BP 2000 is a good, but not great, speaker. It is a killer hometheater speaker and acceptable for audio (especially rock). In direct comparison to NHT 3.3 (used), it was superior but a little boomy. Compared to Martin-Logan Aerius, it was not as detailed and lacked a coherent soundstage.
For the money, there are better speakers but it should be auditioned (again, particularly for home theater)

I bought the complete BP2000 system and it is the best investment that I have made in my home theater. For the money, it is a hard system to beat. Realizing the bipolar sound is not for everyone, I would recommend a thorough audition before purchasing. Based on my experience with the BP2000's,(which I have owned for more than a year now) these are the points I would like to make:
1. Exceptional value. Some people may consider the $3000 price tag a bit steep but take into account the dual 15" subs with accompanying amps and things come into perspective. For the money, they CANNOT be beat.

2. Beautiful styling. I think these are one of the prettiest sets of speakers I have laid my eyes on. The hand rubbed lacquer is perfection (of course smudges seem to be a daily occurance) and the grill sock helps give it a sophisticated look. Yes they are tall and rather heavy but they aren't really all that intrusive due to their relatively small footprint.

3. "Like a brick" construction. These things weigh 120 lbs each! The standard knuckle rap test brought about nothing but sore knuckles. :) If you have carpet, I would recommend using the supplied spikes and once you figure out where want them, keep them there. Experimenting with placement is definitely a 2 person job.

4. Good with music material. I love the soundstage these things put out. Alot of people characterize bipolar speakers as having poor imaging characteristics but I don't agree. Although a good set of mini's like NHT SuperOnes would probably perform better in this department I don't feel like I am losing a whole lot. Vocals really stand out especially with good source material such as Rebecca Pidgeon on Chesky Records. Bass is tight with none of the one-note boom sometimes associated with larger subs. Overall, I feel that this is a neutral sounding speaker and will truly separate the better recordings from the lesser ones.

5. Outstanding movie performance. Here is where the system really shines! Dynamics that will literally move you. All the bass you could ever want comes standard for all your 'Ah-nult', T-Rex, and Twister scenes. Pans are seamless from left-center-right or vice versa. The bipolar rears help create a diffuse ambience behind you. The only thing that I find is that on some laserdiscs, the sound is a bit bright but I would suspect that it is a fault of the soundtrack rather than the speakers. When playing THX laserdiscs at high levels, I have to cut the treble down a bit due to the lack of having the THX re-equalization circuit.

6. Excellent customer service. I know that this has little to due with how the speaker sounds but I feel as if this should be mentioned. Before buying the BP2000 system, I had a Def. Tech. PF1800 sub I bought as a demo unit. The top end cap had a couple scratches in the lacquer. I called Def. Tech. to see if I could arrange to buy a new end cap and they wound up sending me a new one free of charge, no questions asked! I have called them on numerous occasions getting advice and have always talked to pleasant and knowledgeable techs. I know of someone who has called up and on occasion talked to the president of the company. I call that exceptional customer service. A company who is willing to stand by their product is not always that easy to find.

Overall, I think that these speakers go above and beyond what I expected and whole heartedly recommend anyone audition a set. I realize that there are people who say that there are better speakers out there. Keep in mind that this is only opinion and the only opinions that count to me are what my ears tell me.

I have had a chance to live with these speakers (the new TL version) for a while. As most reviewers have pointed out, these speakers are amazing for home theater. With music, however, these speakers have received mixed reviews.
Initially, after first setting up these speakers, I was not very impressed with their musical ability. The bass seemed a little lacking and a little boomy with some music. After moving the speakers out from the wall a little more and adjusting the subwoofer volumes on the back of the speakers, I found that the bass improved tremendously. No more boominess. In fact, I think these 15 inch subs reproduce bass very well when properly set up. Apparantly these subs need a lot of room to breathe, and they also probably should face outward. After the subs were "tweaked", bass was very "tight" and well controlled (more so than the 2002's). The problem with most audio stores is that they have the subs cranked and this is too wearing on the ear. Yes, the subs do need a lot of adjusting according to room dynamics, but the end result is well worth it.

Another thing I noticed initially with these speakers was that the sound was very diffuse. I would hear music on my brothers Boston Acoustics Media Theater speakers (which are the best computer speakers I have ever heard) and I would be amazed at the clarity and imaging of these speakers, leaving me to wonder what I was missing in the definitives. Some sounds which I could hear on the BA Media Theater speakers ($300 list) I could not hear as clearly on the 2000's! This may be what some people refer to as the supposed "congested" nature of definitives. I decided the speaker placement needed some more tweaking and I angled the speakers inward slightly (about 1 inch). I was amazed at how much the sound quality improved! All of a sudden I could hear sound much more clearly than before. The speakers sounded great! No hint of congestion, as vocals and instruments sounded very crisp and clear. Imaging was superior than before when the speakers weren't angled in. The sound for people sitting away from the center of the sweet spot remained great, and home theater was as good as ever.

So, after adequate setup (and possibly good equipment), these speakers shine. The problem with most audio stores is that they have no clue how these speakers should be setup for a demo. No one can handle bass cranked all the way up for extended listening periods. Some people probably don't even know that these speakers have adjustable volume knobs for bass on the back panel. Many audio stores also pack a bunch of speakers into a small room. These speakers need some room to breathe, and may not be well positioned in the room. Angling these speakers inward a bit helps a LOT, and many audio stores probably fail to do this. If you take the time to properly set up these speakers, and hook them up to a decent receiver or amp, you won't be disappointed. 5 stars.

