About the Definitive Technology BP-8020ST
High-tech towers for engaging music and home theater
High-tech towers for engaging music and home theater
It's hard to beat the spacious sound of bipolar speakers, especially when you use a pair of Definitive's BP-8020ST Bipolar SuperTowers™ in the front of your room. The BP-8020ST uses a unique driver design with both front- and rear-firing speaker arrays to radiate sound in all directions. It also adds a built-in powered subwoofer to the bottom of the cabinet for intense bass. Even in large rooms, every listener will experience a huge, three-dimensional soundstage with both music and movies. Plus, this speaker has attractive high-gloss black top and bottom caps with a cloth grille-wrapped enclosure for a sleek look.
Bipolar speaker technology immerses you in detailed sound
Front and rear speaker arrays work together to create enveloping sound.
Here's how it works: direct sound from the front two midrange drivers and tweeter arrives at your ears first, to provide clear, focused imaging. That's followed by sound from the rear mid, which is slightly delayed, to enhance spaciousness. The combination creates a lush, seamless soundstage that's more like the way we hear sounds in real life. And thanks to Definitive's Balanced Double Surround System (BDSS) drivers, your music and surround effects will sound incredibly clear, allowing you to pinpoint the soloist in a band or the direction of a jaguar's call in the jungle.
Powerful bass built right into the cabinet
At the base of the speaker is an 8" side-firing subwoofer, powered by a built-in 150-watt amplifier. It delivers deep, precise bass that eliminates the need for an external sub. And because a subwoofer is built into the cabinet, bass output is already perfectly blended with the mids and the highs. All you have to do is set the bass volume to match your room and taste, then sit back and enjoy your music and movie soundtracks.
Build a complete Definitive Bipolar home theater system using perfectly matched centers (see the CS-8040HD, CS-8060HD, and CS-8080HD) and bipolar surrounds (see the SR-8040BP and SR-8080BP).
Got wire?
Most speakers don't include any. Learn about choosing and installing speaker wire at the Crutchfield Learning Center.
Shop our selection of speaker wire.
Did you know?
Your new speakers will probably sound better after several weeks of use than they do right out of the box. That's because the material surrounding the woofers will loosen up, allowing the drivers to move more fully. Definitive Technology estimates a break-in period of 24 to 48 hours of playback before the speakers will deliver optimum sound quality. For more information and helpful tips, check out this article from Definitive's website about conditioning your speakers.
Product highlights:
- Forward Focused Bipolar Array™ technology for lifelike imaging and pinpoint localization
- Balanced Dual Surround System (BDSS) driver technology places rubber surrounds on both the outer and inner edges of each speaker cone for improved clarity
- frequency response 30-30,000 Hz (±3 dB)
- sensitivity 92 dB
- 8-ohm impedance
- handles up to 250 watts
- front array: dual 3-1/2" mids and 1" pure aluminum dome tweeter
- rear array: 3-1/2" mid
- built-in 8", 150-watt subwoofer
- one set of 5-way binding posts
- high-gloss black finish on top and bottom caps with cloth grille-wrapped enclosure
- 10-11/16"W x 35-7/8"H x 12-3/16"D (with included stabilizer feet)
- warranty: 5 years woofers, 3 years subwoofer amp
- MFR # IDDA
What's in the box:
Definitive Technology BP-8020ST owner's manual
- One tower loudspeaker (with black cloth covering and glossy black top cap installed)
- 7' AC power cord (IEC 2-prong type)
- 4 Black stabilizer feet
- 8 Self-tapping screws (length=1.375")
- 4 Threaded carpet spikes
- 4 Threaded rubber floor glides
- Owner's Manual
- Feature booklet
- Registration card
Reviews (18)
Customer reviews for Definitive Technology BP-8020ST
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More details on the Definitive Technology BP-8020ST
Features & specs
| General | ||
|---|---|---|
| Enclosure | Bass Reflex | |
| Finish | Cloth-covered MDF | |
| Color | Black | |
| Tweeter | Dome | |
| Tweeter Size (inches) | 1 | |
| Midrange Size (inches) | 3.5 | |
| Woofer Size (inches) | 8 | |
| Woofer Composition | --- | |
| Woofer Surround | --- | |
| Built-in Powered Sub | Yes | |
| Dolby Atmos Drivers | ||
| Connector Type | 5-way post | |
| Bi-amp Inputs | No | |
| Parts Warranty | 5 Years | |
| Labor Warranty | 5 Years | |
| Specifications | ||
| Power Range | 20-250 | |
| Frequency Response | 30-30k Hz | |
| Sensitivity | 92 dB | |
| Impedance (Ohms) | 8 | |
| Subwoofer Amp Power | 150 | |
| Height (inches) | 35-7/8 | |
| Width (inches) | 10-11/16 | |
| Depth (inches) | 12-3/16 | |
| Weight | 34 lbs | |
- Definitive Technology Mythos Five
- Definitive Technology Mythos Four
- Boston Acoustics RS 326
- Definitive Technology Mythos One
Product Research
Speaker Features
Connections
Dimensions
Speaker Features
Bipolar Design: The Definitive Technology BP-8020ST is a 3rd generation "SuperTower." This bipolar speaker contains drivers on the front and rear of the cabinet. The BP-8020ST uses a new patent-pending design called Forward Focused Bipolar Array. By radiating sound both forward and rearward, the speaker produces sound as it is in real life, with improved pinpoint localization of soloists, greater placement flexibility, and superior intelligibility.
