I had a chance to listen to the BP7400 floorstander and was totally blown away!!! These speakers are the best kept secret out there! Does anybody have these and what do you think of them?
The dynamics were incredible and for 2000$ Can. I have not heard anything remotely close to them!
My best friend has these speakers. With a medium to large room and putting them about 3 feet from the walls they deliver great sound. And with the built-in subwoofer it saves you money in not having to buy a self-powered subwoofer. For US $1598 they are a tough speaker to beat for most people with enough room to let them take advantage of their bipolar drivers. They sound great in stereo and surround(given the appropriate Def Tech surround and center speakers).
There are very few speakers that compete with the Def Tech BP 7000 series, as long as you have the appropriate room.
Danman.. in a slightly larger room I'm running the 7002s, so I think the 7004s should fit well in your space. But be advised that the bipolar design requires some placement trials and errors to get the best sound out of them. They need some room to breathe, and you also need to figure out whether they sound better with the subs pointing towards each other or away from each other. And while they are easy to drive, they LOVE good clean power. There are undoubtedly better pure music speakers out there for the same money, but there are very few speakers that perform music/HT double duty as well as the 7000 series.
I've heard these speakers quite a few times. They either sound amazingly good, or amazingly bad. In one shop they sounded Klisch-esque bright, another place they sounded dark, and in another place they sounded almost perfect. Room, placement, and electronics are paramount.
Try them out in your own room to see which one will show up. Just make sure you can bring them back if one of the personalities you don't want shows up.
My favorite speaker in their line up is the Power Monitor series. The middle one (can't remember the number) sounds the most balanced to my ears. One of the few bookshelves I've strongly considered buying.
Thanks Stu but I was lucky enough to try them with a C162 and C542 as well as the C272 which is what I have except multiplied by 2 and in bridge mode. This gave me a great idea of how they would sound and like I said, I was very impressed! I would be willing to sell my speakers and sub for these.........that is how much I really enjoyed them! I am considering this option!
I've not heard the curernt line up of Def Tech, so my comments are only related to past DT designs. While providing impressive balance for the dollar, the DT speakers have left me cold. Firstly, the balance they strike is not to my personal taste. Their sound generally makes me think they are a not so well done B&W. More importantly to me, the DT speakers get the beginning and the ending of notes completely wrong. To me they are similar looking at a sunset through a simple kaleidoscope which distorts the beauty of the event. However, I feel the same way about NAD equipment and my tastes are not shared by the multitudes. So, feel free to ignore my comments should you decide this is the speaker to own.
I would tend to agree with you on a lot of the older DT designs. I auditioned the old BP8s and BP10s several years ago and thought they were pretty bad, but I was seriously impressed with the new 7000 series. And as I mentioned and Stu reiterated, room placement and electronics make a BIG difference with the DTs. They're still not perfect, but the new series is a big improvement over the older ones. Knowing what you have/prefer, I'm still not sure you would 'like' the new ones, as they still sound nothing like the BBC speakers you favor.
I don't know though I can't imagine DT ever sounding like the speakers I prefer. The (old) Definitive sound emphasized the extremes and a "jumpy", "buy me" sound well suited to home theater sales and that is not what the BBC designs I prefer will aim for. As I said, I've not heard the new series and, as far as I know, the line is not being carried in Dallas at this time. I would suggest listening very carefully to the lowest octaves, this is where I felt DT never lived up to their reputation. The ability to separate bass instruments is obscured in the (older) DT designs with an overlay of distortion as the driver is pushed hard. Quite possibly they have designed these problems out of the current line.
Well, I listened to them for about an hour and was...... like I said, blown away! The model was BP7004 and I also listened to the Power Monitor 700. I could not believe how fast the bass felt! It was even better then my HSU especially for music.
Of course speakers are not the same for everyone but I have always looked for a speaker that would go low but clean and have crisp highs and good mid range. I had a hard time believing this came under a couple of grand and without a sub! And yes Jan, I will avoid your comments especially concerning NAD as I am talking about 2 channel and not AV! I like NAD.
