True audiophiles hate them! That should tell you how good they really are!

None

I know we should submit only one review on a single product, however, I felt it only fair to make the following comments concerning these speakers and audiophiles in general.

Are these the world's greatest speaker? Absolutely not! Are they great are what they do? Absolutely!

An acquaintance of mine who owns a Lexus was loaned an up-to-date Camry while his car was being serviced. He told me that he was shocked at how close the Camry was, in both comfort and performance, to his Lexus. This would describe the BP3000s when compared to so called audiophile equipment.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Good sound is subjective. Just read the posts here. The vast majority of those who actually own these speakers love them. If you fairly audition these speakers and don't like them - so what - move on. If you have owned these speakers and wish to write a critical review, then do so!

What bothers the "true" audiophile so much about these speakers is that "we" pedestrians love them so much and rank them up there with the elitists "truly superior" equipment. They feel compelled to post reviews about these speakers and others to set the record straight. Do these "audiophiles" own these speakers or have ever owned them? No! Does the 15 to 30 minute audition they gave them in the local audio shop, to confirm that they aren't that good afterall (thank god!) prepare them to review this product?

These speakers are the antithesis of a true audiophile speaker. They are bipolar, have noname build-in amps and built-in subs. The problem is - they sound so good!

Do any of the following apply to you: voraciously consume every word of The Absolute Sound or The Inner Ear; actually believe their reviews; leave these magazines in strategic locations like the bathroom, beside your bed, on the kitchen table or at work to be read during break or at lunch; resent spending money on your kids when it could be better applied towards that new amp you want; spend weekends bothering the salespeople at local audio shops (pretending that you're actually interested in buying a certain product); frequent audio shops when visiting out-of-town relatives; constantly daydream about your next audio puchase; are hard to live with when upset because your system is not "quite" right; find yourself listening to your eqipment and not the music; take umbrage when ignorant audio enthusiasts post great reviews about equipment that you "know" is inferior; have given up ratonalizing your audio purchases and realize that you bought it simply because you want it; are devasted when one of your magazines gives a cherished piece of your system a poor review; surf ww.audioreview.com posting pejorative reviews about equipment you have never owned just to put things "right" and confirm you know more that others; and endlessly surf the net checking out the audio sites?

If you answered yes to four or more of the above do not buy the PB3000s! Instead spend the money on a good psychiatrist!

These speakers deserve a five rating for two reasons 1) they are very good at what they do and 2) because they irritate the audiophiles soooooo much!!!

Similar Products Used:

Paridim, PSB, Acustats etc.

Clarity at high volume, very deep tight bass, very good control over the bass, simple setup for amazing sound

Can not handle lowest organ notes cleanly

I was once an audiophile, but I got a life (family, children etc.) and was saved from my obsession. I have traded great equipment (Ohm Fs) in for lesser equipment on the recommendation of The Absolute Sound - was I a loser! I now buy what sounds good to me and these speakers are astounding.

I first heard these at a one of the big audio shops in Toronto and I was not impressed (I wasn't aware of the gain controls for the subs nor how the speakers should be positioned)! I heard its smaller siblings later at a different location and thought they sounded very good. I bought the BP 2000TLs for my HT; however, the contract allowed me to upgrade if I wanted to. The 2000s were great, but I decided to take a chance and upgrade anyway - and what an upgrade! The larger cabinets and different crossovers with the 18 inch subs and bigger amps really make a difference. I found I was listening to music more and more. I probably use these 70% for music and 30% for HT - they are that good for music.

I set them up with the subs pointed in and the speakers toed-in towards the listener. I tried other arrangements but this worked best in my listening room. I am not using exotic cables, amplifers etc. and the sound is wounderful. I reset the gain controls on the back of the speakers for every CD I listen to. These gain controls have made many CDs I had given up on very listenable - some have become favourites.

The sound stage with these speakers is huge, the bass deep and tight and the highs and midrange very clean. It did take a good 200 hours to break these in. I found that they can not handle the lowest organ notes - try Rutter's Requiem (track 8) probably in the 20 hz range. There was alot of chuffing from the ports. The eight foot high curtains bordering my HT projector screen were blown away to the sides (that's moving alot of air)! They do not have a problem with any of my other organ music.

I listen to musicians like Jewel, Beth Orton, Guster, 54 40, Poe etc. These speakers are an experience unto themselves. You feel the base in the chest as much as hear it! I regularly give them a hug.

They are also very good for HT. I have them paired with the 2004s for the rears and the C/L/R 2000 for the center (PSB subsonic 3i subwoofer paired with the center).

I had read most of the negative comments from other reviewers (the audiophiles) on this site prior to making my purchase - I bought what I like - my money and my listening time. I wish them luck in their never ending search (been there, done that).

If you are an audiophile these speakers will not suite you! They do not require line conditioners; expensive cables, preamplifiers, amplifiers etc. Simple for most people is great, but not for audiophiles - you look for any excuse to spend a ton of cash on new equipment (and get slaughtered on your trade-ins) in order to feed your addiction.

