Definitive Technology BP7001SC Equipment Report

Definitive Technology, you will discover three things; first, he is every inch an audiophile (as passionate about sound quality as any TAS reader might be); sec- ond, he believes in building speakers whose price/performance ratios are exceptionally good (more than a good business strategy, this approach makes quality sound accessible for more listeners);and third,he never forgets that music reproduction in the home is supposed to be fun (that’s right—exuberant, childlike fun). All three of these traits influenced the design of Definitive’s new BP7001SC—an ambitious speaker that promises top tier performance at an affordable price, plus that elusive “fun fac- tor” that entices you to enjoy whatever music you want,whenever you want. Enthusiasts biased in favor of small, esoteric manufacturers may find it hard to embrace a high-end speaker from a compara- tively large and successful company like Definitive Technology, but the truth is that some large companies have research and devel- opment resources small firms simply can’t afford. One example would be Definitive’s new multi-million-dollar Definitive Technology Advanced Research Facility (patterned after the NRC lab in Canada, but offering even more extensive anechoic testing capabilities), where much of the development testing for the BP7001SC took place. My point is that Definitive’s BP7001SC is a serious speaker designed by and for knowledgeable music lovers;as such,it deserves to be evaluated with ears (and minds) wide open. The $3500/pair BP7001SC is a sensitive, full- range, bipolar loudspeaker based on front- and rear-firing D’Appolito driver arrays coupled to a built-in powered subwoofer.Each D’Appolito array comprises two 6" magnesium-framed polymer bass/mid drivers and a 1" annealed- aluminum dome tweeter connected via phase- coherent Linkwitz-Riley crossover networks, though the front and rear arrays use slightly different enclosure volumes, low-frequency- crossover points, and crossover slopes (differ- ences said to promote smoother,more integrat- ed sound, and to improve phase response in the crossover region between the bipolar arrays and the subwoofer).The subwoofer is essentially a built-in version of Definitive’s excellent SuperCube I.Like the SuperCube I,the BP7001SC uses an onboard 1500-watt amplifier to drive one 10" long-throw woofer and two 10" passive radia- tors,but with a fixed crossover point and phase settings that are “digitally synchronized with the bipolar arrays (an LFE input gives users the option of controlling the subwoofer from an AVR or multichannel controller). Plainly, the BP7001SC is a lot of speaker for the money,but is it truly a high-end contender? In four impor- tant areas,it is. First,the BP7001SCs handled large- and small- scale dynamic shifts with grace, finesse, and freedom from compression. The Definitives offered up big musical moments with an expansive and unstrained quality, yet helped the dynamics of quieter passages become more realistic in scale and more delicate and intimate in their appeal.In short,the BP7001SCs got the dynamic envelopes of notes right, bringing instruments and voices alive in a way that made many other speakers seem flattened and com- pressed by comparison.The Liberty City track from Jaco Pastorius’ live The Birthday Concert [Warner Bros.] features a potent big band horn section whose huge swells explode upward and outward in a sonic shower of molten gold. Many speakers have stumbled on this track,but THE HIGH END JOURNAL OF AUDIO & MUSIC TM Definitive Technology BP7001SC SuperTower Loudspeakers Chris Martens I “The BP7001SC is an overachiever of major proportions...”

