[Music4Life]

3 months ago I bought a pair of Definitive Tech BP7004 floor standing speakers (sorry for error in title) connected to all Denon equipment: PMA-710AE Amp, DCD-710AE CD Player and DNP-720AE Network Audio Player. Great modest setup and amazing sound until...

Recently I came back from a trip turned on the amp and one of the speakers started generating a low pitched hum. This persisted whenever the sub is powered even when the amp is off. When I was away the system was powered on at the mains so the speakers were powered though the denon kit was powered off / on standby.

It turns out the sound is coming from the powered subwoofer on 1 speaker. What I have done:

- disconnected speaker from amp and reconnected, no change
- changed power connection for sub to a different point, no change
- switched speaker off at switch on back (hum disappears as sub is not powered). Switched the speaker back on and the hum returns
- powered everything off and then back on again after 1hr - hum returns from same speaker
- powered everthing on and waited for 1 hr: hum slowly fades away but when I start playing music from either Tuner or CD the hum begins again before finally fading away and then everything is - for the moment - crystal clear...

Disconcerting. Not sure if this is a defect or somehow normal.

Any guidance would be appreciated as return is not an option.

Thanks

 

[John Williams]

I'm guessing you took the BP7004 with the hum and installed where the other is working fine and it still had the same hum. This is a clear indication that the amp in the BP7004 with the hum has a problem. If it's only 3 months old, it's under warranty - unless the warranty is not valid for your country or you didn't buy it from an authorized dealer.

Either way, it needs repair.

What were you using for surge protection on everything?

 

[AA125]

Recently one of my BP7006's (not B7004s) started producing a similar low-pitch hum (to me sounds much like a shower going on somewhere nearby).

Seems to be power-related as after having isolated the speaker from the rest of the setup the speaker still continues to emit the same sound when powered on. Strangely just as you noted, the sound seems to go away after sometime of having been powered back on (with the TV/music).

Wondering if the OP ever found out what was going on with their speaker.... My speakers are almost touching the 3 year mark now so am hoping that early diagnosis can help me fix the problem without a big hole in my pocket..

In case it helps - the speakers have been through a surge protector. Tried reaching out to BestBuy support (The dealer where i got the speakers from). It's quite clear that they are reluctant to help since I did not purchase their golden/black/fancy protection plan....

Look forward to hearing back-

 

[John Williams]

Tried reaching out to BestBuy support....

That is comical.
Although it is possible to get lucky and get in touch with someone there who is an enthusiast and might actually know what they're doing or talking about; that is a rare bird and certainly against the odds! You're probably better off getting tech support from a gardener.

I'm guessing the original poster had a defective unit. Love it when people post on a forum then never return :nono2:

If you have it completely isolated (nothing hooked to it except the power cord to turn it on) and it still makes the noise you described. It IS defective! Most likely the power supply. If it's under warranty, get it fixed now. Other wise you'll be looking at a $200-$400 repair bill (or more) if out-of-warranty.

 

[AA125]

Thanks John.

Yup - moved the speaker to a new power outlet without any speaker wires attached. Same sound. Funnily enough the noise comes back whenever the speaker is powered on and then at some point fades away. Although it's hard to be completely certain if the entire process takes the same amount of time each time.

Anyways have left a message with the Def. Tech. warranty department,. In fact did that soon after it became clear that BestBuy would be of no use here. Will try reaching out the DT team again tomorrow during business hours.

Will post back as things move forward.... (hopefully!)

 

[thos]

Hi all

The amp modules have a 3 year warranty, as long as you make contact with DT in that time, you should be covered.

Me, I've got the same problem - for the third time!
I had it on a pair of 7006's a few years back, the local distributor (I'm in Australia) replaced the amp module with no questions asked.
I took the opportunity to upgrade to 7004s. They were great - but we live in the country and the power's not as reliable and probably clean as I'd like; after an outage the returning power spike blew something, and one side of the 7004s started the same thing. Again, a new power amp module was sent with no questions asked.

