Powerful bass, excellent sound-staging, clear highs and mids

None really

I've had these speakers for about 4 months now, and they continue to impress me in different ways. First let me tell you about the way I came across these speakers... this story is always fun to tell.

I started my search for the home theater around January '00. I went to Audio King (near Minneapolis) to just look. I eventually went with a Marantz SR-19 (which I bought at Stereoland) for my receiver; a good starting point for a beginning enthusiast. Well, back to Audio King... As I perused their offerings, I came across a demo pair of Def Tech's which were labeled as BP2002's, last years model. I heard good things about these speakers, and without even testing them out, I bought them. The price also helped sway my decision... I paid $800 for the pair. So not a bad deal, right?

Well, it turns out that the speakers were mislabeled. I had actually bought a pair of this years BP2002TL's for $800. However, there was a problem with the speakers. Both speakers would make a constant "popping" sound from the subwoofers during the day, even though they were not being used and hte amp was off. It started getting annoying when they would wake me up in the middle of the night. I was suspecting a leaky capacitor or something to that effect. So I brought the speakers in to get looked at. Well, this was when I found out that I actually had a pair of TL's, but since I had bought them under as 2002's, they would not exchange them with ones that worked properly(and also because of the fact that they were sold as demo models). I was persistent however, and they finally gave in and gave me brand new TL's that worked properly at no extra charge. So in the end, I got a pair of brand new 2002TL's for $800... persistence definitely paid off.

Now to the review: I love these speakers! My feelings towards these speakers are probably influenced by the fact that I practically stole them from Audio King (Similar to the old addage: Food always tastes better when it's free!). My first impression was how powerful the bass was. Sometimes it was just way too much, but that can be dialed-in with the knob on the back to get the desired effect. I have mine around the 9 o'clock position. Also, at first I had the woofers facing outwards, but I changed their positions so they faced inwards to get more controlled bass. Which brings up the point of speaker placement; These speakers can sound perfect if they are placed right, or sound dull if they are not. Be wary of that. I would suggest a slight angle towards the listening sweet spot with enough space behind the speaker to utilize the bipolarness of the TL's.

Now after break-in, the high's sound clear and clean, but not overly bright. The mid is smooth as well. And of course the bass is powerful, but when dialed in properly, it is tight, not muddy. I love the wide soundstage these speakers create. Sometimes I feel as if Diana Krall (what a babe!) is standing in front of me giving me a private performance while her band stands in the background unintrusively.

Home theater, you say??? With the TL's, who needs an additional subwoofer? All I can say is, it is something to behold! Of course you can't take my word for it, and you'll have to go audition it for yourself. As my audiophile friends always says, "My ear is different from your ear," but c'mon, it can't be that different. Go listen, and come back to agree with me. For the price (even retail), you'd be hard pressed to find a speaker that performs so well at so many different things. That's my $0.02...

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Bose 501's

Bipolar technology,super high frequency response(30,000)and low frequency response with complimentary powerful subs.

some what cheesy power cord (maybe not important) long break-in period(40-60 hours!)

These speakers are everything what the critics praised about. Truly impressive sound. Bass is perfectly insync with music (built-in subs may be better than a sub/sat system) Resolution is uncanny (maybe because of the high 30,000 response). Get these speakers,you will not be disapointed. For those of you in Houston, go see my salesman, Louis Rose,for the great deal that I got.

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Polk power towers,M&K 750 THX

I just listened to the new 2002s this afternoon. They were set up for home theater with the matching center and the bpx surround. They were being powered by a Denon 3300 (which I was equally impressed). I thought these speakers sounded great on movies and music. I like warm speakers and am comparing them to Mirage OM8s. I think the 2002s win hands down.

the way they sound, bass, clarity and soundstage

take up a good amount of floor space when set up properly 12-15 inches from wall, not really a speaker weakness, but just a observation

These speakers are the bomb. They make even crappy live recordings sound great and good ones like your at the concert. Studio recordings sound even better. Everyone who hears them loves them. Give Galactic's Late For The Future a listen and the HDCD bass will blow you away... still saving up to buy the matching center and surrounds. This is my 1st set of high end speakers and I'm truly impressed.

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none, my old speakers don't even come close

Large soundstage. Good imageing. No outboard sub needed

Placement critical.

These speakers are not for everyone. If you want to hear the air around the viola strings, forget it. I listen to rock, jazz and big band. If you take the time to position them corectly in the room, they sound very good. If they are too close to the rear wall, you will know it. They sound muddy and the image shrinks. Theese are large speakers but sound even larger. They can fill all but the largest room with high quality sound. As for ht, forget about it. They cant be beat. I use them along with a clr 2300 and bp2x's powered by a yamaha rx-v2095. Alot of bang for the buck. I want to upgrade my surrounds to a pair of bp-vxp's as I have taken the dvd-audio plunge. If you are in the market for new speakers, give them a listen. You'll probably walk out with a pair.

