[Previous entry: "Aunt Ginny's MI-5, July 4th Style"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Happy Birthday, Julia"]

07/07/2008 Entry: "In Praise of Definitive Technology"

More than 10 years ago, I bought a pair of Definitive Technology BP20 speakers. (The photo is actually the BP10s, but they look almost identical.) I know it was at least that long ago because I got them before Julia was born. They have served me quite well over the years. I've been nothing but pleased with the sound of these speaks. I first bought a pair of BP8s back when Susan and I were renting the trailer in St. George. One day, while at Cookin' in Portland (a hi-fi chain now closed), Jimmy T and I ran across the 8s bigger brothers, the 20s. And, they had the real Oak accents instead of the usual black. To top it off, they were an open box return. I could trade in my 8s, and they'd give me full value for the 8s against the 20s. So I bought them.

Fast forward a few years. In 2001, while playing a rather loud auditioning of Top Gun, I noticed some of the speakers were really distorting. Upon close inspection, I found several of the woofers (there are four in each speaker) had separated from their surround. (That means nothing to you non hi-fi heads. Suffice it say, "They were broke.") I contacted Definitive, and they sent me out some replacements under their five year warranty program. Fine. All's well and good.

On July 3rd, while Susan and the fam were at camp, I decided to show my patriotism by watching a sub move. I'm a sub movie fan, and, of course, Susan isn't. So I only watch them while she's away. And since I was in the mood to celebrate America, I chose to watch U-571. I don't normally get to watch my own kind of movies anymore, especially now that I have kids, and I certainly don't get to listen at full "theater" volume (read: pretty loud!). During one particular scene, I heard this nasty rumble/crackle. "What's that?" I thought. I backed the movie up to see if it did it in the same place on the soundtrack. It did. I listened closely to see if it was coming from one particular speaker. It was--the right one. I took the "sock" off the speaker, and checked the drivers. Sure enough, all four drivers had the same issue as they had had years ago.

I decided I'd send an email to Def. Tech, just to test the waters. I didn't think they'd cover 10 year old speakers that were five years out of warranty, but I thought they might sell me some drivers at cost (my hope), or perhaps they'd hip me to what kind of glue to use in a repair.

They sent me a reply that said, basically, "We're sorry you had this problem. Back in the day, it happened more than we liked, and we stopped using that driver manufacturer. We now manufacture our own drivers. Let me send you four new ones, no charge."

WOW! Good show, Def. Tech! Not only do I like their product (did I mention all my home theater speakers are Def. Tech?), but their support is top notch too. I'd like to this moment to thank them for their excellent service, and post it here so that perhaps others might find how pleased I am to recommend Definitive Technology speakers.

Powered By Greymatter