New NHT Classic line to replace Super Audio - Page 13

Alimentall,
Does this mean that the Three's are shipping as well?Surely to God They were on the same ship as the others.

I was told on Jan 13th by NHT that the container for the 3's was on the water and NHT would receive them the first week in February and would ship to dealers immediately after that. Apparently that ship sunk.

The 4's are still a glimmer in daddy's eyes I'm quessing...

Threes should be shipping, but just in small, air-freighted quantities. The actual ship should be on the way with delivery around the end of the month for enough to fill all the back orders.

Well, I guess that now explains why you've been calling to ask massive amounts of questions for the last, what, 5 or 6 years (more?) without buying anything, eh?

So what I gather from that is *enough* to let dealers demo them and tease the customers?....LoL....I hope mine come soon so I can post all over this and audioasylums' boards about how damn good they are!!!! Maybe help out your sales a bit

PS.
I'm still #2 or #3 in line right ???

I am going to tell you guys, these 2's are really growing on me. The things I thought were weaknesses are really beginning to make them awesome all around performers. I think 5 of these in a 5.1 system with a good sub(s) would be an unbelieveable package.

Holy S4!T....Now we got a good one...2 NHT dealers facing off.....At least its some good entertainment while I await the arrival of my Three's !!!

Don't hold your breath... Remember to relax as the months continue drag on... Hell it may be time to roll out the new line or begin talking about it so that when September rolls around NHT will go to press with no product in hand and have a down payment on their booth at CES...

Nah, not really. I'm just giving him crap. I know Eric pretty well, actually, and know him by voice when I pick up the phone. I'm just assuming that all of our many conversations ended up having him want to become a dealer and start selling it rather than simply owning it. He just neglected to *tell* me that.

Oh, Coues, you're just bitter because someone convinced you to buy over-priced mass-market speakers

I would bet the delay has something to do with the Vinci labs takeover.

Anytime a new owner comes on board there is bound to be some changes and some delays. Maybe the old concept was not going to make enough money for the new owners? Maybe the old concept was not going to sound good enough for the new owners? Maybe it is simple as logistics? Who knows, but I bet the delay has to do with the merger/takeover.

Actually, from what I gather, Vinci Labs came in and saved the day and gave NHT a defib. I think Rockford, because of it's sorry state of affairs, wasn't giving NHT the money it needed to launch all these ambitious products. I also think there were issues getting the dome array built, which is why *all* of the products with that feature are late, while the others arrived almost on time. It's not directly NHT's fault, but they coulda, shoulda been more cautious in their announcements and shipping dates.

seems as though another editor of a mag likes the Xd....

http://www.soundstage.com/letters.shtml

I just received NHT's Xd system and set it up. The Xd appears to be pushing the boundaries of what's possible today with two-way designs.Doug Schneider

Not at all... How can I be bitter and over what? NHT has yet to deliver and I am sure has lost many clients over this fiasco that they have created. Furthermore nobody has convinced me to purchase speakers nor have I moved into any direction to purchase speakers

Now the last time I was at NHT website it appears to me that their line of speakers are geared for the mass market client as well, BUT you need to have a product in hand to flood the market and the only thing NHT is doing is turning their market against them with delay after delay after delay

I was all set to purchase their entire classic line with the exception of their SUB as it just does not have the power I was after. I thought of using a SVS PB12 Ultra in black piano finish would match up with the piano finish on the classic very nicely.

Alimentall, you have also added to the problem by posting in this forum with the updates on delivery dates only to watch the dates come and go. You would have been better off to have said nothing... It's very obvious your proud of this line of speakers and you appear to know what your talking about, but...

Coues, I don't disagree but negatively doesn't change anything. It is what it is. 99% of the population has no idea what a Classic Three is. It's the internet gang that knows. My customers just started getting the flyer on it this week. So, if they come in and say "do you have it?" I'll say "a few weeks", but at least it will be the first time they heard it. I know the Threes are now shipping in small quantities.

I'm still trying to figure out exaclty what "shipping in small quantities" means...

Does it mean that those of us who ordered at the beginning of the year will be getting them soon?
Or does it mean we(the consumers who already paid)will be waiting on this ship to finally come in while all the dealers snag up a pair or 2 for themselves to setup and tease *potential* buyers with?

This is what I was thinking about also to match the Classics but I wanted a pair of 4's for left and right and 3 for the rears 3c center.
Allen

Threes are shipping! OMG! Best news I have heard in a while. So whens the four shipping

I have been searching for a while to find speakers to replace my Meadowlark but so far have not really heard any better for the price I am willing to pay. Problem so far is that speakers that do well for Stereo just seem to lack that last bit of detail in HT and those that do well in HT is just too detailed in Stereo :P Guess there might just not be a way to do well in both short of playing with contour or EQ and such.

