA made JBL, KEF, Mission (older)Infinity. My early life was spent in concert bands and orchestra (French Horn). I have a very good ear. This speaker is one of the best I’ve owned. I could stop your heart playing “Fanfare for the Common Man (Telarc)”. It’s impossible to not believe that all speakers are in use, and the bass drum and gong strikes shake my entire house...every window, closed doors, sheet rock, floors, cats. They are immensely detailed, smooth. The addition of the new Scanspeak tweeter transformed the high end with incredible transparency. There is no fatigue with extended sessions. Effortless.

Why this BP 20 is not still highly sought after makes no sense to me. $100 bucks for a mint pair. Paired with my RBH 1010SEN sub (using new 10” reference drivers) taking everything below 50hz..........damn.

I think the stock tweeters on BP10B have the same issues. I have mine in storage and am running Canton Ventos now.

 

[davidscott]

While roaming through the local sale adds, I found a guy that listed three items in a storage shed. It was a DevTech BP 20, a C/L/R and a cheap sub, all for $100. I am a well versed with Devtech, having owned many newer models.

The BP 20 has excellent Vifa drivers used for all six per tower. The great thing is this mounting cavity allows for easy upgrades with better Vifa or Scanspeak. I swapped out the Vifa D26TG-35 with a Scanspeak D2904/950000. This tweeter is not as efficient but it sounds incredible. Given the tweeter’s 4 ohm load, I put a small resister in line just to suit my tastes. I’m driving them with a Pioneer VSX-59txi. This receiver has the ability to drive any speaker to sickening levels. It’s old school power.

What I ended up with is a surpurb speaker. The imaging and balance and soundstage is superb, and the low frequency pressure waves created are very tight, very quick and menacingly powerful. It’s one of the best sounding speaker systems I’ve heard. My current systems are all RBH Reference class using the AMT style tweeter. Words fail me how good they are. They have few equals. I’ve owned several USA made JBL, KEF, Mission (older)Infinity. My early life was spent in concert bands and orchestra (French Horn). I have a very good ear. This speaker is one of the best I’ve owned. I could stop your heart playing “Fanfare for the Common Man (Telarc)”. It’s impossible to not believe that all speakers are in use, and the bass drum and gong strikes shake my entire house...every window, closed doors, sheet rock, floors, cats. They are immensely detailed, smooth. The addition of the new Scanspeak tweeter transformed the high end with incredible transparency. There is no fatigue with extended sessions. Effortless.

Why this BP 20 is not still highly sought after makes no sense to me. $100 bucks for a mint pair. Paired with my RBH 1010SEN sub (using new 10” reference drivers) taking everything below 50hz..........damn.

Nice find at an insane price.

 

[Kingnoob]

While roaming through the local sale adds, I found a guy that listed three items in a storage shed. It was a DevTech BP 20, a C/L/R and a cheap sub, all for $100. I am a well versed with Devtech, having owned many newer models.

The BP 20 has excellent Vifa drivers used for all six per tower. The great thing is this mounting cavity allows for easy upgrades with better Vifa or Scanspeak. I swapped out the Vifa D26TG-35 with a Scanspeak D2904/950000. This tweeter is not as efficient but it sounds incredible. Given the tweeter’s 4 ohm load, I put a small resister in line just to suit my tastes. I’m driving them with a Pioneer VSX-59txi. This receiver has the ability to drive any speaker to sickening levels. It’s old school power.

What I ended up with is a surpurb speaker. The imaging and balance and soundstage is superb, and the low frequency pressure waves created are very tight, very quick and menacingly powerful. It’s one of the best sounding speaker systems I’ve heard. My current systems are all RBH Reference class using the AMT style tweeter. Words fail me how good they are. They have few equals. I’ve owned several USA made JBL, KEF, Mission (older)Infinity. My early life was spent in concert bands and orchestra (French Horn). I have a very good ear. This speaker is one of the best I’ve owned. I could stop your heart playing “Fanfare for the Common Man (Telarc)”. It’s impossible to not believe that all speakers are in use, and the bass drum and gong strikes shake my entire house...every window, closed doors, sheet rock, floors, cats. They are immensely detailed, smooth. The addition of the new Scanspeak tweeter transformed the high end with incredible transparency. There is no fatigue with extended sessions. Effortless.

Why this BP 20 is not still highly sought after makes no sense to me. $100 bucks for a mint pair. Paired with my RBH 1010SEN sub (using new 10” reference drivers) taking everything below 50hz..........damn.

