ast year (September 1995), we
reviewed an impressive new
speaker system from Definitive
Technology, the BP2000. Its novelty did
not lie so much in the specific design or
size of its drivers and enclosure, or even
in its built-in powered subwoofers, but
rather in the combination of those fea-
tures and others to create a distinct
advance in overall performance quality
Stereo Review
TEST REPORTS
D
EFINITIVE
T
ECHNOLOGY
BP2002 L
OUDSPEAKER
“Clearly, Definitive Technology has achieved its goal of creating a
relatively compact and affordable speaker with the basic virtues of its
flagship BP2000 system and without any significant sacrifice of
performance or styling.”
L
and utility in high-quality, affordable
home loudspeaker systems. To be sure,
there are some speaker systems that are
larger, have more drivers, and could prob-
ably outperform the BP2000 in sheer
sound volume. But they are also likely to
fill a good-size room physically (as well
as acoustically), and they are certain to
cost much more than it does at $3,000 a
pair.
Definitive Technology has used its expe-
rience with the BP2000 to create a small-
er and even more affordable system
embodying the same basic design features
and qualities. The new BP2002 resem-
bles the BP2000 in configuration and fin-
ish but it is substantially smaller and
lighter than its illustrious ancestor (it
occupies only 2/3 square foot of floor
space) and sells for about two-thirds its
price. The principal performance differ-
ence between the two is in the deep bass
extension of their powered subwoofers.
The BP2002 is a columnar speaker, with
a glossy black “piano finish” top plate
and bottom edge trim (cherry end caps
are available at added cost). Like the
BP2000, the BP2002 has a heavily braced
cabinet made of 3/4-inch, 1-inch, and 1
1/2-inch high-density fiberboard bonded
to foam damping pads. The cabinet, cov-
ered on all four sides (except for a
jack/control panel on the back) by a black
cloth “sock” that can be removed for
access to the drivers, is fitted with
adjustable feet to simplify leveling.
Also like the BP2000 and several earlier
Definitive Technology speakers, the
BP2002 is a bipolar system. It has two
midrange/tweeter complements at the top
of its slender cabinet, one on the front
panel facing forward and the other on the
back panel facing rearward. In each case,
the 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter is
close to and below the 5 1/2-inch-cone
midrange driver. The front and rear dri-
vers radiate in phase, in contrast to dipo-
lar speaker systems, whose front and rear
drivers are out of phase with each other.
“. . . a distinct advance in over-
all performance quality . . . ”
—Julian Hirsch
Julian Hirsch, Hirsch-Houck Laboratories
BP2002 Bipolar Loudspeakers
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