Floor-standing bipolar SuperTower? loudspeaker with built-in powered subwoofer
$599.00 each
A Legend Reborn
Definitive Technology's first product in 1990 was a bipolar tower loudspeaker, the successful first step in building the company that stands 20 years later as the best selling and most honored brand of premium loudspeakers in the USA. Later Definitive pioneered the concept of "powered towers" by incorporating powered subwoofers into Bipolar floor-standing speakers and dubbed them "SuperTowers." The BP-8020ST is a third generation BP SuperTower and makes use of many of our most advanced technologies, including a new patent-pending approach to bipolar speaker design called Forward Focused Bipolar Array. The BP-8020ST SuperTower is the result of over 20 years of research and development to create the perfect balance of style, convenience, and most of all performance in a floor-standing loudspeaker.
Bipolar Technology Brings Performances to Life in Your Home
Many experts and in-the-know listeners agree that bipolar speakers are superior for both music and home theater. With bipolar speaker technology each speaker incorporates two sets of drivers, one facing forward and the other facing to the rear so that the speakers radiate sound both forward and rearward exactly as sound is produced in real life. Forward Focused Bipolar Array™ technology is Definitive's patent-pending improvement to our original Bipolar designs. This new ground-breaking technology combines the huge life-like imaging benefits of bipolar design with improved pinpoint localization of soloists, greater placement flexibility, and superior intelligibility.
The sonic benefits you hear are dramatic! This unique technology provides you with a lifelike balance of early-arrival sound from the front facing drivers, which provides focus, clarity and location data, and reflected delayed sound from the rear drivers which conveys the lush three-dimensional soundstage of a live music or cinematic performance. This combination creates a huge soundfield which is rich, warm, ultra clear and vibrantly alive for every listener in your room. Most importantly, Definitive's bipolar speakers make the walls of your room seem to disappear transporting you into the sound space of the recoded event. They will literally bring your music and movies to life in your home. One listen and you can never go back to conventional speakers again!
The Subwoofer System Will Rock Your World
Each BP-8020ST combines a built-in long excursion 8" subwoofer driven by a 150-Watt Class D amplifier and vented via a critically tuned, wide cross sectional area slot bass vent. The slot shape and wide mouth area of the vent minimize air turbulence for cleaner, deeper, and more efficient bass. The brawny amplifier features protection sys
tems to tightly monitor and control the woofer system to prevent bad noises and woofer damage at high volume levels. The bottom line is the BP-8020ST's bass will rock your world like no other speaker anywhere near its price and size.
Why Built-In Powered Subwoofers Are Better Than Separate Subs
Besides eliminating the need for a floor space-hogging separate subwoofer, integrated subs offer dramatic performance benefits. First is the obvious benefit that you'll have two subwoofers in the room instead of just one for simply more bass output. Second, two subwoofers in the room reduce "standing wave" room resonances that create bass dead zones in the room. With two ST-8020STs you'll enjoy high impact bass throughout the room.
Most importantly the subwoofers are perfectly integrated with the mid/high section. Audiophiles often spend hours moving and adjusting their subwoofers' crossover and phase controls in pursuit of perfect subwoofer to main speaker "blending." With the BP-8020ST you won't have to go through that kind of hassle to get great sound. Definitive's engineers have perfectly adjusted the crossover and phase to achieve seamless blending and life-like sound. All you have to do is set the bass volume to match your room and taste then sit back and enjoy great sound.
High Definition Mids and Highs
The BP-8020ST features a D'Appolito front array consisting of two 3-1/2" midrange drivers surrounding a 1" annealed Pure Aluminum dome tweeter housed in an acoustically isolated sealed enclosure. The tweeter is a pure aluminum dome, which has been heat-treated to relax the crystal structure and then coated with a ceramic to produce extended highs that reveal nuance and shimmer without a trace of edginess.
The rear array uses a single identical driver as used in the front array. Like the front array the rear array is housed in a separate sealed MDF enclosure to isolate the midrange drivers from the woofers' influence.
Slim Elegant Styling with Rambo-Like Brawn
All the driver and electronics technology in the world would be wasted if housed in a resonance-prone box. We devoted as much Design and Engineering attention to the styling and construction of the 8020's enclosure as any other part of its design.The tapered front of the enclosure serves to make it appear slimmer while also enhancing sound quality by minimizing cabinet diffraction distortion. The decorative high gloss end cap and bottom panel add elegance to the matte black tower the way satin piping adds dash to a tuxedo. Each BP-8020ST occupies a mere 1 square foot of floor-space (including stabilizer feet) leaving plenty of room for furnishings.
But the enclosure's most important job is to be totally inert and resonance free so as not to color the sound. And that's just we did in engineering the BP enclosures. Wherever a driver is attached to the cabinet we placed a second layer of heavy MDF (a low resonance wood composite material) to prevent the drivers from imparting vibration to the rest of the enclosure. The sealed midrange enclosures also serve to provide bracing for the side walls while MDF cross braces near the woofer further stiffen the system. Tap on the side panels of a BP enclosure to hear the solid "thud" of a solid, well-damped cabinet instead of the hollow ring of a poorly constructed speaker. NOTE: the high gloss polymer composite end-cap is a decorative element; it is not part of the acoustical system.
