definitive bashing

[deftech]

I know everyone is entitled to his/her opinion and I'm certianly not telling anyone what to think but I am ASTOUNDED every time I hear someone say defenitive technology speakers sound "harsh, awful" etc. I was listening to tears for fears "advise for the young at heart" from the sewing the seeds of love cd last night and the music I heard was beautiful. I have bp 2002 tl's wired with 12 ga canare speaker cable to a yamaha rx-v2095. I have several friends who love music as much as I do and none of them have ever said anything negative about my system. I am not saying they are perfect, is any speaker perfect? I am 45 years old and have been into audio equipment for over 30 years. I have heard some astounding systems with price tags to match. I have also heard systems I would'nt let my dog listen to. For some reason "audiophiles" get very defensive when bad things are said about their equipment. Maybe I'm a victim of that, I don't know. Just needed to get my two cents in. Your thoughts and opinions are are welcome. I won't get defensive, I promise...

 

[fergusonv]

I personally don't think they sound that bad. I just don't like the bipolar part. I have a buddy that has some older ones and they sound really good but they image poorly, I figured it was due to them being bipolar. It also seems like placement would be very hard to get right with sound coming out in multiple directions like that.

 

[Doug917]

I think the powered towers leave a lot to be desired. I have auditioned them and my front imaging and soundfield collapsed. Detail was muddied up and acuracy seemed to disappear. I have had BP2X surrounds for years though and and have not found any other speakers that produce as good of sound as they do in my room, including the matching Klipsch speakers to compliment my front Reference series. Bipolars just don't give the pinpoint acuracy some of us are used to, which is fine as they are not supposed to. For the surrounds, this works wonderfully, but for the front I will stick with direct radiating speakers.

 

[deftech]

They are VERY sensitive to room placement, especially to reat walls. Get them too close and the image is very poor. I will admit I have heard speakers that image better, no doubt. I would rate my setup a 7 to 8 on imaging. I happen to think their broad sound stage makes up for their lack of precise image. I had them in a room that was much too small and they sounded bad. Like I said I dont expect everyone to love 'em, they have a very destinctive sound. I just dont think the "awful" tag would ever fit.

 

[Sleestack]

I have quite a few sets of speakers at home. I use Epiphany 12-12s, Merlin TSM-MXs and Onix. Ref. 3s in my various 2 channel setups w/ a Velodyne DD-15. I use Def. Tech. BP70001SCs, CLR3000 and BPVXs in my home theater setup.

Personally, I think the Def. Techs. excel for home theater. I think they are good for music, but they aren't as precise as my other speakers. Imaging can get a bit muddy and vocals get a bit muted IMO. That being said, I find the Def. Techs. to be more room dependant the other speakers I have. I bought hte TACT TCSMKII/ADC6 last week and briefly tested them with the Def. Techs. The difference was dramatic and really made the Def. Techs. sound great, which led me to believe that my room acoustics were not meshing with the bipolar design.

I tend to think most people who have heard them and bash them have probably heard them in a lousy acoustic environment. While they don't compare to my other speakers for 2 channel music, they aren't bad by any means. I heard them side by side next to $12K Martin Logans and quite honestly, the MLs sounded like crud. I tend to think that was because the setup wasn't good for the MLs, not b/c the MLs were worse than the Def. Techs.

If they sound god to you, that's all that matters. Everyone has a different perception of what sounds good (despite what some people here believe), so if they sound good to you, trust your judgment. Plenty of respectable reviewers and custom installers praise the Def. Techs. so you can decide if you want to give more weight to thier opinions or those here.

 

[Snap]

Doug Said my feelings on the Speaker line. I do not like the towers at all. And the Bi-Poles are also on my crap list. But that is my taste. They hurt my ears after watching a movie with them. First impressions of the Def Techs are pretty good. But after 15 minutes or so...that is when my ears start to get tired. Then to me they do start to sound "harsh"

Now I have even posted in this forum that the Mythos, and the Pro Cinema 60's are very nice speakers. For Sat speakers I would recomend the 60's all day long!

But the cool thing about HT, is as long as you are happy with your speakers it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks.

Blessed,
Jim

 

[sweeppicker]

Hmm..I think they are a great value. I ve heard the Martin Logans and the midrange was too soft for my tastes. Zzzzzzzzz....boring. The Def Tech towers have a great wide soundstage even if means losing some imaging detail. The Logans are more focused but step a few feet off to the side and they sound colored rather fast. Also the Defintives have pretty good treble response and a strong low end. I have no regrets purchasing my BP20s and SM450s. If their was a few things the Def Techs could work on is a stronger lower midrange and better dynamics. But not bad by any means for the price.

 

[furrycute]

I have briefly heard some definitives (don't remember the model number, but they did have powered subs built in) in a dealer's show room. I didn't like what I heard. The bass was loos, sloppy. I quickly lost interest after about 2 minutes of listening.

Maybe the speakers weren't setup properly, maybe the volume on the powered sub was turned too high that could have caused distortion. I don't know. But from what I heard, I was not at all impressed.

 

[sweeppicker]

As with most speakers the set up and room placement plays a substantial role. My BP20s sound awful in my father's spacious photography studio because the floors are wooden and the ceiling is very high. Excessive early reflections drowning out the midrange and making the treble edgy and bass non existant. Back in my apt they kicked ***. Regular ceiling height, carpeted floors and big enough room to spread em out. They rip open a very realistic soundstange and sound smooth and balanced. I'll admit the speakers are very dependant on the room and sensitive to placement. Not a good speaker for a hard room.


The best speakers I've heard to date are the Legacy Focus. The are in a class of their own. All preference of course.

 

[rollinrocker]

Like sleestack, i run all deftech in my setup, tho i use them for both music and movies. I have bp7001sc mains, clr3000 center, bpvx on the side walls, studio monitor 450 for rear surrounds and two supercube reference subs. To me, the bipolar sound is addictive, tho i agree very room dependent. Experimenting with placement and room treatment was time consuming but results were rewarding. I think they image fine but not as pinpoint as others i've heard. the soundstage is huge, wide and deep. I have six friends that use definitive systems. I also have two who use nht and one who runs all paradigm, and i think their systems sound great! In the end, listen for yourself and decide, but i have also heard def techs in showrooms and was not impressed. Luckily, in my area there are several dealers that carry the line. One actually moved the speaker to another room for auditioning and it made a huge diff. I think we definitive owners do get a little defensive sometime, but usually we're very loyal to the brand. I've been running them in my system, different models, since '95. By the way, i've been reading audioholics for some time now, but this is my first post.

 

[Nomo]

I have briefly heard some definitives (don't remember the model number, but they did have powered subs built in) in a dealer's show room. I didn't like what I heard. The bass was loos, sloppy. I quickly lost interest after about 2 minutes of listening.

Maybe the speakers weren't setup properly, maybe the volume on the powered sub was turned too high that could have caused distortion. I don't know. But from what I heard, I was not at all impressed.

Sounds like we listened to the same speakers. That was my impression as well. I have heard that the Deftecs without the powered sub sound better, but have not heard them myself.

 

[sweeppicker]

Supercube Reference

I ve heard so many good things about the Supercube reference. I have the old Powerfield 15. Does the Supercube blow it away ? I'd like to hear some feedback. Thanks.