These are the speakers I have heard and some comments on what I feel about them. Note that I do seem to have a dislike for metal tweeters and most I have heard are defintely detailed but I do feel my ears hurting the next day if I do a long listening session to them.

B&W 600 series - Splashy and a little disjointed.

B&W 700 series - Really liked the sound of them Detailed and yet not harsh. Mids could just be alittle better. Was almost ready to pull the gun on the 705 as they seem to do well for both HT/Stereo which is rare. Will have to relisten after hearing the others I am looking forward to hear.

KEF Q7s - A little lean in the mids on stereo but pretty detailed and not harsh. They somehow do fall down on HT but I believe it could be due to the fact the dealer could only use a 85 watts reciever to drive them for me. At the volumes I listen to they just could not keep up and the soundstage just collaspe and became very harsh sounding.

NHT Twos - Mids too lean and defintely too polite a speaker good imaging and soundstaging though. Looking forward to hearing the Threes and fours. I am going to listen to the M5/T5 as my dealer has one piece left that he is willing to let go at a very good price.

Thiels 1.6 - 4 years back I was hoping to get them but they were just over what I was willing to pay for. 4 years later after a night listening(just last night) at a friends place who happens to use the same processor as me was enlightening. I love them for Music and they did surprising well for HT. Detailed yet not harsh. Mids to die for and oh, they just did something right about horn instruments like trumpets, sax etc. They just seem to produce that initial dynamics that horn speakers produce but without compromising on the timbre. Voices are smooth as silk and cymbals are detailed yet not splashy At the current price it is going at effectively the same as the 705 for me I have this right at the top of my list.

Speakers I am hoping to listen before making my decisions are NHT threes and fours, M&K 750 series (Lightly to be too bright for me unless I really damp the whole place down), JM Lab, Elacs 207.2 & the next range up for KEF & Maybe the Ascend if I can find it somewhere. GR Research seems interesting but that would mean buying blind.

Oliver

I've been watching this thread for months and I think is time to chime in.
I have been a long time fan of NHT speakers and have owned many models over the years.
When I heard of the new classic line I must say I was very intrigued. The Super Audio line are in my
opinion, fantastic products. I have owned the SB3 and the SB2. To my ears the SB2s worked much better in my setup.
I still owned the SB2s and probably will for a long time to come.
Unfortunately I believed NHT when they projected that the new Classic Three would be available in October '05, so in September,
I sold off my Quad 12Ls and plunked down my down payment on a pair of threes.
That was on October 11, 2005. Guess what...I am still waiting. E-mails to NHT go unanswered. The NHT web site is useless in providing any useful information.
My dealer can't even get an honest answer from NHT. I say honest. He does get ship dates from NHT that come and go.
He feels so bad that he has offered me my deposit back an more than one occasion. I have been patient with NHT and tried my best to
understand their problems with bringing this product to market, but I must say my patience is running out. I feel they have made fools out of all of us.
The fact they won't post updates on the web page shows a arrogance toward their most loyal dealers and customers. Some fence mending is definitely needed on the part of
NHT. I for one am not going to wait another 5 months. Just my 2¢.

I will be darned curious to do a shootout with the 3's, but from what I'm hearing about the two's, they may be a little polite for my tastes. When a group of us did a shootout (level matched, RTA, switcher etc.) with the Onix Ref 1's, ACI Sapphire XL's, Quad 12L Actives, 12L consumer, and Von Schweikert LCR-15's (which I owned), I was immediately told to sell my Vons...which I couldn't have agreed with more. The Vons' midrange was just waaaay too recessed for our ears and it showed on the RTA. I got rid of 'em on Audiogon two days later. Hearing that the 2's might have less detail and a more recessed midrange than the Vons doesn't bode well for the 3's, but I'm gonna withhold judgement until we can do a real listening session.

As for now, I absolutely love my Quad 12L Actives and lean favorably toward powered pro monitors...not the cheapies, but the good ones.

Wow, this one went right over my head and I missed it. John, I guess I will have to disguise my voice better next time. Seriuosly though, I have not called you for 2-3 years until a few weeks ago when I was trying to decide if I wanted to pick up the line. I have only been in business a little over a year now. I figured no better source of info except from the master himself. A little fishing can't hurt.

I guess those newsletters are more effective than I thought

I wouldn't worry about it. Think of this, polypropylene naturally absorbs some upper midrange detail and a 6" won't have very wide dispersion in the upper mids. The Threes will have both notably more resolution *and* better power response, aka dispersion in the upper midrange. That means you can have a speaker that is both engaging, with lots of "presence", yet still be easy on the ears so you can listen at high volumes and/or all day long. Well, you'll have to hear them to understand. Think Thiel, but with more fleshed out lower midrange/upper bass for a more balanced, smooth sound.