those horn outbursts without even breaking a sweat. Second,the Definitives offered excellent res- olution from the upper-bass region and beyond, displaying the openness and trans- parency most audiophiles crave, and doing so—once optimally positioned—with a good measure of smoothness (though there remained a narrow upper-midrange band where traces of edginess and sibilance occa- sionally peeked through).At an industry event long ago, Linn’s Ivor Tiefenbrun told me you could tell a product offered musically meaning- ful resolution if it enabled you to read a female vocalist’s emotions from the sound of her voice.The BP7001SCs passed that test with fly- ing colors. On the Horse I Used To Ride from Sara K’s No Cover [Chesky],they revealed Sara’s voice balanced on the knife-edge between the frustration and sadness of dreams lost,and long- ing for recovery of past possibilities.More than once I found myself silently thanking Definitive’s designers for building a speaker that offered such seemingly telepathic connection to musicians’ thoughts and intentions. Third,the BP7001SCs offered all the low-bass extension and wallop any sane audiophile could want,showing how much of the bottom octave-and-a-half of the music typically goes missing (or is only partially reproduced) with lesser speakers.I’ve often enjoyed,for instance, the bridge section in the Gaia track from James Taylor’s Hourglass SACD [Sony], which is punctuated by a series of vigorous and impressive mid-bass drum whacks that pan across the soundstage from right to left. However, the Definitives demonstrated there were even lower frequencies underlying the mid-bass drum sounds—frequencies that added a certain dark power and mystery to the track. Be advised that the speaker’s subwoofer level controls provide very wide (perhaps too wide) range of adjustment; you can set accurate bass levels if you exercise care and restraint,but it’s easy to twist the knob too far and get more bass than you need (fun,perhaps,if you want to dab- ble with thunderous bass for a time, but not so fun if you’re looking to fine-tune the speaker for maximum low-frequency realism). Finally,the BP7001SCs offered unusually real- istic imaging and spacious soundstaging.Unlike conventional direct radiators (whose imaging can sound surgically precise but perhaps also surgically sterile), bipolar speakers present precisely defined imaging and soundstaging cues against a backdrop of reflected sound that suggests both the natural hall ambience heard in live music and the elusive sound of air sur- rounding individual instruments and voices. The Definitives drew out the underlying three- dimensionality in many of my records, and at times created an ever-so-convincing illusion of real musicians performing in real spaces. A good example would be the beautifully record- ed Not While I’m Around track from Christy Baron’s Take This Journey [Chesky], where the BP7001SCs captured with breathtaking realism the sound of Baron and her small jazz ensemble performing within the warm acoustics of a church. Good though the BP7001SCs are, they do have a few shortcomings (or characteristics that demand extra care in setup) that I should mention.First,as a set-up consideration,keep in mind that the Definitives (like all bipolar speak- ers) will bounce a lot of sound off the back wall of your listening room, and in ways that may not interact pleasantly with your room’s acoustics (in my room,reflected output initially sounded too bright). Second, the BP7001SCs have, as mentioned above, a narrow upper- midrange band where you may hear occasional edginess and sibilance. Third, the Definitives have mid-bass that at times sounds forward and under-damped (though by no means boomy), at least in comparison to the speaker’s better- balanced and more defined upper and lower bass.My practical experience was that all three issues could either be mitigated or resolved through judicious use of acoustic room treat- ments, proper speaker placement, and very cautious adjustment of the subwoofer level controls. Two set-up hints would be to pull the speakers farther out from the walls than Definitive’s manual suggests, and to use lower subwoofer-level settings than the manual recommends.Please understand that the short- comings outlined here were noticeable primar- ily in reference to the extraordinarily high performance goals set for the BP7001SCs (where Definitive invites us to compare these speakers with other top tier models, regard- less of price). The BP7001SC is an overachiever of major proportions, one that reaches—in many respects successfully—toward the attributes of far more costly high-end speakers. I found their dynamic expressiveness, high resolution, spa- ciousness, and full-range sound always intrigu- ing, and often enchanting. I’d say these aptly named SuperTowers completely lay to rest the absurd notion that a large manufacturer can’t build legitimate high-end speakers. But don’t take my word for it;just listen to the Definitives with an open mind, and see what you think (and try not to look too surprised at how much they do well,for so little). 11433 Cronridge Dr. • Owings Mills, MD 21117 • (410)363-7148 Visit us at www.definitivetech.com Excerpted from The Absolute Sound magazine, Feb./Mar. 2004. M A N U FAC T U R E R I N F O R M AT I O N DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY 11433 Cronridge Drive Owings Mills, Maryland 21117 (410) 363-7148 www.definitivetech.com Price: $3500/pair SPECIFICATIONS Driver complement: four 6.5" bass/mid drivers, two 1" tweeters, one 10" subwoofer, two 10" passive radiators Frequency response: 13Hz–30kHz Sensitivity: 92dB Impedance: 8 ohms nominal Recommended amplifier power: 20–600 watts Dimensions: 8.4" x 48" x 15" Weight: 132 lbs. each (shipping weight) ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300 integrated amplifier and Tri-Vista SACD/CD player; Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD/SACD/CD play- er; Magnepan MG1.6/QR, Meadowlark Kestrel2 and Von Schweikert VR-2 loud- speakers; RGPC 1200S power Conditioner; Audio Magic Excalibur II and Audioquest Jaguar interconnects; Audioquest CV-6 speaker cables; Mark Genfan acoustic treatment panels. “More than once I found myself silently thanking Definitive’s designers for building a speaker that offered such seemingly telepathic connection to musicians’ thoughts and intentions.”