Incredible value I’ll probably never find a deal that good .


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens

 

[sdegler]

I saw this thread, got an an itch and got mine for 350.00, and following the suggestions above I went with 2905/95000, which matches impedance. I needed to dremel out the cabinet just a bit to fit the magnet assembly but the fit is perfect on the tweeter inset itself. I used a shop vac with the dremel to remove the mdf sawdust as I ground the enclosure.

So about 800.00 all in.

Its just shockingly good!

If you have the room for the cabinets, I can't recommend these highly enough.

 

[sdegler]

There are replacements for the 6.5 in drivers as well. I didn't need them but they are also available:

ScanSpeak Classic P17WJ00 6.5" Woofer

Re-issue of the Classic Vifa P17WJ00 now produced by Scan-Speak. Replaces all older P17WJ models.

www.madisoundspeakerstore.com

 

[Kvn_Walker]

I'm trying to set things up to score a pair of these tomorrow. I would love to compare them to my Paradigm Eclipse BP's!

 

[Snowpuppy]

I'm trying to set things up to score a pair of these tomorrow. I would love to compare them to my Paradigm Eclipse BP's!

Did you ever end up getting them? I’m looking at getting a pair to use with my Paradigm Eclipse in my Living room HT setup. I currently have BP6’s but that’s only because I found them for dirt cheap, I actually prefer to have matching fronts and rears, or as close as possible anyway. Please lmk, since you have the same paradigms as I do, I’d really like your opinion on the BP-20s. Thanks!!

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Sorry I never followed up... I got crazy lucky- I did drive up to get the speakers, and when I got home and turned them over to hook them up, I found out they were BP-30's instead!

The 20's used off-the-shelf drivers (Vifa and/or ScanSpeak) whereas the 30's were part of the next generation that began Definitive designing their own in-house drivers.

I posted a brief summary of my thoughts here-

My bipolar girls : BudgetAudiophile (reddit.com)

The BP20's used a silk dome tweeter, so their highs might be a bit darker/smoother, but overall I'm sure they sound and perform very similar. If you enjoy the BP6's then you'd be getting the same sound but with stronger and deeper bass, and likely a slight bump in efficiency, by moving up to the 20's.

 

[Snowpuppy]

Sorry I never followed up... I got crazy lucky- I did drive up to get the speakers, and when I got home and turned them over to hook them up, I found out they were BP-30's instead!

The 20's used off-the-shelf drivers (Vifa and/or ScanSpeak) whereas the 30's were part of the next generation that began Definitive designing their own in-house drivers.

I posted a brief summary of my thoughts here-

My bipolar girls : BudgetAudiophile (reddit.com)

The BP20's used a silk dome tweeter, so their highs might be a bit darker/smoother, but overall I'm sure they sound and perform very similar. If you enjoy the BP6's then you'd be getting the same sound but with stronger and deeper bass, and likely a slight bump in efficiency, by moving up to the 20's.

That is a lucky find!!! Wow!!!
Right now I’m running Paradigm Eclipse BP’s as my fronts, with Definitive Technology BP6’s as rears. Bipolar speakers make a huge difference in home theater, and I’m shocked that more speaker companies haven’t gone that way. My original plan when I bought the Paradigm Eclipses was to run them as fronts with another pair of “regular” paradigms as rears, but then I stumbled across the pair of Def Techs for $15 (yes, fifteen dollars), so I decided to try them out as rears and I LOVE the way they sound back there. Prior to this I had 4 matching Polk RTI70’s (towers) at the 4 corners, and I do prefer the rears to match the fronts, so that’s why I’m still looking. I’m actually about to head out and pick up a pair of BP-20’s. Do you think they’d be better off in the front or in the back?

*Update
I picked them up, they’re really nice and quite heavy lol. I looked at the specs between the BP-20’s & 30’s (I couldn’t find specs anywhere on the net, the only place I could find them was in an old for sale ad) and they look identical. So the only difference is that the drivers in the 30’s are made in house? Based on the DT’s having silk dome tweets I’m thinking they might be better off in the back, but I’d appreciate your input as well. Thanks!

 

[Kvn_Walker]

You should A/B them against the Paradigms and see which you prefer up front. I found the Eclipse to be more tonally accurate (minus the brightness), but the BP30's were just so dynamic.

You might wind up with a totally opposite opinion, but I'd still be interested to know it.

