Definitive Technology SuperTower BP7000SC Equipment Reviews

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E

QUIPMENT

R

EVIEWS

Definitive Technology BP7000

SC

SuperTower Loudspeakers

“The BP7000s proved to be a tour de force

... they are ultimate floor-standing speakers

... a true masterpiece of audio engineering”

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Definitive Technology has built one of the single most impressive
brands in the highly competitive world of loudspeakers. Definitive
has built a name wher
consumers demand with the likes of Bose, Boston Acoustics,
B&W, Paradigm, Klipsch and a handful of the other biggest
manufactur
distribution certainly have aided the company’s growth, it is more
the bang for the buck performance that keeps consumers asking
for them and dealers pushing. Whether you are looking for
wafer-thin speakers for your new 63-inch HDTV or you need
no-holds-barred audiophile floor-standing speakers, Definitive has
a solution for you. In the case of this review, the SuperTowers are
in the latter class — they are ultimate floor-standing speakers,
a statement without question in ter

The BP7000
of audiophiles’ most touted and coveted loudspeakers: Magnepan

3.6, Gallo Refer
My room prior to the BP7000
a revolving door of noncommittal relationships as I searched for
Miss Right Now
work cut out for them.

7

n

ers. While Definitive Technology’s ads and mighty

SCs arrived at my house right on the heels of some

ence, Mar

. Needless to say

n

e they are a “call brand” loudspeaker that

ms of sound as well as value.

tin Logan and even W

SC SuperTowers’ arrival was truly

, the SuperT

ilson Audio.

owers had their

Bipolar

“Compare the Definitive Technology

BP7000

SC loudspeakers with the best from

the world of ultra-high end and you might
find overall the Definitive speaker system
is the most well-rounded in a group that
includes speakers costing as much as a
new Prius.”

I unpacked the BP7000
for two people (or better yet, two installers), and sat them
haphazardly in the middle of my r
BP7000
they are quite large, measuring a little less than nine inches wide

SCs are truly epic in mor

SCs, which is without question a job

oom for a once-over. The

e ways than one. For star

ters,

Definitive Technology’s BP7000SC Bipolar

SuperTower Loudspeakers

by 16 inches deep and a towering 52-and-a-half inches high.
Visually, the BP7000
with their black piano gloss base and top plates and black fabric
sides. The BP7000
have a scale on hand to accurately measure the BP7000SCs’
true weight, I’d venture a guess and say they’re upwards of 150
pounds apiece. All of these figures add up to one gargantuan
loudspeaker. However, their price of $4,998 a pair is rather
modest in comparison to the competition, which can fairly be
priced as much as four to five times the retail price.

Behind the seams, the BP7000

with its high-mounted, dual six-and-a-half inch midrange drivers

SCs are Definitive through and through,

SCs are also quite heavy and, while I didn’t

SC has a true bi-polar design,

and single one-inch aluminum dome tweeter mirrored on the
s

peaker’s backside. The BP7000
of its size and stature, with a stated efficiency of 92dB into a
r

ather benign eight-ohm load. Each of the BP7000
14-inch SuperCube
two 14-inch infrasonic radiators. The internal sub is powered by
an internal ***1800-watt*** Class D amplifier, which gives the
BP7000
Definitive Technology states that the single 14-inch sub inside
the BP7000
seven stand-alone SuperCube
statement is true, we’re talking about a copious amount of bass.
The subwoofer portion of the BP7000
speaker’s binding posts and large, rear-mounted volume pot or via
the LFE input. This allows you connectivity options you just don’t
get with even the highest-priced loudspeakers. However, due to
the presence of a powered subwoofer, the BP7000
plugged into a standard US outlet or power conditioner to take
advantage of the prodigious bass capabilities.

C

S

a stated frequency response of 11Hz–30kHz.

SC is capable of achieving depths equal to that of

®

long-throw powered subwoofer, coupled to

SC i

s fairly efficient for a speaker

SCs

feature a

®

subwoofers. If even half of that

SC can be controlled via the

SC must be

“The BP7000SCs are truly epic ... as quick

on their feet as Ali. They can float like a
butterfly and sting like a sledgehammer
to the skull.”

