The wonders(blunders) of Definitive Technology

[omar90]

Hi All

Wanted to get some feedback from other forum members how there experiences (if any) have been with Def Tech. We have been Def Tech speakers for over 15 years in our family and just not happy with the fact that every few years or in some cases months their amps on the powered speakers just fail or something happens to them. Even with me I have the annoying pop sound that comes when either the speakers power on or when going into standby mode. Is there anybody who has found a work around these pop sounds from the powered towers?

Thanks for your help on this matter.

 

[Hetfield]

This is one of the reasons I am Def Tech free after having these speakers for 15 years. Had a sub that wasn't great, bought when I didn't know better but the amp died on that. The customer service also went really bad with them also. You send emails that are never returned, at in never ever. Not the same company when Sandy owned them.
I'm into RSL speakers and could not be happier. Excellent customer service and will designed speakers.

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[Pogre]

Hi All

Wanted to get some feedback from other forum members how there experiences (if any) have been with Def Tech. We have been Def Tech speakers for over 15 years in our family and just not happy with the fact that every few years or in some cases months their amps on the powered speakers just fail or something happens to them. Even with me I have the annoying pop sound that comes when either the speakers power on or when going into standby mode. Is there anybody who has found a work around these pop sounds from the powered towers?

Thanks for your help on this matter.

I've owned some DefTech speakers (SM55s and Promonitor 1000s) and was pretty happy with them. No powered bass sections in those tho. I avoid that kinda thing because of the potential problems like an amp dying. The speakers I had weren't what I think of as top of the line, but they rekindled my interest in nice speakers. Their new Demand series look pretty nice and reviewed really well here.

 

[Pogre]

This is one of the reasons I am Def Tech free after having these speakers for 15 years. Had a sub that wasn't great, bought when I didn't know better but the amp died on that. The customer service also went really bad with them also. You send emails that are never returned, at in never ever. Not the same company when Sandy owned them.
I'm into RSL speakers and could not be happier. Excellent customer service and will designed speakers.

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You don't have those SM65s anymore?? I thought you'd be buried with those! Which RSL speakers do you have now?

 

[Hetfield]

You don't have those SM65s anymore?? I thought you'd be buried with those! Which RSL speakers do you have now?

Nope, no more Def Tech. We moved and they didn't fit into the space well.
I have RSL CG23 LCR and CG3 surrounds. Next I'm buying dual Speedwoofer 10s subs. Probably around June I'll order 2. Incredible customer service, great prices and well designed speakers.

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[Pogre]

Nope, no more Def Tech. We moved and they didn't fit into the space well.
I have RSL CG23 LCR and CG3 surrounds. Next I'm buying dual Speedwoofer 10s subs. Probably around June I'll order 2. Incredible customer service, great prices and well designed speakers.

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Nice! Stuck with the same form factor I see. A pair of those Speedwoofers and you'll have a really nice little system there. Those subs punch way above their weight class. Congrats!

 

[Hetfield]

Nice! Stuck with the same form factor I see. A pair of those Speedwoofers and you'll have a really nice little system there. Those subs punch way above their weight class. Congrats!

Thank you and that's what I keep telling people. I get suggestions because they don't "dig" as deep as this or that but I'm sticking to my plan. These are what I wanted and it'll be an all RSL HT. Someday I may move up to the CG5 line but for now I'm just enjoying the CG3 line.

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[BMXTRIX]

Wanted to get some feedback from other forum members how there experiences (if any) have been with Def Tech. We have been Def Tech speakers for over 15 years in our family and just not happy with the fact that every few years or in some cases months their amps on the powered speakers just fail or something happens to them. Even with me I have the annoying pop sound that comes when either the speakers power on or when going into standby mode. Is there anybody who has found a work around these pop sounds from the powered towers?

I bought a nice set of DefTech speakers years ago. They have performed very well, and have been extremely reliable. That said, I made a point of buying a model without the amplifiers built in. The idea of putting an amplifier into a speaker just always seemed like a bad idea, and though I didn't have much experience in the field at that time, I had already seen a few customers with DefTech amplifiers that had gone bad. Seemed like a better solution to avoid them altogether.

My recommendation would be to not connect to their amps and just use the passive portion of the speakers, then use a good subwoofer from a reputable company within the room.

 

[Hetfield]

Oh the other reason I moved away from Def Tech is I wanted to get away from the bipolar design. Now they have the Demand series but good God are they expensive. Much better bang for the buck out there, much. So bipolar was another reason I am not longer a Def Tech customer.

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[ryanosaur]

Hi All

Wanted to get some feedback from other forum members how there experiences (if any) have been with Def Tech. We have been Def Tech speakers for over 15 years in our family and just not happy with the fact that every few years or in some cases months their amps on the powered speakers just fail or something happens to them. Even with me I have the annoying pop sound that comes when either the speakers power on or when going into standby mode. Is there anybody who has found a work around these pop sounds from the powered towers?

