I never heard Def Techs that, to me, weren't screachingly bright, etched, and super hyped-up in the treble. Absolutely painful to listen to. I have owned a PF15 sub since 1995, which I use now for LFE and the the bass for center and surround channels only. Pretty reliable. OTOH, I recently heard the Golden Ear towers. Golden Ear is the new company owned by Def Tech founder Sandy Gross. These speakers have similar form factors to Def Tech towers, but instead of that screetchy metal tweeter use folded ribbon, Hiel-like tweeters. They were detailed, sweet, smooth and full range. IMHO, they are a bargain, and, along with my Ohm Walsh 2000 speakers, my go-to recommendation in under-$3K tower speakers.