8 inch powered subwoofer, beautiful styling

None

I upgraded to Definitive Technology from a Polk Audio setup. I was initially concerned about the diminutive 4.5 inch drivers in the CLR2300, wondering how they would compare for dialog to the 6.5 inch drivers in my Polk center. That proved to be a non-issue as the dynamics of the 8 inch powered subwoofer kicks in. When an explosion happens in a movie, you feel it in the center. The tweeter sounds much sweeter compared to my Polks. The dynamic sound, low profile and gorgeous looks make this an easy reccomendation. This baby rocks for home theater and music.

Similar Products Used:

Polk Audio, DCM

-Outstanding all around sound! -Huge impact from special effects!

Nothing below is a problem for me although... -Some may consider the speaker a little big and hard to place. -On the heavy side

Never thought to write a review on the CLR2300 after doing so for the BP2006TLs. Please look for my review on the BP2006TLs for all the details. I have now owned my Definitive Technology speakers for 4 months now. I still sit there in my chair with my mouth hanging hide open and eyes blinking! The speakers are just awesome! The speakers are way past the break in period of 60 hours. The sound has improved just like the manual says! By no means was the sound bad to begin with. The CLR2300 is a great speaker! The feature that attracted me to the speaker was it's 8" powered sub. The speaker produces such big sound, totally filling the sound stage with highs and lows evenly. I have a Sony DA2ES receiver and have the low cut at 40Hz (what a great feature to have I must add) for the center channel. Wow! The sounds from The Matrix, Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars and so many more make you feel is if you are part of the action! The CLR2300s bass just makes other CC speakers sound small. Note: I have all the speakers in the front L/C/R sub-woofers cotrols set at 1 and 2 o'clock just like the manual says and the db is flat as well. As for music, just pop in Eric Clapton's "One more car one more rider" DVD and you will find the sound from the CLR2300 outstanding! Direct Stream - 5.1, you will be sold on them! My setup: Receiver - Sony STR-DA2ES DVD - Sony DVP-S300 TV - Sony 27" WAGA Speaker / Bass setup: Front LR - Small w/80Hz low cut off, running both Monster Z1 speaker cable and Monster sub-woofer cable off a Y. Center - Small w/40Hz low cut off - let's take advantage of the nice 8" in the 2300, Monster Z1 CC speaker cable only. Surround - Small w/80Hz low cut off Subwoofer - Yes with 80Hz high cut

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I have never used a speaker this great!

-Built in 8" 150watt sub -Great sound! Makes explosions, gunshots, vocals come alive! -Flexable setup -Perfectly matches powered and non powered DT tower speakers -Has LFE input for the curios/insane... :D

-Does not come with logo or feet installed -Its not that big, and unless your using a 36" TV or smaller without an 'entertainment center' If so you may have a problem placing it on top of your TV/setup. This isnt a weakness IMO...just a thing to consider.

While I dont consider myself an Audiophile since I dont have and cant afford a 50k+ system, I do consider myself knowledgeable about good sound and audiophile quality products....that being said... The CLR2300 is one of the best centers I've heard for the money - period. If you want even better response, look into the 2500 and/or 3000 model. My folks have a CLR1000b that we placed side by side with this one on the TV and did a comparison with BP2006tl fronts and BP6B rears (DT of course). The results are mixed in my opinion... both speakers sound great, but the 2300 sounds a little better. The only times you'll REALLY notice this is on scenes like 'lobby shootout' in the "matrix" and scenes from great action movies like "Star Wars", etc.... If you like to watch your system cranked up to a good level (like I do), then you'll definantly like the 2300 better. I think vocals and effects are transmitted thru both centers well, but the 2300 adds that extra low...especially heard in guns shots, explosions, live music dvds, etc... Now, the 'nitpicking' part, and I do mean nitpicking! The ONLY thing I can say bad about this product is it doesnt come with the feet or logo installed. This is because the center can be used vert or horizontally (and even used as left and right channels if you have two of them). To install the feet if you place it 'flat' on your tv (which 80%+ will do), then you have to 'hammer' the feet thru the grill sock on the bottom. Plus if you want the logo, you have to push it thru the front just under the tweeter. The holes are not precut and you could possibly damage your tweeter if your not careful! ....this is annoying to me so I left the logo and feet off until I become brave enough to install them. To sum up, if your on a budget, I can recommend the CLR1000 (logo installed already, LOL). If you can swing that extra hundred or two, the CLR2300 will NOT let you down!!!! Also, I've delt with DT customer service and I can tell you first hand they are the best in the business! You'll always get a quick email reply and/or a voice on the phone during operating hours!

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-Martin Logan, B&W, Paradigm, Energy, Def Tech -Bose, Polk (not even the same ballpark as previous listed...)

Looks, good midrange and highs, solid build (as usual for Def Tech)

Awkward logo and feet installation, a bit pricy but when compared to competetors, it's actually the best deal in a center channel

The main reason I chose this model over Def Tech's larger models is my cabinet only has a 6" opening. Boy does it fit in perfectly and results in an understated and elegant look! As for performance, as a center speaker it is excellent. The 2300 blends it perfectly with my venerable BP20's. The 8" woofer does a good job reinforcing the low end while relieving the 4.5" mids, which sound very smooth. (just don't confuse the woofer with a full sized sub, its not!) I agree with the other poster, the only thing I didn't like about the 2300 when I first got it was installing the logo as well as the feet. It just seems cheap having to poke through the cloth to install them. However, once they are all installed, it looks perfect.