And now it's happened again - when the amp shuts itself down after a period of no use, there's no hum; when it first gets signal it wakes up and the hum is quite obtrusive; after listening to music for some time the hum usually dies down but never quite goes away. I'm going to have to ping the distributor again. I don't believe the amp modules are that expensive - certainly the tech at the distributor didn't want anything to do with the old one.

Love the sound though!

cheers
thos

 

[LTHAtlanta]

Great speakers but after 4 years, one BP 7006 speaker developed a noticeable 120 Hz hum. The speaker was beyond the 3 year warranty period for electronics problems and Best Buy did not seem to be interested in providing out-of-warranty repairs. Decided to email Definitive support to see if I could buy a replacement part, expecting it to be $$$$$. Received a response from Definitive less than 2 hours later. The support tech said that even though I was "slightly out of warranty," he could still take care of my problem and would send a replacement internal amplifier at no charge! He even attached a PDF with detailed do-it-yourself directions for the repair. Definitive is a company that REALLY supports their products.

 

[Carl Spock]

The founder of Definitive Technology is Sandy Gross. He isn't with the company any more but what he began obviously continues.

I knew Sandy when he was one of the three men who started Polk Audio. For years, Polk Audio was proud they had never turned down a warranty claim. They also fixed stuff for free out of warranty all the time. Helen, the woman who ran service at Polk, would send me free drivers for speakers that still might be under warranty but for which I didn't have the paperwork. Sandy, being a marketing guy, knew excellent customer service is an aspect of good marketing. Nobody is more likely to buy your product in the future than your existing customer. Keep them happy.

As a retailer, I admired this attitude so much I almost changed my stereo store's customer service policy to "Just hang onto your receipt. We'll take care of you." Now, with everything on computers, it would only have to be "We'll take care of you." In the end, I got talked out of making that policy official. We just did it unofficially instead.

I find it pleasantly surprising Directed Electronics hasn't changed Definitive's policy. Directed, which is more know as an alarm and remote start company (Viper, Clifford, Avital, Python), bought both Polk Audio and Definitive Technology 9 to 7 years ago. The management of Directed Electronics is smart enough to leave the culture of the two companies in place.

I'm glad Directed took care of you, LTHAtlanta.

 

[classicrockster]

I bought Definitive Technology BP7006 speakers in 2006 and a couple of months ago I began to experience the low-pitched rumble in one of the speakers that some of you other folks have mentioned. I called Definitive Technology's support folks and I have to say they were just amazing. First, they diagnosed the problem as a shot amplifier. Then, no questions asked, they said they'd ship me a free replacement part, no shipping charge either. They emailed me easy-to-follow instructions for installing it when it arrived, and lo and behold, it WAS easy -- AND, it totally solved the problem. I loved these speakers, now I also love how the company stands behind them when problems develop. Pretty rare these days.

 

[scs]

We also bought Definitive Technology BP7006 speakers. Ours were purchased from Best Buy in 2009 and we started to experience the low-pitched rumble in both of the speakers. We called Definitive Technology's support folks and we agree that they are amazing. It was an amplifier problem. They just confirmed our registered information and shipped us free replacement amplifiers with no shipping charge. Really like our speakers and appreciate companies that support their products without having customers go through hoops. Thank you Definitive Technology!

 

[Jason DeGregorio]

We also bought Definitive Technology BP7006 speakers. Ours were purchased from Best Buy in 2009 and we started to experience the low-pitched rumble in both of the speakers. We called Definitive Technology's support folks and we agree that they are amazing. It was an amplifier problem. They just confirmed our registered information and shipped us free replacement amplifiers with no shipping charge. Really like our speakers and appreciate companies that support their products without having customers go through hoops. Thank you Definitive Technology!

Dear Sir or Maam,

I am trying to get assistance with the same sort of issue. I have BP 7002s and a CLR 2500. I just spoke to a def tech "customer service" rep who was really obnoxious. Did you get assistance in the US. Frankly, I expect a speaker package that costs almost $3000 to function perfectly for more than 8 years. I've always used a clean power source and I know the Yamaha amplifier is fine. The CLR sub stopped working altogether (I can live with that), but the BP 7002 towers have both developed the low frequency rumble....clearly the same sort of issue that everyone writes about (failed built in amp). Does anyone know cost of parts, difficulty in fixing. I don't want to waste time, energy, and money if the product will just continue failing. These were great while they functioned, but again, for ~$3k they should last decades with clean power source. My father had a pair of Epicures that lasted about 30 years.

