Def Tech CLR 2500 or CLR 3000 ???

[arunvb]

I am setting up a 5.1 system and currently have the Def tech BP 7002 (powered bipolar tower that has 4 5.25" mid/bass drivers and 10" sub) as mains, Def Tech UIW 94 in ceiling for the rear surrounds and Martin Logan Depth subwoofer.

For the center channel, I am not able to decide between the Def Tech CLR 2500 (5.25" mid/bass driver & 8" sub) and CLR 3000 (6.5" mid/bass driver & 8" sub). I auditioned the CLR 2500 at the local retailer and I liked its full range sound. I could not find any retailer that has the CLR 3000 available for the demo, so I could not listen to it or do a side by side comparison with the CLR 2500.

I would like some opinion from the people who have probably owned the CLR 3000 or compared the CLR 3000 with the CLR 2500. Is it worth the additional $200. I read in one the customer reviews for CLR 2500 is more precise than the CLR 3000 due to its 8" sub rather than the larger, slower 10" sub of the CLR 3000. Can anybody tell what does the user mean by a slower 10" sub and how far it this statement true.

I would really appreciate if any one, who has compared the 2 speakers or has had the CLR 3000, give some opinions asto whether it is worth spending the additional $200 on the CLR 3000 and what kind of improvement will you see with the CLR 3000 compared to the CLR 2500..

Also please note that the BP7002 tower mains have 5.25" mid/bass drivers. Will a center with the same driver size (CLR 2500 in this case) be more compatible with the mains or is it OK to have the CLR 3000, which has bigger drivers.

Thanks
Arun

 

[rschleicher]

Arun,

I think the 2500 will offer a slightly better timbre-match to your 7002's, due to using the same size (and possibly the exact same) mid-bass drivers (and tweeters, for that matter).

I doubt if the 10 in. sub built into the 3000 is audibly "slower" than the 8-in. sub used in the 2500, since in both cases the crossover frequency to the mid-bass drivers is pretty low. "Slowness" of larger drivers is mostly relevant if they are being used as mid-bass drivers in a 2-way system (at frequencies up to 2000 Hz, say), and is not usually an issue at sub-woofer frequencies.

Also, depending on how you are doing your bass management in your receiver, the differences between the built-in subs of the 2500 and 3000 may not matter much at all. If you set your center channel to "Large", then it may make a slight difference if the 3000 goes a little lower. But, if you have it set to small, even with a fairly low frequency crossover to the main sub, you may not hear any difference.

Everything considered, I'd think that the 2500 will be a good match for your system, and you might as well save the price difference between it and the 3000.

 

[Brensands]

I'd agree with the previous poster with the 2500 matched with the 7002's. I currently own a 2500 along with the 7006's. Next week, im planning on upgrading to the 7002's. I have the 2500 setting horizontally underneith the T.V, the 2500 is abit on the heavy side so if you own a T.V stand with glass shelves underneith be carefull.

Definatly recomend setting your reciever to large for both front and center channel. I had mine set to small before I realized that Def.Tech. recommends the large setting for full range frequency response. The built in 8'' sub is just awesome sounding with the 7006's so im curious on how the 7002's will sound.