I also had a hard time understanding the way these speakers were developed as it is against the "norm" of what most of us are used to. However, I was very surprised at what was coming out of them. There were other speakers in the store that were much more expensive that to me were very good but bland in comparison. Maybe I just like big sound since I have attended so many concerts in my life of all types of music and I guess I got used to that kind of sound.
I actually use a full-on DefTech setup and have recently upgraded to the 7400's from the BP-6's which have been retired to become the rear-centers. I'm using BP2's for the left and right rear surrounds and a CLR 2000 center, plus a Powerfield 12 sub...not that I need it, but since it's there what the heck? The listening room is large (18W X 19L X 19H)with a high ceiling and I've found pulling the speakers away from the wall -- about 2 feet -- doesn't crowd the sound and creates a very big, rich, resonant field that is superb with movies. I don't really listen to much music through them so I can't comment on that, but for movies (IMO) it is tough to beat.
BTW I used to own the 7002's and a CLR2003...I never thought I'd write this...but it was too much bass and they sounded wide, big, and overpowering. Too much. Actually distracting (likely due to the center having bass also). Anyway, I wound up returning them and swapping them out for the 7004's -- which are plenty -- believe me. They are very efficient so it doesn't take much. The 2300 center was below the TV on a shelf stand, and it would vibrate the glass. That plus the 7002's was overkill bigtime, and toning it down did wonders for the mids.
Danman, All that matters, really, is that you like them. If you were "blown away", nobody should be able to prevent you from getting them for you enjoyment.
I have (2) Definitive BP7004TL, (1) clr2300, (2) BP1.2X effect speakers, (2) rear ceilling mounted definitive speakers, (1) super-cube I powered through a monster power HTS5100 with a yamaha RX-Z1. I have a Denon DVD-2910/955 to run DVD's and CD's.
I purchases system about a year ago. Bass is incredible, music is very good. I will probably upgrade to the clr2500 to improve audio from movies and tv. I found the super-cube a bit tricky to set up due to the many options available. I probably would have gone with a velodyne instead, but I didn't want to mix the systems.
It took me 6 months to decide on this set up. I agree with everyone else. You have to listen to 5 or 6 setups and then pick the one you like. Be assured this is a great system for the money and will stands up almost anything your friends or nieghbors have in this price range.
I have two Definitive BP7001sc main speakers, one CLR2500 center speaker, two BPX surround speakers, a Sunfire Ultimate Receiver and a Denon DVD-2900. I had been searching for new speakers to upgrade from a stereo only system to a surround sound system. I listen to a wide range of music but I particularly like classic rock. The BP7001 speakers with their bipolar design really open up the sound of late 1960s to the 1980s rock recordings and give you the impression you are immersed in the the music. The more expensive "high end" speakers that I have listened to do not have this abilibty. Some newer SACD and DVD-A recordings accomplish a similar effect through the use of the surround speakers.
When I first heard the Definitive BP7001 speakers in a show room they were not set up properly and I was not impressed. Speaker positioning is critical with the bipolar design. As the instruction manual indicates it is necessary to turn the main speakers inward rather than having them face straight forward and they need to be at least 18 inches and preferably a couple of feet from the wall to get the effect of the bipolar design. Also the manual indicates that tilting the speakers can give an impovement to the sound. I found that my listening position seated on a couch 9 feet from the main speakers required tilting the speakers forward to bring the image down to my ear level. This tilting the speakers forward made a big improvement in the sound. These speakers sounded harsh right out of the box im my home and requried many hours of playing to break them in properly. The speakers came with spikes but I have not used the spikes because I occasionally have to move my speakers. Has anyone else on this forum tried spiking the Definitive BP7000 series speakers and what were the results?
I found the built in subwoofers to give more than enough bass and to sound excellent with music. I set the speakers up with the active subwoofer facing in and used the separate LFE inputs. I have the subwoofer level controls on the back of each BP7001 turned a little below midway and I like bass. I occasionally turn the subwoofer level controls up a little above midway for some movies. I don't see a need for an additional separate subwoofer with the BP7001 speakers. I have not had a chance to listen to the BP7002s or BP7004s.
I have the BP7002's and they are a excellent speaker. Music, movies, they can do it all, I plan to go with a C/L/R 2500 center and some BP2X surrounds for a total DefTech system.
