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Review NaN of
Price Paid:
$1500.00 Summary: I won’t repeat all that has been written by Pro reviewers but will say that I back everything that has been written – these are excellent speakers.
I set out to treat myself to some new main speakers after growing a little tired of my PSB 1000’s (which I never really liked from the outset, for a bunch of reasons). I actually still preferred my circa 1986 Paradigm Model 9s’ , a classic 2 way acoustic suspension if ever there was one.
So off I went, to all of the local high-end stores, at least those that are still in business. Did I mention my budget was capped at a firm $2,000 CDN, taxes in? What did I first listen to… PSB Image series, Paradigm Monitors & Studio series, Revel Towers, Focul-JM Labs, Infinity, B&W, Energy Connoisseurs’, Totem Staff, and a few others. I really liked the Revels, and Paradigm Studio60’s, but both were just a little too big for my family room. What struck me in my shopping expedition was that in a lot of ways, speakers had not really advanced that much in 20 years, at least not in comparison to other areas of technology.
It was going to be the Energy Connoisseurs, until, I went to one more last shop and gave the BP7006’s a listen. I could not believe how they left the others far behind. I found their imaging and sound stage similar to the Totem Staff’s, but offered so much more deep tight bass, the choice was easy. A word of caution though is the variable bass does have to be tamed somewhat, so resist the temptation of cranking it when in two channel listening. Thanks to the bi-polar tech, they sound just as good no matter where you sit in the room. Close your eyes and they disappear, you're in a concert hall.
The bass is fast and tight, midrange (vocals, string and wind instruments) clear, accurate, and realistic. As for the highest treble detail, perhaps not the last word, but, and it’s a big but, my amp (Nakamichi AV8) or cables, or both, may be to blame. When listening to music in my Sennheiser HD590’s, I am able to pick up instrumental subtleties not heard when listening to the BP7006’s. Again, subtleties, and I cannot rule out my amp. The room is also near dead acoustically, so a lot of this musical detail may not make it to my easy chair.
Frankly, when the clerk first brought these speakers to my attention, I new next to nothing about Definitive Tech. I thought the bi-polar thing and built in subs were a gimmick. So back to an earlier comment I made, these speakers proved that there have been some significant leaps in speaker technology in the past 20 years! The music fills a big room evenly and the amp does not break a sweat thanks to the powered sub.
I listen to just about all music and these speakers do not play favorites, it all sounds good, non-fatiguing. These will be around the house for some time to come.
One more thing, they are excellent in HT. No longer a need for a separate subwoofer.
Strengths: Sound quality. They look pretty good too. Do not require a massive amp so spend $'s on quality, not quantity (of power). Weaknesses: None at all for the price point. Similar Products Used: See above.
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