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Polk Pinnacle paradigm

Incredible range. Very strong and tight subwoofer. Best double duty speaker on the market!!!!!!!!!!!

It takes a long time to break in. Oh well!

Being very cautious with my money lead me to spend five months of reading reviews in magazines and websites just like this to make my decision. I was amazed at how the Defenitive speakers always rated very high. This made my decision very easy. The fact that I would not have to buy an additional subwoofer really made these speakers stand out.

These speakers are incredible in thier accuracy. From the lowest of the lows to the highest of the highs these speakers do not miss a step.

I'm still in the break in period and at high levels the tweeters sound a little harsh(glass breaking on dvds) but that is to be expected. Im extremley happy with my puchase and will write another review when they are broken in.

I have my speakers 13 inches from the wall and 24 inches form the t.v. I have them toed in pretty well but still playing with all the settings just to see.
I have the Bp2006tl's for my surrounds and the clr 2500 for my center. I run LFE to my Bp2002tl's and I have all the sub settings at the 1:00 position.
Denon avr 4800 pushes everything.

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None

I just purchased Definitive Tech's BP2002tl fronts, BP2002 Center, and BP2x rears. I have a Denon AVR3300 receiver and a toshiba 2108 DVD player. The sound that these speakers generate is amazing. I bi-wired the 2 fronts and the center and the sound that comes out of these babies is amazing. The bass (which for some reason I had a concern with before buying these) is wonderful. It really radiates nicely with a nice warm feel (you can feel it). The center is very good. Def Tech has a powered sub center, but I honestly don't know why you'd need it. The rears are very impressive sounding, the one drawback is that they aren't really designed to be mounted on a stand (unless you want to drill a hole in the bottom or something). Its a wall or a table for these guys. I compared these to older '86 model Theils (my father's) that were top of the line then, not sure of their model number, but the Def Techs out-matched the Theils. I am sure there are Theil people out there that will find that remark ridiculous, but that was my take. I don't know if the Def Techs will stand the test of time like the Theils have(I doubt it), but for the money they are the best I've heard.

I too purchased the same configuration as Pat. I have a Pioneer Elite Pro-200, Pioneer Elite VSX-09TX THX Receiver (outboarded), Adcom GFA-7500 Amp and Toshiba 3108 DVD Player. Since I use this system 90% for Home Theater and 10% for music, I was amazed at the quality/clarity you get from this setup! I looked for 6 months and in 3 states to finally purchase the Def Techs. I know these are not widely accepted but give them a test drive before you take them off your list.

Superb home theater towers, a little diffuse and lacking in detailed imaging for music listening at lower levels. If HT is your thing, BOMBS AWAY and audition them for sure. Music lovers will probably need an in home demo before deciding - they are very placement critical and vocals can sound unusually recessed on these even with proper set-up.
One of the best HT options out there, no question - but there seems to be a trade off of sorts in their overall musicality in two channel mode, as if designed to operate with a center full-time. 5 for HT and 3 (at best) for music averages to...

Superb sound reproduction, with excellent midrange. Loud and clear with bi-polar sound that envelops the listener in any position. Deep, strong, bass that can shake your neighbors walls - be careful (I wasn't and the neighbors on the other side of the block knocked on my door!)

Can have the whole neighborhood upset at you when they want peace and quiet! Positioning them could be a factor here.

What can I say, either you'll love bi-polar or you don't. I kept comparing speaker, after speaker and just kept going back to Def Tech. Maybe it's because I like movies a great deal and there really is nothing that comes close to this experience. But, I found that even listening to music these really sound lively in any listening position. I like to work around the house while listening to music and it seems that you don't need to be sitting in the sweet spot all the time. But, when you are sitting in the sweet spot, it seems that the experience is heightened. I have broken in these speakers and I must say that they love being played loud. Live music sounds so alive and real you'd swear your in front of the performance. Where this is so, my favorite Music DVDs (all DTS) really accentuate this realism and experience: Eagles: Hell Freezes Over, Baaba Maal: Live at the Royal Festival Hall, and King Crimson: Deja Vrooom.

My system consists of the following:
Denon AVR-3300
DefTech BP-2002TL (fronts)
DefTech CLR-2002 (center)
Proton AL200A Bookshelfs (rear)
Sony DVP-530S
Dish Network DBS
Mitsubishi VS50501 50" RPTV
Mitsubishi HS-U580 VCR

It was tough looking for these speakers at a discount, but I took my time, did my research and shopping around which paid off so I am quite pleased with them.

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Paradigm Reference, NHT, KEF, Monitor Audio, B&W - Test listened for months before making a decision.