I listened to a whole bunch of $4000-$6000 speakers and ended up prefering the $3000 Defs. The ones listened to included Proac, Dunlavy SC-IV, Martin Logan Request, JMLab, Aerial 10T, B&W, and Von Schweikert 4.5. Of these, the last was the best, but I still ended up with the Defs since they suited my needs better. I listen to pop and jazz and expect true 20 hz bass. Some of the other "full-range" competitors were rather embarassing in the bottom octave.
My "next step up" choice would be the Meridian DSP6000s, but these are $17k items, so it's a big step up. Have not heard the bigger Genesis models nor Audio Artistry Beethoven,nor current Infinitys.

Definitive's BP2000. Myth or Ledgend?
A little of both I think.

The LEDGEND of the BP2000's:
It is amazing how a few impressive looking pictures can hypnotize
most people into believing that the BP2000 speakers sound good without
these people ever hearing them. I have to admit that the advertisement
was enough to catch my eye, and have me believing that these speakers
are worth $3,000 just for the picture, and the specifications.
Definitive's adveritising was a smashing success for the company.
After all, you get 15" 300 watt powered subwoofers and a bi-polar
speaker array. It all looks sssoooo good on paper and on the design
schematic. Everyone who first saw it must have oohhed and aaahhhed.
I know I did.

The MYTH:
Then I heard them at the Upper Ear here in Vegas. I know I'm not the
only one, but when others sampled it, did you hear the bass getting
canceled out alot? I heard the BP2000's in two different venues.
One was the size of a living room, and the other was the size of a
Sears store. The further away from the speaker pair I was, the stronger
the bass volume would seem. When I heard the speakers, I thought,
"How can 300 watts sound so weak?". I have heard powered subs with
only 120 watts give more audible bass tone then the BP2000's. I
began to wonder if Defintive stretched the truth on the specs for the
powered subs. Some areas in the room had too much bass, while other
areas had no bass at all. The acoustics were not the problem, because
there were other subs in the room that I sampled, and they performed
with an even distribution of the bass tones throughout the room.
Also, the BP2000's Bi-Polar design proved that more drivers do not
equal better sound. The ambience these speakers eminated felt
unnatural. You could easily hear that the bi-polar concept caused ambience
that was not in the source recording. The reflections from the rear
firing midranges and tweeters were ear piercing and sounded disdainfull.
Worse than my cheap speakers in terms of defraction based irritants. It
seems the whole premise of these speakers IS based on defraction to achieve forced ambience. If you listen long enough, it will start to irritate you,
much like having a stadium DSP on a receiver turned on too long. It's cool at first, then you can tell that it is not the way it is supposed to sound, and then becomes irritating. The only problem is that you can't turn off the
the sound these speakers make. This is the way they designed it to sound.

Overall I thought it had hollow bass sound, and over-ambient midrange and
high frequency reproduction. The general tone in every frequency
range was not ear pleasing, whether it was bass, midrange, or highs.
These speakers were obviously conceived with a childlike imagination, but
do not deliver the sophistocated sound quality that was intended. Next
time I suggest listening in many different acoustic enviroments during
your evaluation. Perhaps Definitve should have tried listening for a longer period of time before making changes in each part of the design stage.
They might have prevented the amibience problems, and phase cancellation
in the lower octave. Considering the cost and the intention of a high
quality design, (but poor performance) I give these speakers a 2 star
rating. The sound quality is only worthy of a speaker pair in the $500-
$1,200 price range. Acoustic Research's bi-polar/subwoofer design is
nearly a clone of the sound of the BP2000's, without the high cost.

Home theater, and does a great job with music if properly set up. Slim profile.

Very heavy, placement is critical.

While these may not be the best speakers for [certain types of] music, they are certainly not lacking much if properly set up. I don't exactly know what the EAR is referring to when he says "pro wannabes" but this speaker should be appealing to many people for the following reasons: some people don't want a sub in the middle of their family/living room, and the built in stereo subs do a great job of producing deep, tight (!) and well balanced bass. Also, the slim profile of these speakers is great for asthetic reasons.

I have found that some receivers/amps work much better than [similarly priced] others for these speakers. These speakers sound much better with Yamaha than with Denon (IMHO). The yamaha brings out the detail and also tightens up the bass in comparison to the denon (DSPA1 vs. AVR5600 is what I have heard it with).

Also, it helps very much to angle the speakers inward a little bit. And the subs should fire outward and should have plenty of room to "breathe". Placement is definitely critical for these speakers to sound optimal. Break in period helps too.

I am not technically an "audiophile" but I do notice subtle improvements in sound quality and I appreciate a good sounding pair of speakers. These speakers, when properly set up and driven by an amp which matches well with them, should sound great to anybody...audiophile or not. Good recordings make a big difference here...poor recordings usually won't sound very good.

The EAR may think that these sound only good with pop/dance/techno. How can you not include rock music??? They are amazing for rock music. And you say midrange is lacking? Well...I have found that vocals are great...there is a sense of fullness to them which some other speakers don't have, not to mention great definition (maybe the yamaha combination works well here). And classical music and jazz music don't sound bad on them (have you heard the Star Wars Cd? It is great on these). I believe that the more dynamic the music the better it will sound on these. When better quality recordings come out, these speakers are going to really shine.

Hook these up to a DSPA1 and angle them in...you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

BP2002