Similar Products Used:

Def Tech BP20, Def Tech Super Cube I ,Polk f/x 500i

Looks great, sounds great. Good for a small-medium room.

Heavy! I''''m a bit worried about flexing the top of my RPTV with this thing.

Finally a speaker that matches the sound quality from my BP10s. Built in sub does add some oomph to the audio from the center channels which was lacking from other sub powered systems. It seems that you do truly get what you pay for when it comes to center speakers. Also, one sure has to take the ''''star'''' rating with a grain of salt. How can so many speakers be rated ''''far better than you imagined'''' and ''''bargain''''?

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ProCenter C2 JBL S2

uncolored sound. sounds much larger than it is.

logo dificult to install.

I originally bought 2002tl's for mains and was looking for matching surronds and center. chose bp2x for surrounds and listened to clr2002. the salesman brought out a clr2300 for compairson. what a difference the powered sub made! perfect match for mains and 200 dollars less than clr2500.

Similar Products Used:

bic venturi. infinity.

Sound, looks, built in Sub,

Its big?

I am using this for my center as well as my rear surround (6.1). This is a fine speaker timbre matched to my 2006's and BP2X's. This makes for excellent HT listening. Voices from the front channel are clear and precise, no pronounced effect because of the built in sub no wofiness (spelling?) in voices or sounds, just crystal clear sound.

This makes an excellent rear surround as well. We compared this to a set of BP2x’s as rear surround and found that the 2300 worked better. While watching Pearl Harbor, and listening to the Zero’s flying overhead, the mids were more exact and the planes just sounded more realistic, explosions that started in the front and finished in the rear lost nothing. Don’t get me wrong the BP2x is a great surround speaker and if space was a problem they would be my first choice, I would also chose the BP2x if I was close to the wall and need two rear surrounds. I talked with Def Tech (btw great bunch of guys, very helpful) they suggested that the 2300 would make an excellent rear surround.

Highly recommended for both front center and rear surround.

crisp clear sound. Strong bass. Confidence that speaker can handle any sound input from any movie.

Expensive

This is a good looking center channel speaker with a very clear & uncolored sound. I feel confident that the speaker can handle anything I throw at it. I like the idea of a powered subwoofer for a center channel speaker. After all the center channel has to be able to tackle much of the sound effects from movies. I am using Def Tec BP2004TL's for the front and they seem to be a good match. I expect that the speaker will be even better after it has broken in. I am very satisfied at this point!

Highs, Mids, Lows, Styling, in-board sub.

none

This speaker is a best match with the 2006TLs because it allows a person the same tweeter, mid and sub-woofer sizes across the front. I have four 2006TLs as mains and surrounds. The speaker is powered by the Yamaha DSP-A1. I hear DVDs in Pro Logic, Dolby Ditital/AC3 and DTS modes, and I couldn't ask for a better sound. There are no short comings with this center channel speaker! It looks great vertically(which is how I use it) or horizontally.

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c/l/r 2500

Powered subwoofer, clean highs, round mid, built like a tank

Tends to be muddy till break-in, very big and heavy (could be a problem in some setups).

This is a serious center channel. Although it was primarily designed for use as a center, one could use it as a L/R as well. First off, this speaker is big! It's larger than my receiver (onkyo 787) and weighs almost as much! Even sitting atop my 50" TV it looks big. Asthetically, it shares the same look as Definitive's other speakers in the BP line with two piano black laquered caps on the top and bottom (or sides if positioned horizontally) and a "sock" enveloping the cabinet. It has gold 5-way binding posts on the back (for full range wiring) as well as an RCA direct LFE input (for the truely sick) and a bass control knob.

I haven't fully broken this speaker in as the manual calls for 40-60 hours break-in, however, I've got about 20 hours on it. So far this speaker sounds great. The highs are clear and articulate but not harsh in any way. The mids, at least at 20 hours, are a bit "boxy" and muddy (however, I suspect they will smooth out once i'm past the 40-60 hour mark). The bass is complementary to the mids and highs, but don't expect it to rumble any seats...that's not the subwoofer's purpose here. It does however, round out the sound nicely and according to Def. Tech. it will extend to around 22hz. My guess and expierence is roll off is about 40-50hz as far as audible bass and honestly I haven't used it without my mains and sub on to test it's staning wave ability. That said however, 40hz bass out of the center channel is VERY satisfying and makes a HUGE difference in the HT expierence.

Other hightlights include threadable feet that can angle the speaker downward for better imaging. Also, the woofer only needs 1" clearence for full excursion (a plus for those with entertainment centers!) Drawbacks would include the sheer physical size and weight of the speaker (again for those with entertainment centers or space contstraints) as well as an extended break-in period.

Overall this speaker is amazing not only from an enginerring standpoint but a sonic one as well. I listened to a lot of different center channels before buying this one including Paradigm, Klipsch and Polk and the 2300 was just plain more "ballsy" than any of the others. Highly recommended and a great value.

Setup:
Onkyo TX-DS787 receiver
Toshiba SD6200 progressive scan DVD
Toshiba TN50X81 50" RP-HDTV
JVC HR-S7800U S-VHS
Definitive Technology CLR 2300 (center)
Definitive Technology BP2004tl (mains)
Definitive Technology BP2006tl (rears)
Acoustic Research ARS300 (sub)
Audioquest Slate and Bedrock speaker cable
Acoustic Research Pro Cinema interconnects

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Bose VC-10