The Proof is in the Listening
This extraordinary speaker sets a new reference standard for high-accuracy loudspeakers in its class and achieves equally superb performance with both music and movies. The BP-8020ST reproduces a silky smooth, incredibly detailed sonic image at lifelike volume levels with a sense of ease which is truly remarkable.
Movies and music are reproduced with unequaled purity, transparency and lifelike realism. These elegant, slender towers seem to disappear in a huge natural soundstage which extends in a three-dimensional arc beyond the speakers with front to back depth which recreates the illusion of live music or cinematic action being performed live in your room. This combination of high resolution, magnificent sound-staging awesome bass and explosive impact envelops you in the ultimate listening experience.
Now that you're thoroughly impressed with the technology and passion we've poured into every BP series product it is time to find a stocking dealer near you to audition this remarkable achievement of art and science.
Find a Definitive retailer near you
Watch the BP Series Video
Driver Complement | |
|---|---|
| Tweeter | |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Diameter | 1" (2.54cm) |
| Type | Pure Aluminum Dome |
| Midrange | |
| Quantity | 3 |
| Diameter | 3 1/2" (8.89cm) |
| Type | High Definition Bass/Midrange Driver |
| Tweeter/Mid Array | |
| Type | Bipolar Configuration |
| Front Firing Array | D'Appolito |
| Subwoofer | |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Diameter | 8" (20.32cm) |
| Type | Active Subwoofer Driver |
Electrical | |
|---|---|
| Audio Inputs | |
| Speaker Level | 1 Pair (Speaker Wire) |
| LFE (optional) | 1 (RCA) |
| Maximum Sensitivity | |
| 1 watt @ 1 Meter | 92 dB |
| Total Frequency Response | |
| Overall | 30 Hz - 30 kHz |
| Nominal Impedance | |
| Compatible with | 8 ohm |
| Crossover | |
| A/V Receiver Crossover Setting | Large; Full Bandwidth |
| Power Handling | 20 - 250 watts per channel |
Amplifier | |
|---|---|
| Internal Amplifier | |
| Power | 150 watts |
| Channels | 1 |
| Type | Class D |
| Power Cycle | |
| US | Auto On/Off: Signal Sensitive |
| International | Product not available outside of USA, Canada and Latin America |
| Power Requirements | |
| US | 110 volts A/C |
| International | Product not available outside of USA, Canada and Latin America |
| Fuse | |
| US | 1.25 amp 250 volt Slo Blo |
| International | Product not available outside of USA, Canada and Latin America |
Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Dimensions | |
| Height | 35 7/8" (91.12cm) |
| Width | 5 5/8" (14.29cm) |
| Width with Stabilizer Feet | 10 3/4" (27.30cm) |
| Depth | 11 5/8" (29.53cm) |
Shipping | |
|---|---|
| Accessories | |
| Included Accessories | Stabilizer Feet (4); Carpet Spikes (4); Hard Floor Glides (4) |
| Carton Size | |
| Height | 40 3/4" (103.50cm) |
| Width | 10 11/16" (27.15cm) |
| Depth | 16 9/16" (42.07cm) |
| Shipping Weight | |
| One per Carton | 34 lbs |
Warranty | |
|---|---|
| Electronic Components | |
| Parts and Labor | 3 Years |
| Drivers and Cabinet | |
| Parts and Labor | 5 Years |
Demonstration of how bass (passive) radiators work in loudspeakers and subwoofers.
Learn about speaker cone resonance, why it hurts sound quality and one technique for reducing it.
"The BP-8020ST’s sound was one of utmost crispness, with startling levels of clarity. "
"...the midrange had a purity that pervaded everything I played"
"...the size of thesound produced by the BP-8020STs was not commensurate with their small stature -- it was huge."
4 reviews with an average of 4
"cannot go wrong with these"
After reading all the reviews and doing some research I purchased Definitive Technology BP-8020STs that replaced the McIntosh xr16. I cannot understand why I waited so long to do this; I'm hearing albums like never before. Great speakers compared much more expensive ones. You cannot go wrong with these. Thanks Def Tech.
Unbelievable speakers for the money and size. I didn't want to mess with a separate powered sub and my theater is set up in a medium sized room so this really fit the bill. Everyone is always blown away by the sound quality and dynamic nature of these speakers.
These speakers replaced my Polk Audio floor standing speakers in main tv/listening area. Holy smokes, what an immediate difference in sound quality. Once installed they have become a near constant source during any tv or listening time. I stream a lot of music through Apple tv from my iTunes library and even the heavily compressed files have brought renewed enjoyment.
The BP-8020ST is a perfect solution for someone who wants true stereo fidelity in a compact package. I was able to nestle these speakers close to my TV (still 6 feet apart)without dominating the wall, and the bipolar design enables them to generate an impressive sound stage in spite of that. The midrange is excellent, and the highs are nice. They roll off a little faster at the top than what I am used to with my vintage Infinities, but those are in my basement, however, because I needed something that was comfortable to listen to for all types of music, from classical to jazz to rock. These fit that need perfectly. I am most impressed with the concept of having a true passive stereo speaker when listening to my vinyl LP collection and having a powered sub-woofer for home theater use. A word of advice: When your dealer tells you that these speakers need a break-in period, believe it! It took only a few hours for the speakers to loosen up, but believe me, don't make a judgement on the sound until you've done this. The difference is night and day.