All About vintage pro audio
I dont’ know about Def .Tech, but I know Klipsch are excellent speakers from experience! I had to sell my towers because I was movinng into a smaller space, and now I wish I never got rid of them . They are very effecient speakers.
Definitive Technology, they have been around for a long time.
in the 70’s they were called def tech
They are both good brands.
But it really comes down to you. No-one else can choose for you, and while I’m sure it would be nice to have someone definitively say X is better than Y, that has disadvantages. For example, how does someone else know what you prefer in terms of looks, or more important, sound? And if someone else recommends one over the other you will always wonder if you made the right choice.
Really, take some music and movies you know well and listen to the speakers … preferably A/B. Note that stereo music makes different demands than surround sound for movies so consider both. Keep in mind that the room can ne almost as important as the speakers, so listen in a similar sized room to yours if possible.
To your list I’d suggest considering Paradigm and Totem (I bought the latter the last time I shopped for HT speakers).
definitive technology is 1 of the best speaker companies in the world… several awards and ces wins!! i own a pair of bp-3000s they are very reliable speakers! i also repair electronics and am repairing klipsch pro media 5.1 right now! klipsch is not what it used to be.. on the other hand def tech continues to win award after award! thats my 2 cents!!
Definitive Technology has fewer models than Klipsch, but are well respected. They made “Gear of the Year” in January and do often win awards.
Klipsch has a very efficient horn design which made them famous back in the ’70’s. But they are not reviewed as well lately.
I’d go with DefTech as a better brand.
But I own DefTech 2000tl’s and I have to warn you about something:
- A subwoofer in a corner gives better bass than the built-in subs in the towers. The subwoofers in my DefTech speakers are shut off right now in favor of a single sub in the corner of the room. The BP8 towers are the same speakers w/o the subs, but are half the price.
- Center: Get the 2002 CLR center. This speaker will let you hear sounds other speakers gloss over.
With the money you save, get a self-powered subwoofer for the corner. You DONT have to get a sub from the same company. Two very good sub companies are SVS and HSU Research.
Better at what? Pleasing your ears? Speaker sound is subjective, only u know what you like. That being said, I agree w/one poster abt JBL. Back when speaker mfr’s were real companies, not div’n of multi-conglomerate, JBL was widely acknowledged as THE best ‘West-coast’ sound speaker.
WC type has more presence, are more efficient, more of the ‘live’ type sound, that most Rock fans preferred. East coast brands like AR, Advent, KLH, Bose need lots more power for hi volume. They were perhaps more ‘accurate’, and preferred by classical and jazz folk. To me, they could sound real good, but A-B with a pair of say, JBL L-36 or L-100, they just didn’t have that ‘oomph’.
I brought this up b/c I’ve found, again my own taste, using one pair WC AND one pr EC w/whatever other center or sub needed sounds better than 2 pairs of only one type — or any packaged HT speaker sets, other than, maybe Bose. My fronts are JBL, rear KLH.
Unlike so much of today’s eqpt., JBLs are not ‘throwaway’ quality. Original eqpt parts are supported to this day. My L-36s were $660 for the pair in ‘76. Had woofers refoamed in ‘90. Total woofer recone in ‘05, very near the orig speaker price, but WELL worth it.
Remember, any sound engineer will tell you, speakers are THE most important part of a sound system. I advise choosing ‘em 1st, regardless of amp, etc. And if you must skimp on price somewhere in system, skimp on anything BUT speakers.
When I pd over $600 for mine, the rest of my stereo (receiver, tape deck, TT) didn’t total $400.
Hope it helps
Look into JBL speakers. I have never heard of either of those. JBL offers good quality for good prices. Some of their speakers are very expensive, but they do have some cheaper stuff.