 

[Snowpuppy]

Well I kind of just wanted get them into place, so I put the paradigms in the back for now (replacing a pair of BP-6’s), with the BP-20’s up front. I probably should have put all 4 of them up front (Eclipses and BP-20’s), both on a speaker switch (I only have 4 of them just sitting here ), maybe I’ll do that later this week. I’m pretty used to the paradigms, so I’m hoping it won’t be too hard to figure out which ones I prefer up front. This system is used for 95% home theater, so I’m not sure that it’s going to make a huge difference right away. I put on Lady Gaga’s new disc for my wife, and I was sure I could already tell there was a difference, but I’ve never heard this album before, so it could be a placebo effect, I’ll need to put something on I’m familiar with to know for sure. I’ll try to watch a movie tonight and get a better opinion. Either way I’ll post up later with my end of day opinions. Thanks!!

 

[Epsonfan]

I had the 9000 series noting but trouble . The subwoofer amps died a week after the 3 yr warranty expired like clock work. Stay away from Def Tech. Active subs within the same speaker nice idea but don't cheap out on Amps for them from China.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

I had the 9000 series noting but trouble . The subwoofer amps died a week after the 3 yr warranty expired like clock work. Stay away from Def Tech. Active subs within the same speaker nice idea but don't cheap out on Amps for them from China.

That's why I don't bother with powered speakers outside of el-cheapos for my wife's desktop computer.

 

[Kingnoob]

Well I kind of just wanted get them into place, so I put the paradigms in the back for now (replacing a pair of BP-6’s), with the BP-20’s up front. I probably should have put all 4 of them up front (Eclipses and BP-20’s), both on a speaker switch (I only have 4 of them just sitting here ), maybe I’ll do that later this week. I’m pretty used to the paradigms, so I’m hoping it won’t be too hard to figure out which ones I prefer up front. This system is used for 95% home theater, so I’m not sure that it’s going to make a huge difference right away. I put on Lady Gaga’s new disc for my wife, and I was sure I could already tell there was a difference, but I’ve never heard this album before, so it could be a placebo effect, I’ll need to put something on I’m familiar with to know for sure. I’ll try to watch a movie tonight and get a better opinion. Either way I’ll post up later with my end of day opinions. Thanks!!

How do they compare to monopoles?? Very cool does anyone make affordable towers these days ? I don’t see many of this style ..
op got a good deal haha !!
Would be nice for the movie bedroom .
Could be a while til I ever upgrade don’t use that system a lot anymore.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

How do they compare to monopoles?? Very cool does anyone make affordable towers these days ? I don’t see many of this style ..
op got a good deal haha !!
Would be nice for the movie bedroom .
Could be a while til I ever upgrade don’t use that system a lot anymore.

Bipolars have incredible depth of stage. That's why I'm quite happy with mine for 2-channel movie/tv in the living room.

With music, they make everything sound like a live performance. You'd have to not mind that... your studio recordings will not sound the same as with monopoles.

BP20's I typically see sold in the $300-500 range, depending on how optimistic the seller is. BP-30's are very rare and I don't see those under $500 whenever they do pop up. I was lucky to get mine for $400 because the seller thought they were 20's. In good condition, either model is well worth it for that price.

 

[Epsonfan]

I am having better luck with Golden Ear Triton series They sound incredible fucking yeah

 

[Snowpuppy]

I had the 9000 series noting but trouble . The subwoofer amps died a week after the 3 yr warranty expired like clock work. Stay away from Def Tech. Active subs within the same speaker nice idea but don't cheap out on Amps for them from China.

It’s not just powered Def Tech towers like that to stay away from, I’d stay away from any towers with powered subs. Most Polk Audio towers that I see for sale which had powered subs usually have bad amps/non-working subs in at least one of the towers as well, it happens in all towers with powered subs, regardless of brand. As a rule I try to stay away from speakers with an semi-powered design, if one part fails, the entire unit suffers. Like you said, it’s a nice idea, but it just ends up being a problem waiting to happen down the road. A better idea is the use of passive radiators, at least in my opinion & experience. Def Tech actually makes quality products (aside from the issues that towers or centers with powered subs have), my only complaint about Def Tech is their exaggerated claims regarding frequency response. Other than that, I have no complaints whatsoever about the quality of their products, or the sound they produce. There’s no reason to stay away from Def Tech, especially some of their older designs like the early BP line like the BP20’s & 30’s, which are great speakers, and unlikely to give anyone any trouble.