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

Yes I did, brand new in their boxes.

 

Very much looking forward to your opinion on the Classic 3's

 

I hope you find a pair of ST-4's and give them a thorough listen. That's the speaker I'd like to read about.

 

No, I am going to compare only the bookshelf NHTs. For floor standers (and large stand mounts), I am already committed to loving Thiel 3.5 and 3.7, Audio Note AN/E, and Spendor S-100. The NHT floor standers I have heard don't really have the low bass that I would be looking for in a full size speaker, even though their small floor footprint and reasonable used prices are tempting.

 

Placement is critical - at least for the vintage series floor standers that put NHT on the map. As an example, the flagship 3.3 and 2.9 are supposed to be placed well away from side walls, but damn near next to the rear wall. If you try to treat these like typical audiophile speakers and move them out into the room, they will lack bass response. Just how they are designed.

 

Classic 3's, never should have sold em.

 

My collection of NHT bookshelf speakers is growing. So far, I have the SB1, SB2, SB3, SuperOne, and SuperOne-2.1. Just one more model are still on their way, then I will write a comparison review.

Keep in mind, the reason I am doing this is that the SB1 sound so perfect to me, in my little bedroom TV system (playing CDs, SACDs, DVD-A, BlueRay videos and Music Discs, and NetFlix, that I just cann9t imagine better. Maybe a little m9re bass extension might be nice, ut not at the expense of ANY other audiophile quality.

 

The SuperZero's paired with a decent amp/receiver and your TV are sublime. I often listen to music (Spotify, Pandora, YT finds) this way and these little speakers, um, speak to me.

 

I had them in an armoire, but had enough cable so that I was able to bring them out on stands. They're still the champs over just about anything I've ever heard on doing the disappearing act. Images weren't quite full size or sounds quite "organic" enough, but I didn't care all that much. They were just so fun.

I would move a chair and the SZs around into different orientations or angles, trying to play Stump The SuperZeroes. But they always did a soundstage, and the SW1P sub always produced properly placed bass in that soundstage, so matter where I was compared to it's corner placement. So why did I sell them? Oh yeah, I got the SB1s...

 

I feel the same way about the SB1, which were the predecessors to the SuperZero. Having just started to hear the slightly larger NHTs, for my comparison, larger is NOT necessarily better. Larger woofer and cabinet size (for more bass power and extension) introduces a problem that the bass quality becomes highly dependant on choice of amplifier. The smaller speakers keep the same tonal balance with a greater variety of amps. Second, the absolute lack of bass overhang focuses the listeners' attention on the SB-1's sublime midrange and high frequency detail. Third, the imaging, and the magical quality of the speakers' locations to completely disappear are MUCH better with the smaller speakers.

So far, the SB-1 and SuperZero are my favorite NHT speakers for their perfect tonal balance, imaging, remarkable disappearing act, and consistency with any amplifier. I suppose the Classic 1 would fit into that category also.

 

Even though SpeedMorris was referring to the floor standing model SuperTwo, he hit the nail on the head about what I heard through the SuperOne also. The moment I started to listen, I noticed that the increase in bass quantity takes away from the perceived purity of the smaller models' mids and highs. But after a few days of listening, I have already forgotten how beautifully delicate the smaller NHTs sounded (well, not completely forgotten), so now the larger pair indeed sounds smooth, laidback and satisfying, sounding very natural if not so audiophile. The punchier low bass is "fun", but can get distracting.

I also have a pair of the revised SuperOne 2.1, so I'll be able to listen for what NHT decided to improve. That'll be interesting.

 

Same here only in my case it was ProAc. I lived happily with NHT's Absolute Tower, Absolute Zero, and Classic Two for many years. The Classic Two was an overlooked but very capable little speaker.

 

This thread has inspired me to hook up my SuperZero 2.1 for a proper listen. The room is fairly large and I don't own a sub, so we'll see how they sound. I never used them for music in the real system, only for tv in the family room.

 

Do it. Tell me if you understand my reaction that the highs and midrange are so delicate, detailed, smooth and well-balanced that I could live without the low bass.

If you've seen and heard my systems shown and recorded in TheAudioHome website, you know that, in reality, I do not plan to give-up my big speakers with their full bass extension... but the little NHTs are truly remarkable and satisfying, without the pitfalls of having powerful bass in a room with its own acoustic contribution to a system's sound.

 

Classic Three?

I have, and enjoy very much, the Classic Threes (with an Outlaw sub).

Also won a pair of SuperZero 2.1 from the NHT monthly drawing a few years ago. Have them in the master bedroom. Perfect size, awesome sound.

 

Yes, a used pair of Classic Three are on their way to me.

 

SuperZero was my first real speaker which I picked up in the mid 90s with their sub after a Stereophile review. Loved those things.

I think they were intended to essentially create their own corner. I wanted those so badly.

 

The NHT video speakers are very good too. I started with a pair NHT VT-1A's, a VT-1C center, and Super Zero's as surrounds. The VT-1A's are like tower Super Zero's, with a 2nd SZ woofer. Awesome system. Good presence, with no speaker localization.

If you want a bigger, audiophile speaker, with extended bass response, look for VT-2's. An MTM design, with a side mounted 10" woofer. Again, they can be found very cheaply now, but their sound quality holds up well.

 

Removed a pair of Vienna Acoustic Bach (original) speakers to install the tiny NHT SuperZero 2.1s. I used my DIY plinths which and a pair of 22 inch high stands which bring the platform up to 24.5 inches. I listened to the last 3 songs on Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat while riding my stationary bike on the other side of the room; surprisingly good sound. After my bike ride, I sat down and listened to the first half a cd I received over the weekend, Joe Jackson's Night And Day II.
I have a small stable of speakers, nothing like @Warren Jarrett's, but I swap them in and out every month or so. The NHTs will take the spot for a while; probably until my audio friend comes over for a listen next weekend. Here they are, five+ feet from the back wall.

Tiny little buggers.

 

Don't forget to try 'em upside down.

 

No sub?

I was at NHT's corporate showroom about 5 years ago and heard the SuperZero 2.1s powered by a Marantz compact system, but without a sub. The showroom was wide open, but even without support from a sub, I can clearly hear something special was going on from the SuperZero 2.1s. To think that NHT used to sell a pair of Super Zero 2.1s with a matching powered sub for $500.

 

No sub for me. For some reason I can’t seem to get satisfactory sound with a sub.

 

I have so many speakers, that I have collected during my 4-1/2 decades of audio fanaticism, it is just sick. And this is after selling some that I never really LOVED. I just cannot get rid of my Martin Colloms MC-1 and MC-2, Acoustat 2+2, Apogee Duetta Signature, various models of Thiel, Audio Note AN/E, Tannoy, Jordan, NHT bookshelves, Magnapan 0.6 and 2.5, etc. A couple of very rare brands that just sounded good to me at a CES at one time, and then years later I found used on Ebay. But I don't switch back and forth. I just dream of creating more audio systems in more rooms in my family's houses. I REALLY miss not having even one electrostatic speaker system hooked up.

One of our rental homes had to be totally rewired at one time to meet safety code, and I installed dedicated AC lines to the living room... not that any tenant has ever known or cared... just in case I have to move there someday.

 

No sub with bookshelf speakers; I like to hear them as they were designed to sound. I think bookshelfs are voiced to NOT have full bass, so adding bass messes-up the tonal balance, and just doesn't sound right. I have successfully used subs with supposedly full range speakers, though.

 

I've never used a sub either. I tend to prefer midrange and treble frequencies and do not like low frequencies. Probably lived in LA too long...