a room. Of course, sonically, they do not.
But more on that in just a bit.
To test these speakers, I hooked them up
to my buddy Jimmy’s system, which is
remarkable. His room is a good size, and he
uses Definitive’s BP 2000s as his main
speakers and the C/L/R 3000 for center-
channel duty. For rear speakers, he uses
Definitive’s BP 2X speakers, which have a
passive bipolar design that works great. We
thought it would be really interesting to try
out the BPVX/Ps in the BP 2Xs’ place
along the back wall in the room.
Setting up the speakers was a cinch. For
our purposes, we placed them on a pair of
4-foot stands. You can wall-mount these
speakers using the built-in mounting plate,
but we chose (for ease of comparison) to
simply place them up against the wall, just
like the BP 2X’s. A major consideration for
powered speakers has to be the inherent
necessity of a power outlet at each channel.
A lot of people like the idea of speakers
with built-in subwoofers but forget that
they’ll need juice for each channel. This
can get a little cumbersome with surround
speakers, depending on your home theater
room. In this case, there were AC outlets
right near where we were gonna place the
speakers, so we were in luck.
Once we got the speakers suitably bro-
ken in, Jimmy and I sat and listened to
some demanding programming. Jimmy sug-
gested the new DVD release of Pink Floyd’s
The Wall, and it sounded like a good
enough idea to me. The 5.1 soundtrack
is simply marvelous and really pushed
the system. (It would proba-
bly challenge most “nor-
mal” systems, especially at
high decibel levels, but it
didn’t strain this one.) The
great thing about the
BPVX/Ps is how well-
matched they are to the rest
of the system. The rear of
the room really came alive,
as you could instantly hear
the bass being transmitted
to the rear channels. You really do miss a
ton of information without a good loud-
speaker to filter in the signal. Most people
simply have minimonitors as their surround
speakers. In the case of Dolby Pro Logic,
you aren’t missing much. However, with the
new 5.1 soundtracks, it’s pretty amazing
what’s back there.
We also checked out some newer sound-
tracks like Disney’s Tarzan, which also
rocked the room. Again, we were both
amazed with the clarity and tremendous
force with which these speakers moved the
home theater’s air. Particularly, Phil
Collins’ opening song with all the jungle
drums really impressed us. The thunder
crashes, the tiger’s roars, and the music all
combined into a very impressive crescendo
that filled the entire room with brute force.
The BPVX/Ps provided a presentation that
really made home theater fun again.
On DTS 5.1 music material like Sting’s
Ten Summoner’s Tales, the BPVX/Ps also
excelled. Since much of the musical infor-
mation in his recording features vocals in
the rear, it was a great test. As vocals shift-
ed from one speaker to the next, there was
virtually no shift in tonality,
making for a very coherent
presentation. In fact, I loved
these speakers so much
that I’m definitely going
to replace my existing
surround speakers (which
will go unnamed) with
these guys.
For those of you without
any electrical power in the
rear of your home theater, Definitive also
offers a nonpowered version called the
BPVX, which costs $549. It offers the same
basic design, minus the built-in amplifier.
Both the powered and nonpowered versions
are available in gloss piano black and white
finishes, so you can customize the look of
your room appropriately. For those of you
with AC outlets in the rear of your room (or
who want to call your trusty electrician),
these speakers are definitely worth audi-
tioning. They will do as much for you as
the good old yeyo did for Tony Montana.
I promise.
“on music material … the
BPVX/Ps also excelled”
“setting up the speakers
was a cinch”
“a very impressive
crescendo that filled
the entire room with
brute force”
“good engineering
plus power equals
plenty of fun”
“The BPVX/P provided
a presentation that
really made home
theater fun again”
“performance similar to
what you’d expect from
a regular subwoofer”
B. The BPVX/P’s back panel
features a power jack, so
you’ll need to mount them
near an outlet.
“Definitive understands
what powered speakers
can do for performance”
11433 Cronridge Dr. • Owings Mills, MD 21117 • (410)363-7148
www.definitivetech.com
Reprinted from the July 2000 issue of HOME THEATER.
Copyright © 2000 by EMAP USA. All Rights Reserved.
B
HT Labs measures: DefTech BPVX/P Speaker
This chart shows the in-room averaged (employing
close-spiking of all woofers) frequency response of the
BPVX/P. Response measures +2.2/-1.7 decibels from
200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The -3dB point is at 38 Hz,
and the -6dB point is at 35 Hz. Impedance reaches a
minimum of 2.7 ohms at 488 Hz and a phase angle of
-63.6 degrees at 126 Hz. Sensitivity is 89.5 dB from 300
Hz to 2 kHz, measured at a distance of 1 meter with 2.63
volt input.
—MW
