I am amazed by NHT SB-1 speakers. What about SB-3 or SuperOne, even better?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Warren Jarrett, Nov 24, 2019.

  1. Spitfire

    Spitfire Senior Member

    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    He was a big time supporter of NHT on AVS.
     
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  2. heavysoul

    heavysoul Forum Resident

    Location:
    MN
    I've been following this thread since Warren (may he rest in peace) began it, and have been intrigued by the NHT SuperOne 2.1s ever since. csgreene's positive assessment of them throughout the forums has also been on my radar.

    I've ordered a pair on Amazon for just over $200 (one a warehouse unit with 'small cosmetic' damage, the other a refurb), and I look forward to trying them out this weekend. It's a great price and both can be returned within 30 days, so I figure there's no risk here.

    My main bookshelves are Ascend Sierra 2-EXs, so that will be my benchmark for comparison. If the NHTs can come anywhere close to them (even halfway), I will be mightily impressed indeed. They will initially be placed in my primary system with a Marantz PM8006. Eventually, if I like them, they will be put in a secondary system with an integrated amp (not sure which one yet).

    Excited to finally hear these.
     
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  3. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    What did you think of the Superones?
     
  4. Ilusndweller

    Ilusndweller S.H.M.F.=>Reely kewl.

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    For NHT I've just heard the 1.5. I like them a lot(they do image noticeably well and have a great soundstage), and they were reasonably priced in the mid/late 90s @ $600/pair.
     
  5. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Let me start by saying I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with the late Warren Jarrett and he was as nice of a fellow as you can meet. I was selling him a pair of Thiel speakers and he invited me to spend the afternoon with him in his various listening rooms. This was in May 2019. His Audio Note rooms were spectacular. After our meeting he sent me a text saying "I already consider you a friend" and he was a guy you couldn't help but like. He made a comment at the time "the doctors don't know what's wrong with me". So sad to hear of his passing.

    After reading this thread a few times I decided to pick of a pair of SuperOne 2.1. I've been listening to them since yesterday and I have to say I'm impressed. Warren was correct. They image wonderfully. Balanced. Nice big soundstage. Frankly they do some things better than my B&W 803S (circa 2009 vintage) that I'm probably going to sell the B&W's and get some monitors because I love a big soundstage and can't get the 803s's to image properly in my main room. They do everything else wonderfully. The Superones sounds like a wall of music coming at me and they are a fun listen. They are positively dwarfed by my main speakers but they sure sound good.

    I also tried them in my bedroom setup (2nd pic) and I didn't like them as much paired with my Yamaha A-s801 amp. They were still good but not jaw dropping as in my main system. It seems odd to run a 5 figure system into a $300 pair of speakers, but it sounds great.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  6. PSA: NHT has 30% off deal right now, Holiday30.

    I don’t know how long it will last, but I was able to grab a pair of SuperOne 2.1s for $265 with free shipping. I like playing around with mini-monitors, and have a pair of SuperZero 2.1s and a pair of AbsoluteZeros, but have wanted to try the SuperOnes. Problem solved.
     
    shadowhillway, Spitfire and timind like this.
  7. shadowhillway

    shadowhillway fully immersed in The Wired

    Location:
    United States
    the coupon code is case-sensitive with a capital H.
     
    BGLeduc likes this.
  8. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    I'm currently running a pair of the Andrew Jones Pioneer speakers as near fields, and I was thinking of upgrading. Initially Elac was the obvious choice but I kept seeing recommendations for NHTs here which led me to this thread.

    With the holiday sale at NHT, I could get a pair of SuperOne 2.1s for $266, but I also notice a pair of SB3s on Ebay for $300--are the SB3s better speakers than the SuperOnes? I was not planning on running a sub.

    Or would the ELACs in fact be a better option for a near field setup?
     
  9. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    SB3 and don't look back.
     
