NHT Super Two - Terrific Speaker
Steve Zipser (Sunshine Stereo, Inc)
Here is a snippet from the rave review in Stereo Review:
These requirements are approximated by our normal listening setup, which
partly explains why I obtained quite excellent sound quality from the
SuperTwos with little of the usual trial-and error repositioning. But
what little speaker moving I had to do was made more tedious by the
spikes' tendency to tear up our room's carpeting - use the supplied
anti-scratch "spike caps."
The SuperTwo's sonic excellence was immediately evident with cleanly
recorded vocal material such as opera, classical song recitals, and jazz
vocals as well as movie-soundtrack dialogue. Unless they were poorly
recorded or overprocessed to begin with (as is all too common), vocals
played through the SuperTwos had a noticeable lack of coloration
compared with other speakers I've reviewed lately. During comparative
listening to several recordings of Schumann's Dichterliebe song cycle, I
could safely attribute any nasality or sibilance I heard to the singers,
not the SuperTwos.
Similarly, I had the opportunity to compare the SuperTwos' reproduction
of Simon Rattle's live recording of Mahler's Seventh Symphony (on EMI)
with my memory of a live performance of the same work by the same
performers that I heard the night before in Lincoln Center's Avery
Fisher Hall. (Now that's live vs. recorded!) Played through the
SuperTwos, the recording proved to be a stunning souvenir of what I had
heard in the hall, and it provided as much stage depth and bass impact
as the live experience.
Let me back up a bit. At first hearing in our listening room, the NHT
SuperTwo speakers sounded a bit bass-shy on wide-range material compared
with others I've evaluated. They might also seem so in your own
listening room, a difficulty easily curable with a conventional bass
control. But the sonic balance of the SuperOnes also sounded much like
that of my reference Etymotic Research ear-plug/headphones, which I know
produce a very flat bass response in my ears. And the Mahler symphony
live-vs. -recorded comparison would not have come out so well if the
speakers were truly bass-deficient.
I've concluded that the fault was with the other speakers. Not only do
the SuperTwos have all that it takes to reproduce pipe-organ music at
live levels, as well as all manner of low-frequency soundtrack
pandemonium (such as the landing of the pyramid in Stargate), but they
measured unusually flat.
A one-third-octave spectrum analysis at the listening position produced
a response flat to within ą3.5 dB from 50 Hz to 20 kHz, a measurement
that includes the influence of our room. Our quasi-anechoic
listening-window measurement was flat to within ą2 dB from 20 kHz down
to our present measurement limit of 1 kHz. The absence of the typical
deep "crossover dip" between 1 and 3 kHz was significant. The SuperOnes
also cleanly reproduced our bass, tone bursts down to 63 Hz at a drive
level equivalent to 100 dB SPL, which is quite good considering the size
of the speaker. Sine waves were usably audible down to 35 Hz.
In the five-speaker surround setup, I adjusted the system to roll off
the SuperOnes' response below 100 Hz and redirect the bass to the
SuperTwos. The close sonic match between the SuperOne and SuperTwo paid
dividends in the accuracy and stability of front-channel (left, center,
right) imaging with all surround-encoded material. The SuperOne was less
successful as a surround speaker, however. Its mono-polar radiation
caused it to image too well, and it lacked the kind of diffuse radiation
necessary for smooth sonic envelopment with surround material , although
switching in THX decorrelation helped. While the SuperOne is a very good
small speaker, I would recommend dipole surrounds instead for a home
theater.
Considering its overall sonic neutrality, reasonable price, and handsome
styling, the NHT SuperTwo is an excellent speaker for all types of music
and listening rooms. Team a pair with a SuperOne in the center and a
pair of dipole surrounds, and you'd enjoy a very fine home-theater
sound. This is a speaker for all tastes.
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Harbir Singh
floor standing Super One with a bass driver built in, and priced around $700
was precisely what the market needed. He said that he couldn't comment on
what NHT was doing because he was no longer with them, but he felt that the
sonic character of the Super One could not be retained in such a
configuration, that getting the a floor stander Super One to sound like the
bookshelf was more difficult than just putting in drivers and building a
larger cabinet. He felt that the time, effort, and resources it would take
to develop a floor stander Super One would rule out such a speaker being
available for $700. All in all he was quite negative. Now the Super Two has
appeared. what gives?
Harbir
Steve Zipser (Sunshine Stereo, Inc)
Harbir:
Well, the review in Stereo Review says it all - it is an absolute rave
by David Ranada, the editor of the magazine. But others are raving
about them also - you can also check with Marlon Feld (the editor of the
goodsounds site) - he was blown away by the Super Two's at the
Stereophile show, and the pair we have on display are absolutely
incredible. At $750/pr they are a steal, and they simply have no
competition at that price.
--
DWest1023
>Here is a snippet from the rave review in Stereo Review:
Hopefully my Super two' will arrive this week and we can really hear How they
sound. I know Zippo can' t wait to get my review-:)
Don
(Formerly, HO...@HIS.COM)
Steve Zipser (Sunshine Stereo, Inc)
>
> >Here is a snippet from the new Stereo Review:
> >Here is a snippet from the rave review in Stereo Review:
>
> sound. I know Zippo can' t wait to get my review-:)
Don:
You are only allowed to review while listening to one channel ;-)
Zip
Sandman
Sandman
(Back from Cabo Wabo!)
Steve Zipser (Sunshine Stereo, Inc) <z...@sunshinestereo.com> wrote in
article <35CF5E...@sunshinestereo.com>...
Sandman
Steve Zipser (Sunshine Stereo, Inc) <z...@sunshinestereo.com> wrote in
article <35CF71...@sunshinestereo.com>...