Thanks for your help on this matter.

I've only auditioned two of the BP series, about 2 years ago, now. They were... not pleasant. I found their reproduction to be too artificially propped up by the powered woofers, even after telling the guy to adjust them down so I could compare them to some of the other speakers in the room better. (Switching between the BP 9060 and the B&W 600 series tower was almost comical in the disparity of their respective sound.)
I tried the 9080 on a different occasion and decided it wasn't just a fluke or bad room/setup, but the sound was almost saccharine sweet with that weird astringent diet-cola aftertaste.
Regardless, after giving them a whirl, I walked away shaking my head in wonderment because so many people raved about them.
I could only assume, if coming from a soundbar or sh!tty HTIB set, these are epic... but as a trained musician I found no semblance of reality in their SQ and ability to reproduce acoustic instruments in a believable manner.
As I've learned more about speaker design, I added to my dislike of their speakers the "powered subwoofer" as a marketing point, as well as the sheer outright unbelievable claims of deep extension they provide to lure people in.

That said, the new Demand series seem to be straight up legit speakers with big-boy britches. Though I am less interested in them than the JBL HDIs, I would still like to hear them sometime.

Now if we can just get SU/DT to revamp their Subwoofer game with some legit product and honest marketing claims....
Yeah, I know I'm farting rainbows on that one, like a unicorn on taco bell!

 

[ryanosaur]

Oh the other reason I moved away from Def Tech is I wanted to get away from the bipolar design. Now they have the Demand series but good God are they expensive. Much better bang for the buck out there, much. So bipolar was another reason I am not longer a Def Tech customer.

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Bipoles can be done well, but the added complexity to proper set up is not a user friendly play.

 

[Hetfield]

Bipoles can be done well, but the added complexity to proper set up is not a user friendly play.

Exactly, that's exactly right. They are tough to get right on your room. I never had the right room for them nor the patience to get them exactly right.

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[Pogre]

Exactly, that's exactly right. They are tough to get right on your room. I never had the right room for them nor the patience to get them exactly right.

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Yeah but, the SM65s you had weren't dipole speakers so that was a moot point. I always thought your speakers were pretty nice, DefTech or not. I'll bet those CG23s are a nice little step up in accuracy tho, and I love the black gloss finish on them better than the 65s.

 

[Hetfield]

Yeah but, the SM65s you had weren't dipole speakers so that was a moot point. I always thought your speakers were pretty nice, DefTech or not. I'll bet those CG23s are a nice little step up in accuracy tho, and I love the black gloss finish on them better than the 65s.

Yeah my Def Tech's were no bipolar. That was my way if staying with Def Tech but away from bipolar. I like the RSL better yes.

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[omar90]

I bought a nice set of DefTech speakers years ago. They have performed very well, and have been extremely reliable. That said, I made a point of buying a model without the amplifiers built in. The idea of putting an amplifier into a speaker just always seemed like a bad idea, and though I didn't have much experience in the field at that time, I had already seen a few customers with DefTech amplifiers that had gone bad. Seemed like a better solution to avoid them altogether.

My recommendation would be to not connect to their amps and just use the passive portion of the speakers, then use a good subwoofer from a reputable company within the room.

In a scenario if these speakers are not being used through the onboard amp, what would the cross over be set at? Would the passive radiators work or would it just be a larger book shelf speaker?

 

[Pogre]

In a scenario if these speakers are not being used through the onboard amp, what would the cross over be set at? Would the passive radiators work or would it just be a larger book shelf speaker?

Kinda depends on the speakers in question. Personally I would use the onboard amp, set speakers to small and use a 60 or 80 hz crossover with a true sub or 2 until the amp(s) died. Again, depending on the speaker, you may not even have passive radiators if the bass section is already powered. But yeah, his suggestion would turn your speakers into large bookshelf speakers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you have a good sub or 2. Which speakers are we talking about?

 

[slipperybidness]

I like my SM350.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Thank you and that's what I keep telling people. I get suggestions because they don't "dig" as deep as this or that but I'm sticking to my plan. These are what I wanted and it'll be an all RSL HT. Someday I may move up to the CG5 line but for now I'm just enjoying the CG3 line.

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Ya know het, iirc from shadys review, the speedwoofers do go down to 20hz or very close. They just won’t do it at 125db lol. Again, I don’t think you’ll miss the pb1000. At all.

 

[Pogre]

Ya know het, iirc from shadys review, the speedwoofers do go down to 20hz or very close. They just won’t do it at 125db lol. Again, I don’t think you’ll miss the pb1000. At all.

Bill! How dare you pretend not to see me posting, you sonofabitch!

Ha ha! Good to see you man!

 

[Hetfield]

Ya know het, iirc from shadys review, the speedwoofers do go down to 20hz or very close. They just won’t do it at 125db lol. Again, I don’t think you’ll miss the pb1000. At all.

I don't think so either despite the numbers that are quoted. I will find out eventually.

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