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  10. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    I took your advice. I cut a deal with the seller for the SB3s so I got them for just a few bucks more than the pair of new SuperOnes would have been from NHT with their holiday coupon. I have the privilege to listen to music about 8 hours a day while I work from home so these will be what I consider my primary transducers (despite having floorstanders, they are way too big for my office space).
     
    Mr.Sneis likes this.
  11. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    I hope you like them. I'll throw this out...they get better with upgraded crossover components.
     
    Merrick likes this.
  12. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Any specific upgrades you recommend?
     
  13. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Caps:
    3.4uF
    14uF
    50uF

    Resistors:
    8.5 ohm 15w
    15 ohm 25w

    The first time I used a Sonicap Gen I for the 3.4 and 14uF. For the 50uF I used a Solen due to the high value. I had Sonic Craft find two 3.3 that measured close to 3.4. They found two 13 or 15 (I don't recall which) that measured close to 14. I used some combination of Mills for the 8.5/15 and I think an Ohmite for the 15/25. You have to get really creative remote mounting most of them as the original board is tiny.

    I won't get into the second time...lol
     
    Merrick likes this.
  14. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Finally received the SB-3s today. These sound fantastic! Detailed, precise, and with deep, full bass. My old speakers sound like toys in comparison.
     
  15. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    I've had the SB-3s for two weeks today and have been listening to them around 8 hours a day each weekday as I am able to enjoy them while I work. I've got an Adcom GFA-555 II driving them and a mix of digital and vinyl for sources (see my profile for the full list of gear).

    I am tremendously impressed with the sound of these speakers. They provide a level of detail I normally expect to have to use headphones to get, but without any treble nasties. The tone is exceptional, overdriven rock guitars have fuzz and bite, bass articulation is tight and drums have a great sense of impact and air. Voices are resonant and clear. It's such a pleasure to listen to these that I have not listened to headphones in my home office for the whole two weeks I've had these. This was an excellent recommendation and I am so glad I found this thread to lead me to them!
     
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  16. heavysoul

    heavysoul Forum Resident

    Location:
    MN
    Just seeing your reply to me now. Not sure how I missed it. I still have the SuperOnes. I really like them. Great imaging, and a punchy little speaker that is a lot of fun to listen to. They are currently in a living room TV setup.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2023
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  17. SpeedMorris

    SpeedMorris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
    I still have my SB1s and ran the SB2 for 15+ years (my son has them now) and the strength that was/is most surprising would have to be the smoothness of the top end. Any cliches about metal some tweeters simply never applied. One would have to go out of their way to get fatigued. That was one of the advantages of the SB2s over the SuperOnes , along with bass and crankability. The Ones imaged somewhat better, just as the SuperZeroes did compared to the SB1s.
     
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  18. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Inaging is reasonable on the SB-3s but I agree it’s not the strongest point. Totally agre that these are utterly fatigue free. Just a beautiful tonal balance from top to bottom.
     
    timind likes this.
  19. What can you tell me about your TV setup? I love my SuperOnes for my home office and am looking for a small profile solution for the living room TV. My wife loves playing tunes through the TV - Apple and Pandora via Roku input. I've been thinking about the SuperZero set for the TV.
     
  20. heavysoul

    heavysoul Forum Resident

    Location:
    MN
    It’s a pretty simple two channel set-up. I have the SuperOnes hooked up to a Marantz slimline AVR and use it mainly for watching TV and YouTube (via Apple TV). I did have the SuperOnes in a two channel streaming music system for a little while and I enjoyed them there, too. I think they would be perfect in a home office setup or a living room setup.
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2023
  21. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    I added an Atlantic Technology sealed sub to my setup with the SB-3s and this is now the best sounding system I've ever had. The bass is so well defined, textured, taut, and slamming while the SB-3s handle the rest of the FR so beautifully. I am lucky enough to be able to listen to these all day while working and I often have to stop the task I'm working on to just listen and marvel at how good it all sounds.
     
    33na3rd and primejive like this.

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