Upgrade BA HD7s to DefTec UIW RSS IIs???

[discokachina]

I had been living with a great sounding set of 4 Boston Acoustics HD7s for front and rears, a BA 404V for the center channel, and a Velodyne SPL8 for my sub for a number of years. When I moved about 2 years ago there was no place for the surrounds so I installed 4 BA HSi 460 ceiling speakers for my surrounds which upgraded me to 7.1. Whenever at BB I always cruise the Magnolia Room drooling for the great sounding speakers they always had playing. A couple of weeks ago I made the ultimate mistake of asking for a demo. Turned out they were playing DefTec 7002 fronts with a Deftec 2002 center. Since BB was closing them out I could not resist replacing my BA fronts and center with the DefTecs. Boy am I glad I did, there is no comparison to the sound, the DefTecs are totally awesome Now I am thinking of replacing the left and right side BA HSi 460s in the ceiling with a pair DefTec UIW RSS IIs dipoles to match the Deftecs in the front. I can only find a couple of reviews/posts about the UIW RSS IIs so I am hoping some of you have an opinion about whether it is worth spending roughly $700 to replace the 2 BAs or is the difference between the BAs and DefTecs minimal 80% of my listening is 5.1, 20% is stereo, and 10% is 7.1 using a Denon 2309.

 

[zieglj01]

Def Tech with Def Tech is better than Boston with Def Tech - You have to
decide if you want to spend the money. However, when talking about the
inceiling speakers, it may not be that big of a deal. If you put inwalls - then
that would be better to match the Def Techs.

 

[discokachina]

Def Tech with Def Tech is better than Boston with Def Tech - You have to
decide if you want to spend the money. However, when talking about the
inceiling speakers, it may not be that big of a deal. If you put inwalls - then
that would be better to match the Def Techs.

Hi JimZ, Unfortunately inwalls are not an option for my surrounds I do not mind spending the money if someone who has heard the DefTec inceiling speakers can give me some indication of how they sound. The basic differences based on the specs are the DefTecs have a 1" aluminum tweeter instead of a 3/4" Kortec(plastic?) tweeter and the DefTecs have two 4 1/2" bass/midrange speakers with connecting radiators as opposed to one 6" woofer. The specs indicate the DefTecs should be better, hopefully someone can verify that.

 

[zieglj01]

Hi JimZ, Unfortunately inwalls are not an option for my surrounds I do not mind spending the money if someone who has heard the DefTec inceiling speakers can give me some indication of how they sound. The basic differences based on the specs are the DefTecs have a 1" aluminum tweeter instead of a 3/4" Kortec(plastic?) tweeter and the DefTecs have two 4 1/2" bass/midrange speakers with connecting radiators as opposed to one 6" woofer. The specs indicate the DefTecs should be better, hopefully someone can verify that.

I have heard both types of the speakers - not the inceiling models.
All I can tell you is that, the Def Tech has more resolution. I hope
you get a chance to audition some where. Inceiling speakers radiate
differently and that is where money comes more into play.

 

[discokachina]

Thanks for the advice! Here is what Chet from DefTec had to say:

Thanks for your recent email to Definitive Technology. Overall, I’d be inclined to stay with the Boston HSi460 speakers. Granted, our UIW RSS IIs would produce a greater sense of spaciousness and since the UIW RSS IIs have a sealed cabinet as part of their structure, they would produced consistently good sound in all applications. (Our UIW RSSIIs are not dependent on the wall cavity or ceiling cavity to sound good.) However, since the side and rear surround channels in a 7.1 home theater system do not normally play that much information, you wouldn’t hear much of an improvement when upgrading to the UIW RSSIIs. (The 6.5” bass/midrange diver and ¾” dome tweeter used in the HSi460s make them a fine in-ceiling speaker…..)

Thanks, Chet Pelkowski Definitive Technology

Chet just saved me a bunch of money and has created a very happy customer for life!!