Set-up

After I took stock in all that the BP7000SCs had to offer, I began
the process of integrating them into my system. For starters,
I placed them in approximately the same place where the Yao
Ming-like Magnepan 3.6s had rested. This put the BP7000
roughly three feet from my front wall and two-and-a-half feet from
each of the side walls. To be fully forthright, most of my speakers
find themselves r
the best overall coherence and sound stage depth. However,
unlike the Maggies, the BP7000
considerable toe-in, with the main midrange drivers and tweeter
coming to a point virtually right at the listening position. There
was some minor tweaking her
I had achieved a suitable sound, at least throughout the midrange
and high frequencies, with little effort. I connected the bass or
SuperCube
LFE output using a splitter. However, after much experimentation,
I found I preferred to simply run the BP7000
through single and very sexy runs of Transparent Reference
speaker cable. This configuration allowed me to set my
processor’s speaker settings to Large and then dial in the sub’s
overall volume at the speaker itself. This configuration also came
in handy when I connect the BP7000
consisting of a Mark Levinson 433 amplifier and matching 326
preamp (reviews pending on both Mark Levinson components),
which doesn’t have a speaker setting and must run everything

oughly in this position in my room, as this yields

SCs did sound best with

e and ther

®

portion of the BP7000SCs to my Meridian G68’s

e but, for the most part,

SCs full range

SCs to my two-channel rig,

SCs

“The BP7000SCs continued to grace me

with magic”

full-range. I ended up setting the volume dials on each of the
speakers to roughly 10 o’ clock, with high noon signaling halfway.
That’s a scary thought, considering the amount of blissful bass
I experienced at such a low setting; needless to say, I didn’t
really scratch the surface of the BP7000

SCs’ sub-sonic output.

I must also point out that, for the course of this review,

D

efinitive Technology sent me a matching full-range powered

center, the L/C/R 3000, and a pair of bipolar surrounds, the

“ultimate sweetness ... delightfully rich ...

simply stunning”

BPVX/Ps. I should also mention that, should you invest in this
system, the entire system price for what I’ve just described will
run you roughly $7,500. Considering the price of most high-end
multi-channel speaker groupings, it’s an astonishingly low figure
for a full-range speaker system.

Movies And Television

I kicked things off with the Peter Malick Group, featuring the
ever-popular Norah Jones (Koch Records). This tremendous

recording features Jones’
trademark breathy vocals,
accompanied by the well­recorded stylings of blues
guitarist Peter Malick. The
opening track, “New York
City,” features
a very articulate drum line
accompanied by a punchy
yet slow rolling bass guitar.
Through the BP7000

the bass lines were rendered
with excellent heft and impact while retaining all the necessary
speed and articulation found in all of the best acoustic recordings.
The kick drum has a thr
true full-range speaker to fully realize, which the BP7000
provided time and again. The kick drum was beautifully rendered
and on par with the best in ter

ee-dimensionality to it that you’ll need a

ms of br

eath, extension and weight.

SCs,

SCs

“It only gets better with more volume ... the

sonic characteristic was seamless, bowling
me over with a wave of sonic brilliance.”

One cannot fault the BP7000
being slow; in fact, they are among the most nimble I’ve heard in
recent memory. Moving up the spectrum, Norah’s vocals were as
pristine as ever. The BP7000
terms of air, extension and ultimate sweetness. I tend to shy away
from aluminum tweeters as, more often than not, they are brittle
and can become harsh at louder volumes. Well, the BP7000
tweeter doesn’t fall into this camp. It only gets better with more
volume. If I had to fault it, I’d say it doesn’t retain all of its magic
when played by at low levels usually reserved for background
music during cocktail parties. Then again, at those levels, you’re
not critically listening anyway, so there you go. Where the
BP7000
delightfully rich without becoming overtly bloated, a trait
beautifully illustrated throughout Norah’s vocals. The midrange
is warm and has a tinge of added weight to it, but the result
is fantastic when judged against the speaker’s other elements.
More importantly, for a speaker with so many drivers, the sonic
presentation is seamless. The BP7000
ways that defy their large stature, seemingly disappearing,
leaving only music and one hell of a center image behind. The

SCs really shine is throughout the midrange, which is

SCs’ large subwoofer drivers for

SC’s tweeter is nearly without rival in

SC’s

SCs can image in