If you're a sane human being looking for a positive listening experience then give these a listen. Best to demo them in your own home, if possible, so you can play with the gain controls and reposition the speakers to best suite your tastes.

Similar Products Used:

Ohm F, Acoustats, PSBs, Infinity Monitors

I have never hear speakers that were able to clearly reproduce such amazingly low levels of bass at such high volumes. Their higher end clearity was astounding as well as the sound stage, too. The only speakers that impress me as far as upper clarity than these monsters are the Martin Logan series. Some audiophiles down these speakers and I don't know why, but I was told best that an audiophile is never happy with a speaker because there is always something better. True indeed, but I don't feel like spending $100,000 on a sound system (I could put that for a down payment for a really nice house for that much). I don't have the privlage of owning these speakers as I am in the Military and live in a small barracks appartment. Having these speakers would probably blow out the walls of the small room, thus collapsing the celing and killing me, so what's the point? I will, when I get out get a pair (that is if they don't come out with something better). I rate them highly with a 5!

Great Bang for the buck
Who needs subwoofers

Really Cumbersome and heavy
Placement is very helpful

I have been a lover of home theater since I heard the THX Wow! laserdisc on a Lexicon 8 years ago. I've listened to everything from $100 to $1,000,000. I was dead set that THX was the way to go and the THX Ultra was what I was going to do.

Then I had a chance to listen to the 7 speaker setup of a DSP-A1 and Def Tech BP-3000TL. The Super Speedway Imax DVD was the demo. When the F-1 Formula racer went under the bridge at 200mph, the sound of it traveled through the room and literally popped open the doors to the demo room. They moved that much air. I was sold.

I had to post after reading all these somewhat negative reviews. For the money, nothing comes close for the overwhelming sense of involvement in any home theater presentation. I sat in a 1/2 million dollar setup just last week and shrugged going...eh? This is it? All this money for this little improvement?

Yes, these are 2 18" subs with 1000W of power. But, after a little movement, tuning, and dialing in, the bass can be set to a reasonable level for any type of listening.

No, they aren't THE tightest. They are 18" for crying out loud. You want tight. Add a 10 or a 12" sub specifically for that purpose.

No, they aren't THE most accurate speakers. I say So what. They are by far THE most emotional, moving listening experience I have ever heard and could ever afford. I have friends and audiophiles drooling in envy and awe everytime I show them off at home. Then I take them to a B&W store and demonstrate their theater which costs twice as much. Is it more accurate than mine? Maybe. Does it move me and involve me. Nope. Do I go WOW. Nope.

Lucas had it right calling it THX Wow!

If you don't get that feeling. Just not worth buying.

Similar Products Used:

M&K, Atlantic Technology, B&W, Vanderstein, CAT, etc

Fantastic bargain. A friend of mine owns a pair of Martin Logans (They are approximately the same cost by the time you add the two subwoofers in the ML's). Together we agree that the ML's have a bit more clarity at the very high-ends (like trumpets and violins), but even my friend agrees that these have a much better output effect on the mids and low-end, especially when watching movies. All said, if we were both offered a second chance to purchase sound equipment we'd both go for the DefTech's even considering the very slight high-end difference. The sound is just phenomenal what more can I say?

Comeon guys...these speakers are great...why do you have to dog on them and compare them to products that aren't even close to representing what these can do?
The main purpose of these speakers is home theater, not music. For roughly $4000 street price, you get bipolar speakers with 8 horns, 4 tweeters, and 2 18" subwoofers. That's a heck of a bargain when you think about it. Have you actually heard these in a home-theater setup? I was at one of the stores in my area and they had these setup up with a 3000 center and two BPX's in the rear. WOW! These kicked some ass. Dialog was extremely clear and sounded very full...not tinny like most centers you hear (the 3000 subwoofer helps ALOT!) The bass was ver defined and I would have sworn I was in a huge theater...not the 30' x 30' room I was in. Man, I'm telling you...I've heard theater setups that sounded just as good, but they cost about two to three times the price of that setup.

Music sounded great on these too. Jewel sounded like she was on the stage right in front of me and I could clearly make out the position of all the instruments. I could clearly make out her breathing and all the little nuances that make the music come alive. The subwoofers REALLY made the difference here. Normally, you hear speakers in this price range playing music and you think, "hey...that sounded pretty good!" But with these speakers you say, "Hey...that sounded pretty good and I could feel it all around me!".

These speakers are great...some of these reviewers here apparently smoked too much dope in the 60's because these represent the appitomy of great home theatre and are very good (at least 4 start) music speakers as well.

God bless.

Well built speaker with good components; good solid bass if setup right; nice mid-range. The speakers seem to produce vocals, accoustic guitars, accoustic pianos etc. particularly well.

