Are Def techs 7000 series real competitors?

Thought I would chime in here as well...

I had Def Techs about 6 years ago before I went to predominantly 2-channel. In my experience, they were very good speakers for home theater and just OK for 2 channel. The bi-polar design seemed to lend itself to directionality for movies, but not very good imaging/layering for 2 channel. I upgraded to Legacy Focus and now have Legacy Whispers for 2 channel. Absolutely no comparison in 2 channel and the Whispers are also way better, to my ears, for movies.

My system has evolved pretty radically during this time from Sunfire gear to higher end components as well (VAC Phi 2.0 tube preamp, McCormack DNA-500 amp, APL'd Denon 3910 source, Elrod Statement and Epiphany X pcs, Virtual Dynamics Revelation Sig Ics and Revelation bi-wire speaker cables, etc., etc. etc......)(it never ends....)

Summary - depends on what you want to listen to - if its mostly movies, Def Techs are fine, but just not as sonically revealing as good "2 channel"-type speakers, IMHO.

Well I had a passive pair cause a lot of def techs are with built in subs from memory, I had a pair of bp2000's I think they were, and this was about 8 years ago. These were bi-polar style design and built well... Okay never worked out very good in 2 channel, and you will find very little on hiend that will say that they will be that great for 2 channel, movies however and like DTS surround Concerts are pretty sweet though. And I use to work for a dealer that sold all the models, yes a little different than current designs I am sure, but they were never pushed or considered 2 channel speakers at all, totally driven and marketed as surround systems and I would guess that company does not claim much past that.

I listen to a lot of large orchestrated classical music on my DefTechs and believe the bipolar sound enhances the experience.

There is no pin-point imaging in a concert hall. Your ears hear the acoustics of the walls, ceiling and ambience of the room.

The DefTechs give me a huge soundstage in my small room and the powered bass lets me get a good frequency balance.

I'm sure there are plenty of expensive speakers with better sound. But on balance the DefTechs give you a lot for the money. IMHO

I agree with Richrk. 9 out of 10 audiophiles will tell you the Def Techs are strictly HT speakers and not capable of producing quality sonics. But the majority of folks out there have experienced them with Denons, Yamahas, and other HT receivers. Once you pair them with high end equipment, some good quality power and front ends,then you begin to hear their potential. You get a lot of speaker for your money in the 7000 series. And no, they do not give the pin point accuracy that you get with some of the audiophile speakers but the soundstage and 3 dimensionality is there in spades.