Non-Resonant Tapered Cabinet: The BP-8020ST features a highly-engineered inert and resonance-free heavy MDF (medium-density fiberboard) cabinet to prevent coloring the sound. The front of the enclosure is tapered to make it appear slimmer. Wherever a driver is attached to the cabinet, a second layer of MDF is attached to prevent the drivers from causing vibration to the rest of the enclosure. The sealed midrange enclosures serve as braces for the side walls, while MDF cross braces near the woofer further stiffen the cabinet. The entire enclosure is wrapped in a cloth "grille sock", while the high-gloss polymer composite end-cap and bottom panel add a touch of elegance.
High-Definition Drivers: The BP-8020ST utilizes two 3-1/2" high-definition midrange drivers surrounding a 1" annealed Pure Aluminum dome tweeter in a D'Appolito front array. On the rear, there is a single identical 3-1/2" driver as used in the front array. The front and rear arrays are housed in separately sealed MDF enclosures to isolate the midranges from the influence of the subwoofer.
Built-in Powered Subwoofer: The BP-8020ST is equipped with a long-excursion, side-firing 8" subwoofer, driven by a 150-watt Class D amplifier. The subwoofer is coupled with a critically-tuned slot bass vent. The vent's wide mouth area minimizes air turbulence to give you cleaner, deeper, and more efficient bass. The benefits of a built-in subwoofer include:
- Eliminates the need for a separate subwoofer that takes up additional floor space.
- More bass output from two subwoofers, compared to one.
- Two subwoofers reduce standing wave room resonances and dead zones.
- The subwoofers are perfectly integrated and blended with the mids and highs, eliminating the crossover and phase controls of a separate subwoofer.
Subwoofer Volume: The level of the subwoofer (relative to the other drivers) can be adjusted using the rotary dial on the back panel of the speaker. Once the bass level is set, the overall volume of the speaker system can be controlled by the receiver/amplifier.
Auto Power: The BP-8020ST has a special circuit that automatically turns on the amplifier when a signal is fed to the speaker. The LED on the back panel will glow when a signal is sensed and the amplifier turns on. After the signal ceases, it may take up to an hour for the amplifier to turn off. When first powering up after being unplugged, the LED will flash for about 30 seconds while the firmware is loading.
Stabilizer Feet: The speaker comes with four stabilizer feet which attach to the bottom of the cabinet, two per side, with the supplied self-tapping screws. Each foot has a threaded insert to allow you to screw in the supplied carpet spikes or smooth floor glides, depending upon the type of floor they're being placed upon. The spikes and glides add approximately 1" to the overall height of the speaker.
Placement: The BP-8020ST Bipolar speakers have a lot of flexibility when it comes to placement and positioning. It is recommended that the speakers be placed at least 4" from a back wall, and at least 6" from a side wall. When used as left and right main speakers, you should set up the speakers and the listening position in an equilateral triangle, with the speaker cabinets turned slightly inward.
Connections
Binding Posts: The BP-8020ST is equipped with a pair of gold-plated, 5-way binding posts on the back of the cabinet to attach your receiver's speaker wire. The terminals will accept bare wire, pin connectors, spade lugs, single and dual banana plugs. Recommended amplifier power: 20 to 250 watts RMS.
LFE Input: For the powered subwoofer, the BP-8020ST has a single RCA LFE (low-frequency effects) input. Since you'll be using two speakers, you will need a Y-adapter to split the LFE output from your receiver to each subwoofer.
Wiring Options/Speaker Setup: You can connect the BP-8020ST in one of two ways, with or without the LFE connection. If you use only speaker wire, you should set the speaker setup on the receiver to "Large" and Sub to "No." If you connect the speaker with speaker wire and the LFE, the speaker setup should be "Large" and "Yes."
Note: It is recommended that you do not use the receiver's auto setup function, as it is often ineffective in setting up and adjusting speakers with built-in subwoofers.
AC Power: The speaker has an AC power input (IEC 2-prong type) on the back panel for plugging in the powered subwoofer. A 7' AC power cord is included.
Dimensions
- Width:
- 5.6875" enclosure only
- 10.6875" with stabilizer feet
- Height:
- 35.875" enclosure only
- 36.875" with carpet spikes or floor glides
- Depth: 12.1875" including binding posts
- Weight: 34 pounds
The Definitive Technology BP-8020ST replaces these items
Definitive Technology Mythos Five
- frequency response 40-30,000 Hz
- handles up to 200 watts
- slim polished aluminum cabinet and glass base
Definitive Technology Mythos Four
- frequency response 35-30,000 Hz
- handles up to 225 watts
- slim polished aluminum cabinet and glass base
Boston Acoustics RS 326
- frequency response 38-26,000 Hz (±3dB)
- 1" tweeter, 3-1/2" mid, and dual 6-1/2" woofers
- voice-matched to other Reflection Series speakers
Definitive Technology Mythos One
- frequency response 20-30,000 Hz
- handles up to 250 watts
- slim polished aluminum cabinet and glass base
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Customer Q&A
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Bought these to compliment my home theater in our great room. I have the matching center channel speaker and two DT 8" in-ceiling speakers. Overall, great buy due to the clear sound and surprising performance for the subs. Plug and play set up was a breeze. I'm glad I bought them.
Ruben D. from El Paso, TX