Thanks Jason

 

[cmtexas]

Dear Sir or Maam,

I am trying to get assistance with the same sort of issue. I have BP 7002s and a CLR 2500. I just spoke to a def tech "customer service" rep who was really obnoxious. Did you get assistance in the US. Frankly, I expect a speaker package that costs almost $3000 to function perfectly for more than 8 years. I've always used a clean power source and I know the Yamaha amplifier is fine. The CLR sub stopped working altogether (I can live with that), but the BP 7002 towers have both developed the low frequency rumble....clearly the same sort of issue that everyone writes about (failed built in amp). Does anyone know cost of parts, difficulty in fixing. I don't want to waste time, energy, and money if the product will just continue failing. These were great while they functioned, but again, for ~$3k they should last decades with clean power source. My father had a pair of Epicures that lasted about 30 years.

Thanks Jason

Jason,

This problem can be fixed. It is a filtering issue in the power supply that def tech refuses to acknowledge. If you would like to resurrect these speakers message me. We have performed the fix on both of my BP7006's, and the issue is the exact same.

Chris

 

[MysteryMan]

Jason,

This problem can be fixed. It is a filtering issue in the power supply that def tech refuses to acknowledge. If you would like to resurrect these speakers message me. We have performed the fix on both of my BP7006's, and the issue is the exact same.

Chris

You're responding to a year old post.

 

[cmtexas]

You're responding to a year old post.

I understand that. If some are like me, I hate to trash a nice set of speakers. This post was intended for someone who may still have their set of speakers.

Thanks

 

[JulioG]

I will like to bring back to life one BP7006 speaker that has both + and - cable connectors broken. Both connectors are sliced and there is no way to thread and tighten the speaker cables

Anyone had any ideas how to fix this ?

 

[JulioG]

 

[inkahauts]

Call definitive. If they are less than 10 years old they may fix it for you for free... if not,they may sell the parts. You could also always wonder on some wire to them, not a great solution but it’d work...

But replacing the posts is best..

 

[Nino]

I understand that. If some are like me, I hate to trash a nice set of speakers. This post was intended for someone who may still have their set of speakers.

Thanks

Hello CMTECXAS,
I have two of this BP7006 and I was thinking it could be the two big capacitors in the amp. Will you please share how you fix your bp7006. Thank you.

 

[Alex O'Connell]

I'm hoping to piggy-back this thread with a problem I'm currently experiencing with my BP 7006 speakers. I'll start by disclosing that I was just about to give up and drag the pair to the curb! I was making a last ditch effort to find any resource that might provide some direction...this site definitely seems to be a gold mine! That said, I purchased my 7006's new about 8 years ago. About 6 months ago I noticed the left sub wasn't working. Before I was able to troubleshoot the problem, the right sub stopped working. I pulled both out of the cabinet and tested them and both work. Upon inspection I noticed the fuse in the left speaker was blown (right side was fine). When I replaced the fuse it immediately produced a low pitched hum (only in the left speaker - right side, no hum). I know very little about the mechanics of these speakers, however, I have been very happy with them and dread the idea of having to replace them. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Rich]

I'm hoping to piggy-back this thread with a problem I'm currently experiencing with my BP 7006 speakers. I'll start by disclosing that I was just about to give up and drag the pair to the curb! I was making a last ditch effort to find any resource that might provide some direction...this site definitely seems to be a gold mine! That said, I purchased my 7006's new about 8 years ago. About 6 months ago I noticed the left sub wasn't working. Before I was able to troubleshoot the problem, the right sub stopped working. I pulled both out of the cabinet and tested them and both work. Upon inspection I noticed the fuse in the left speaker was blown (right side was fine). When I replaced the fuse it immediately produced a low pitched hum (only in the left speaker - right side, no hum). I know very little about the mechanics of these speakers, however, I have been very happy with them and dread the idea of having to replace them. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Tell us more about the speakers. A search for BP 7006 turned up nothing. Make and model, please.

Rich