Still Horny

[imahawki]

Today I went and auditioned two more home theater setups; Definitive Technology and Atlantic Technology.

Def Tech

The Def Tech setup was a pretty good comparison to what I currently have because they were similar in size and they were hooked up to equipment very similar to my own. The mains were the bipolar BP 2006. They have apparently been replaced by the BP 7006 but the dealer didnt have those in yet. The main difference between the old and new model is that the 200X have a single 8 powered woofer per tower while the 700X have the powered woofer plus a passive radiator. I didnt notice that the bipole design either added to or detracted from the overall sound and to be honest, I wasnt thrilled about the prospect of trying to integrate the powered towers since I already have a sub. The rest of the 5.1 setup included a lower-end center, that might not have been a very good match, and some bipole surrounds. The center did not have the recognizable Def Tech grill-fabric sock all the way around like some of the higher end center channels do. The surrounds looked like they were probably no bigger than 5.25 woofers, but again, they were bipole (or perhaps dipole). The source was a pretty high end Yamaha DVD player and a Yamaha receiver that was just a little bit lower down the line than mine, so all in all, a pretty good comparison except of course the room. I listened to some movie scenes that I am familiar with (5th Element and Gladiator) as well as some 2 channel audio. The sound in general really wasnt anything inspiring. The towers sounded very full but still tight and controlled, but you must consider that they each had a powered sub in them. I think that you would have to really be able to hear and appreciate the nature of the bipole mains in or to make the Def Techs worth the money (about $900 for the mains, reduced because they were old models) and they really didnt do any thing special for me. I just didnt hear them. Also, I would have some major concerns about integration in my current room. Im not sure I could get them far enough from the front wall.

Atalantic

Well, I was pretty disappointed with this audition, but not because of the actual speakers. I asked the employee if they still carried Atlantic, and he said yes. So he leads me back to this room and I walk in and its like the top of the line reference room. Runco projector, amps and processors that cost more than my car, etc. It is set up with the Atlantic 6200 series which you can get for around $8000 but MSRP is closer to $10k. I had a listen, even though it is grossly out of my range, but they informed me that they could order me the 4200 set without a sub for around $2400. That is probably in my price range, but seems a bit silly for speakers with 5.25 woofers and which I would have to order without hearing.

I didnt have a listen to the B&Ws which they also carry because Ive heard them previously. While theyre a bit more laid back, they dont differ greatly from my current Paradigms. So at this point, Klipsch is still at the top of my short list, which is getting shorter. I also generally think that I will probably go with a wide dispersion surround. As the poly-pole surrounds (whatever technolgy company XYZ was using) generally sound better to me in my demos.

[Darren]

demo, demo, demo. Sounds like you're doing your homework - good luck.

[JLL]

Once you go Klipsch you will never turn back. They're that good. Compared to Klipsch all other speakers sound like shoe boxes.