Are Def techs 7000 series real competitors?

I agree with Richrk. 9 out of 10 audiophiles will tell you the Def Techs are strictly HT speakers and not capable of producing quality sonics. But the majority of folks out there have experienced them with Denons, Yamahas, and other HT receivers. Once you pair them with high end equipment, some good quality power and front ends,then you begin to hear their potential. You get a lot of speaker for your money in the 7000 series. And no, they do not give the pin point accuracy that you get with some of the audiophile speakers but the soundstage and 3 dimensionality is there in spades.

I listen to a lot of large orchestrated classical music on my DefTechs and believe the bipolar sound enhances the experience.

There is no pin-point imaging in a concert hall. Your ears hear the acoustics of the walls, ceiling and ambience of the room.

The DefTechs give me a huge soundstage in my small room and the powered bass lets me get a good frequency balance.

I'm sure there are plenty of expensive speakers with better sound. But on balance the DefTechs give you a lot for the money. IMHO

Well I had a passive pair cause a lot of def techs are with built in subs from memory, I had a pair of bp2000's I think they were, and this was about 8 years ago. These were bi-polar style design and built well... Okay never worked out very good in 2 channel, and you will find very little on hiend that will say that they will be that great for 2 channel, movies however and like DTS surround Concerts are pretty sweet though. And I use to work for a dealer that sold all the models, yes a little different than current designs I am sure, but they were never pushed or considered 2 channel speakers at all, totally driven and marketed as surround systems and I would guess that company does not claim much past that.

Thought I would chime in here as well...

I had Def Techs about 6 years ago before I went to predominantly 2-channel. In my experience, they were very good speakers for home theater and just OK for 2 channel. The bi-polar design seemed to lend itself to directionality for movies, but not very good imaging/layering for 2 channel. I upgraded to Legacy Focus and now have Legacy Whispers for 2 channel. Absolutely no comparison in 2 channel and the Whispers are also way better, to my ears, for movies.

My system has evolved pretty radically during this time from Sunfire gear to higher end components as well (VAC Phi 2.0 tube preamp, McCormack DNA-500 amp, APL'd Denon 3910 source, Elrod Statement and Epiphany X pcs, Virtual Dynamics Revelation Sig Ics and Revelation bi-wire speaker cables, etc., etc. etc......)(it never ends....)

Summary - depends on what you want to listen to - if its mostly movies, Def Techs are fine, but just not as sonically revealing as good "2 channel"-type speakers, IMHO.

Foster 9 thanks for the feedback The question didn't stay on the front page long enought to get many responses. When I sold my last house I had to box up my Revel Salons because everyone wanted the speakers to come with the home theater room. No one would believe what they cost so I finally bought some 7002s and the tweeter in them almost bit my head off. Not a fair comparision but I thought that the 7000 series had the same tweeter. I'm building a second system and have access to def techs at a reasonable price. I just don't see much noice about them in the two channel world. Again thanks for your input.

I see you haven't received any responses. That's no surprise to me. Not many audiophiles have any appreciation for the Def Techs as music speakers. As a Def Tech BP 7000 owner I would say that they are good in 2 channel. But anyone reading this would say: "well he owns them, what would you expect him to say." I don't have a lot of experience to say they sound as good as the competitors. I've only had one set of high end speakers other than the Def Techs come through my listenting room. I will say this, I like mine more all the time. They are a challenge in that you need to pair them with very good electronics, have a room big enough for them to breathe, have a capable front end as well as cabling to get the most out of them. I am about to bi-wire mine for the first time after going single wire for the last several months. I use a Plinius 9200 integrated with mine. I will say that I don't believe I've yet tapped the full potential sonically of these speakers. Ultimately you will have to decide for yourself how you think they sound. You cannot audition these behemoths in your home, no way, and that's the best way to know how you would like them. My best suggestion to you (if you are serious about these speakers) would be to work with a Def Tech dealer and see if you can take your amp, front end, and some familiar music to a Def Tech dealer and listen to pair of the 7000's with your own equipment and find out if there is synergy and you like what you're hearing. There is one other Def Tech BP 7000 owner on Agon who is helping me to acheive the potential of the speakes with my setup. His member name is nypr2003. He can give you more information on the 7000's. But as I said, I enjoy mine more and more every day as I continue to tweak my system.