The upper frequencies could be a little smoother at high volumes; there is a slight frequency drop off just right between the cross over from the 18" sub to the 6.5" mid-range drivers (around 80 hz); although the images are excellent if matched with a high current amp, the soundstage is not as lush as other high end direct radiating speakers.

This is a follow up to my previous review on the BP3000tl. The purpose of this review is to point out that despite what Definitive and other users claim that you don't need to use a large power amp to drive these speakers given the 91 db efficiency level. They are wrong. Sure you can use a 30 watt/channel to drive these speaker as recommended by Definitive's 30-600 watts/channel guideline, the speaker well sound good but they won't image well. I used to drive these speakers with my Denon AVR5700 140 watts/channel. Although the sound was excellent, I was not quite satisfied with the speakers' overall harmonic presentation and the depth of its soundstage. Then I decided to upgrade my amp to the Bryston 14B ST, this amp is essentially (2) 500 watts monoblocks. After the upgrade, this is what I notice.

- The level of details improves tremendously its like day and night, with the following characteristics stood out:

-Cymbal notes: before it used to be clear, now it’s even clearer and with a nice bounce.
- Shakers: tinny shaker sound beside the high hats came through crisp and clear, whereas before it was lost.
-Acoustic guitars: much rounder tones.
-Vocals: with much more authorities and ease.
-Single line soloing: the emotional "feel" and the dynamics (crescendos) came through, also the solo lines are much more ease.
-Big bands and orchestras: background texture came through, whereas before some harmonics are lost.
-Mid bass note: before the Bryston amp, some notes I could not hear.

The bottom line is that if the speakers are matched well with a powerful amp, they will sound relax and ease and blend well with the 18” 1000 watts sub. If not, the 18” sub will over powered the rest of the speaker drivers.

Sure they might be expensive, but these speakers are worth it. If you spent money on other speakers with seperate subs, you have to worry about crossovers and matching. also, you won't be able to get two 18", 1000 watt subs. The only thing I can think of as being worth the price is a Velodyne HGS-18 (3000 watts, baby! and it has that noise cancellation chip inside it (if you haven't heard, that chip with the "tap test", prepare to be amazed)) with a pair of BP 30s.
Aside from bass, these speakers are phenominal. I was most amazed, when I played the Riven soundtrack on them. They were only placed 7 or 8 ft. apart, but the soundstage sounded like I was in an open field. TRULY amazing. It wasn't just me either, or my experience with definitive's speakers' "bi-polarness". My friend was with me and his jaw literally dropped. If you haven't heard these speakers yet, LISTEN TO THEM. don't judge them by their power rating or other reviews. Listen to them yourself. You won't be sorry

When comparing these speakers you should immediately seperate them into two camps:
1> The home theatre. Awesome. I've heard many speakers with all sorts of setups in my time, but hands down...no questions asked, these make the best home theatre speakers I've ever heard. The soundstage is very plain huge. The only trick is that you have to be a little careful with the Bass. these speakers have so much Bass, that normally you'll only have it in the 10:00 to 11:00 position...anymore is just overwhelming. Put a couple of 2002, or BPX's in the rear and a CLR3000 center and you'll never miss your local theatre again.

2> The music listener. These speakers do very well here too. I like the fullness that these speakers represent. Again, as with the home theatre issue, I've never heard speakers sound as full and enveloping as these. The singer sounds like they are right in front of me and the music just surronds me and makes me feel relaxed. The mid and upper range do not disappoint either. It is very clear and the imaging is point on. When compared to the B&W speakers or the NHT for example, I find that the highs are a little less defined, but they the fullness effect IMHO is a better trade-off.

If you are a true audiophile,mostly listen to music, and spent more than $1000 in audio cables then you might want to skip these speakers and really focus on the clarity that music-only speakers will give you. Personally, I like the way music sounds on these better than those "audiophile" speakers (and I don't even own a pair of these yet). If you are a true home theatre enthusiast run to your local dealer and check them out. If the price is too much, check out the 2002 (I own a pair of those)...which are also excellent, and a great deal too.

Best,
- Andy...

Powerful Bass...Sound stage...No shrillness/tinny sound
for the highs..

Price

Why do they have blondes and brunettes??
Because guys can't make up their mind for
a standard!! I too can't believe people are
slamming this system. True the bass can be overpowering.
But if you lived in a house with a dead room and a slab
floor you would appreciate the extra half turn on the sub
setting. Not that I have this problem...
The highs and mids match well with the 18's. I have
never heard speakers more musical/powerful in any of my
setups. The thing I like is that you can supply
500 watts a side and still not get a strained sound out of
these. Warning!!! stand back when attempting this and
place your CD player in the next room!!
Most so called "audiophiles" seem to think that unless
you have "razor imaging" "high frequency emphasising"
"can put your finger on the tweeter in the dark" style
systems,you don't have a good system. I prefer to call
that old age with associated high frequency hearing loss!!
The BP3000tl is a slamming system loud or soft to my ears.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Martin Logan (auditioned well),Paradigm,
Carver