I agree - I was blown away by the Super Two's at HiFi98 as well - never
heard any speakers sound so natural at that price point.
Sandman
Gene Steinberg
Stereo, Inc)" <z...@sunshinestereo.com> wrote:
>Well, the review in Stereo Review says it all - it is an absolute rave
>by David Ranada, the editor of the magazine.
Make that Technical editor, Steve :)
Alex Hemsath
> styling, the NHT SuperTwo is an excellent speaker for all types of music
> and listening rooms. Team a pair with a SuperOne in the center and a
> pair of dipole surrounds, and you'd enjoy a very fine home-theater
> sound. This is a speaker for all tastes.
If they come close to the value of the SuperOnes, they should, in fact, be a
terrific buy. I love what my SuperOnes do right (unfortunately, what they
do right doesn't exactly jive with what I want them to do right, so I'm
switching brands, but I have great respect for NHT nonetheless)
--
Alex Hemsath, CS major, Rice University Sophomore, IBM intern
hem...@owlnet.rice.edu | http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/7187
My opinions are my own, and are not those of Rice University or IBM.
"The problem with morals is that the people enforcing them have none."
mdryoon
> > Considering its overall sonic neutrality, reasonable price, and handsome
> > styling, the NHT SuperTwo is an excellent speaker for all types of music
> > and listening rooms.
>
> If they come close to the value of the SuperOnes, they should, in fact, be a
> terrific buy.
The obvious comparison is between the SuperTwo and the $100 cheaper
NHT 1.5 bookshelf speakers (with stands, they should be close to the
same price). Maybe the 1.5 has a more refined sound and more
focused imaging while the SuperTwo has better bass?
Richard Yoon (Remove _EATS_SPAM_ for email replies.)
Alex Hemsath
> NHT 1.5 bookshelf speakers (with stands, they should be close to the
> same price). Maybe the 1.5 has a more refined sound and more
> focused imaging while the SuperTwo has better bass?
Probably. Not having heard either one, I can't really say. One thing I
don't particularly like about the 1.5, and indeed the rest of the
high-end NHT line, is how the faceplate is angled inwards, restricting
the "sweet spot" of listening pleasure. At any rate, I pretty much
trust Marlon Feld's opinion of the SuperTwo, i.e., that it's another
good value in audio from the guys at NHT. Strangely enough, Mr. Feld
doesn't choose to include the 1.5 in his list of speakers on GoodSound
even though it's well within the range and, in fact, he does include the
2.5s....whatever.
By the way, does anyone know what happened to the NHT website? I was
trying to check out the specs for the Supertwos, and.....it's not there
anymore. Is this more fallout from the Recoton purchase?
Alex
Steve Zipser (Sunshine Stereo, Inc)
>
> In article <35D23592...@owlnet.rice.edu>, Alex Hemsath <
> hem...@owlnet.rice.edu> writes:
> > By the way, does anyone know what happened to the NHT website? I
> > was trying to check out the specs for the Supertwos, and.....it's
> > not there anymore. Is this more fallout from the Recoton purchase?
>
> of buyout. No website, reduced customer service and support, key engineers
> leaving. . . .and this is only the fluff. What do you think they are doing to
> the PRODUCTS?
They are putting more money into production, and less into advertising.
YOU apparently can relate to that, since you seem to be putting a lot
into production - you are getting bigger by the day!
Cheers
Zip
Alex Hemsath
> > > was trying to check out the specs for the Supertwos, and.....it's
> > > not there anymore. Is this more fallout from the Recoton purchase?
> >
> > Yup. This is called "cost reduction", and generally happens during this kind
> > of buyout. No website, reduced customer service and support, key engineers
> > leaving. . . .and this is only the fluff. What do you think they are doing to
> > the PRODUCTS?
>
> They are putting more money into production, and less into advertising.
>
> YOU apparently can relate to that, since you seem to be putting a lot
> into production - you are getting bigger by the day!
> Cheers
> Zip
You know, Zippy, I sometimes wonder if the reason you sign all your messages with
"Cheers" is because you're throwing back a shot of absinthe after every post. It
would certainly account for a lot.
Personally, advertising or no, I like having a website to read so that I can check
out new products without having to drive 40 minutes to the local NHT dealer to get
some crummy literature.
I'd love to know why you decided to turn a simple discussion about NHT's website
into an attack on Brian's size.....
Alex
DWest1023
Don
(Formerly, HO...@HIS.COM)
Brian L. McCarty
hem...@owlnet.rice.edu> writes:
> I'd love to know why you decided to turn a simple discussion about
> NHT's website into an attack on Brian's size.....
And several of my friends who read this group can't figure it out either. .
.6'0", 210 lbs isn't much above "svelte". . .
But then again you have to consider the source. . .
Brian
Matt Tulini
> And several of my friends who read this group can't figure it out either. .
> .6'0", 210 lbs isn't much above "svelte". . .
>
> But then again you have to consider the source. . .
Brian, I know the camera adds 20 pounds, but in that picture it looked like you
had about 30 cameras on you. Sorry, I saw an opportunity and I couldn't
resist. :-)
Matt
Steve Zipser (Sunshine Stero, Inc.)
>
> In article <35D2EB86...@owlnet.rice.edu>, Alex Hemsath <
> hem...@owlnet.rice.edu> writes:
> > I'd love to know why you decided to turn a simple discussion about
> > NHT's website into an attack on Brian's size.....
>
> .6'0", 210 lbs isn't much above "svelte". . .
Brian:
Next time quote the weight in pounds, not KILOS!!!!!!!!
You haven't seen 210 since you were 8 years old
Zip