A subwoofer for my NHT SuperZeros

I want to thank all of you. Certainly some good advice and leads. The SuperZeros are the first truly high quality piece of audio I've owned. Back in the 70s I had a pair of the New Advents (that's how they were identified) and loved them, even with a low-priced Pioneer receiver. How I wonder what they'd sound like with some good electronics!

Thanks again.

I really like my Boston Acoustics PV-1000 ($1200 list; $700 used); pretty much a good-looking, user-friendly QUICK clone of the Velodyne HGS12!

I will also nominate the SW2P/MA1 combo with the SZs. I use 5 SZs in my HT and really like the combination. I use an SW2p for the low end of the main Szs, and a 2nd in my small room for the LFE channel.

I've owned the same great little pair of SuperZeros for over seven years now and originally purchased them with the NHT SW2P/MA1 subwoofer/amp. I felt it was a very good match sonically, they were definitely designed to work together.

Originally, I ran the speaker outs from my NAD receiver to the MA-1 amp using it's internal crossover and ran the split highpass signal to my SuperZeros with lowpass going to the sub. I also experimented with running the SuperZeros full range and adjusting the MA-1's variable lowpass filter to blend with them. Either way I thought it was a good match.

When I moved into home theater four years ago I gave the sub and amp to a friend and purchased the SW3P/SA3 combo. I'll probably be selling this unit soon as I just bought a Talon ROC 2002.

I think you should stay with the smaller NHT subs such as the SW2P, SW2Pi, or even the SuperSub because they were designed to mate with the small, quick SuperZeros and SuperOnes. The SW3P doesn't have speaker level inputs as the previously mentioned do, and the 12" driver may be a bit slow to integrate with the SuperZero's little midwoofer.

I'm now deep into the audiophile hobby, but I refuse to get rid of the little SuperZeros that started me off.

I'd make two additional suggestions. For a sub, consider the Adire Rava. It uses the Shiva driver, and in its small sealed cabinet sounds wonderfully musical (crisp and articulate) but with impressive output, and will extend to 160 Hz. Those Zeros start rolling off well above 80Hz, so you'd want your crossover well above 100 to avoid a hole. Here's a link. It really is a steal at $399 new, and the owner (Dan Wiggins) is a great and helpful guy.

Now, if HT use is a real minority, you might consider selling the Zeros, adding your 500 budget, and buying a pair of mains with better extension. If you have the space for floorstanders (you should, unless you don't put the Zeros on stands) and like the NHT sound, you could get a pair of 2.5i, or VT1.2 or VT2, which may be more satisfying. And of course there are many other brands and models to consider.

I lied ... a third suggestion ... ever try DIY? You can even get precut panels with some kits, and your DIY sub will outperform a manufactured one at similar price points.

Good luck!

For the $500 range pick up the used REL Q100E for sale on Audiogon for $450. A REL will integrate with anything. The A100E is the Home Theater equivalent to the REL Stratus. Just as musical and more slam for movies (there is a Slam/Depth switch to change the response).

Also consider the Hsu VTF-2.

I second the SW2P suggestion . . . . I used precisely that combo for a couple of years, and the sub and SZs worked together beautifully. On top of that, you should be able to get a used SW2P for no more than $300, and quite possibly for less.

It is going to be problematic at best to get a sub to integrate seemlessly. Look on Audiogon for a used NHT sub like one of their older 10" jobs. You will need one that will allow clean response up into the 100hz+ area. I would use a passive filter with your amp designed to roll the lows out of the Superzero at 100hz or maybe a touch lower. You can place it between your pre-outs and main-in. The SZ image so well and if you could get a sub to sorta match you would have a nice sounding system-especially after you get the Creek. Cory Greenburg (Sterophile) did an article about this very thing about 4 or 5 years ago. They used the NHT sw2p with it. Excellent match if you can find one used. Also, don't rule out NHT's newer subs.