I too like a few others, am waiting for my Three's, but decided to get an SVS subwoofer. I got the 16-46 PC-Plus. The NHT subs look good, and sound good, but I wanted something really siesmic and the NHT's just do not go low enough. Some DVD's and even classical music can go sub-20hz. Spending the kind of money I will be spending on my system, I do not want to miss anything. I understand that percentage wise there is not much below 25hz and not very often, BUT it is there. If only NHT made a sub that went deeper.

It's not how low you go, it's how well you go low

I live in Hong Kong, close to the manufacturing source, China, and probably the place of departure for any elusive ship; there is no sight or sound of the Threes or Fours. The ship may just be that, elusive...We've had the twos and zeros for awhile. I've listened and they seem to work for me, I'm not too demanding or discerning, but they sound nice - maybe more than nice - very nice - exceptionally nice...

Am thinking to put the zeros in back with the threes up front - this should work I imagine; We don't get much living space in HK - something like 10ft x 20ft living / dining area. Fairly small, hence the choices with the threes and zeros. Does this make sense? And, possibly the 2C in the centre? Or not needed?

If these combos work, I can get the zeros and wait a couple more months for that elusive ship to emege from the myst.

Thoughts...?

Not too many go low as well as, forget about better than, SVS.

Listened to the Two's yesterday in an, I'll admit, less than ideal demo. Can't say I was horribly impressed. Eh, I'll wait for the Three's to come out and see if I can't get a better demo at another dealer. I'm not willing to fault the speakers at this point. Even great speakers can sound horrible poorly set up.

So far everybody,(including me) who has listened to the Twos has commented on the recessed midrange or felt the demo who not up to snuff.

What could NHT have done to help with this?

I am still looking forward to the Threes since I feel the midtweet will help with this.

In regards to the subs, if I go that route I may go with a Martin Logan since some have said they are more articulate.

Sean the SVS might go deeper, but, IMO, they don't have a subwoofer as accurate, well built or with as much precision as the U1 or XdS. But, of course you give up some bass extension for the precision and transient response of acoustic suspension. I traded in one of the tube subs and it was "okay". But then, that's just my opinion. Most subwoofers don't sound good in a dealer show room because of all the other speakers. Put them in a home, however, and most every sub sounds notably better. Nice advantage for a sub that can only be demoed that way!

As far as "recessed", I'd settle for "not forward". Virtually every speaker I've heard these days is "midrange forward". This makes the NHTs often sound "recessed" by comparison, but what really is recessed is the sound of the speaker itself. The music is still right where it should be. B&Ws, Paradigms, JMlabs, heck, most anything European or Canadian, are all midrange forward sounding speakers. That can make them sound more detailed, but when you listen to the individual instruments, they often are blurred, veiled and the speaker often has a "shouty sound that makes it sound like the midrange is in a horn. I don't suspect that the Threes are notably more forward, only more detailed and more spacious sounding, but they didn't have them set up to A/B so I can't tell for sure. Maybe a tad brighter. The customer for the Two is going to be looking for a speaker that is more forgiving and pleasant. The customer for the Three is looking for maximum detail. I don't think NHT would want to "help" this. I personally felt the AZ was kind of bright at first, but compared to everything else it's been compared to, it's smooth as butter and a lot more refined.

Well, I'm not going to argue sub preferences with you, as that is not the point of this thread, or even this section of the forum, but I will say that I've listened to lots and lots and lots of subs (Paradigm, Velodyne, Martin Logan, Mirage, Aerial, REL, Def Tech, Monitor Audio, M&K, B&W, Sunfire, etc.), both in stores and people's homes, and while I have heard subs that are better than the initial run of SVS cylinders (one of which I have), their subs have continued to improve over the years and now even the PB12-ISD, which I recommended for a friend is well ahead of my cylinder and most everything else I've heard in accuracy, extension and output. Plus with their pricing structure, you can get a sub with the Ultra driver in it for what you pay for a decent sub a retail. I guess it really boils down to whether you like the sound of ported subs (and speakers) or not. As I said, I'm not going to argue preferences with you, that would be pointless. I'm just letting you know that my opinion was not formed in a vaccuum as are those of some other ID customers.

And if you're in the DC area and looking to audition the new NHT's, the Two's are on display at Pro Video in Rockville (and maybe the DC store as well, I didn't check), but their setup is far from ideal. Soundworks in Kensington tells me they expect to get the Three's in sometime next week, and they have much nicer listening rooms with acoustic treatments that should be able to give you a fair idea of what the speakers can really do. And they've also got lots of other high end speakers there for you to compare the Three's to if you want. Totem, Aerial, Energy Veritas, Vandersteen, Wilson, Martin Logan, etc.