Opinions on newest NHT Absolute Zero
I have a friend using this same speaker with a Teac mini receiver and Teac mini CD/DVD player (500 series) in a similar sized room. She has the speakers on a glass shelf inside of an open back bookcase about 5 feet high and about 3 feet from the back wall. Signal Cable interconnects and speaker cables. The sound is impressive, no low bass, but a real sweet mid-range. If you want a bit of the lower bass, consider the NHT Classic 2. Regards, Rich |
The NHT's are one of the few speakers that I have experienced that do well with inside bookcase placement. I used a pair of NHT SB2's in this way for a number of years. With a backless bookcase, the NHT's should do even better. In my friend's set-up mentioned previously, her bookcase is more of an glass and wood, open rack affair. Her room has only window/venetian blinds and light rugs, so the room is pretty minimalist/live. I was very much taken with how good the system sounded. The music played was Talking Heads, Morrissey, and Sinatra. Besides acoustic suspension design speakers, you can also consider front ported designs. For the money though ($260 a pair at J&R Music with free shipping), this speaker is very hard to beat. FWIW, other speakers that I have tried with bookshelf placement and how they fared: B&W 302 (dreadful), EPOS ESL3 (boxy/ nothing special), Wharefedale Diamond 8"s and 9's (good/ much better on stands), Omega Super 3 (if you are not using tubes, don't bother. If you are, then very good), NHT SB2 (very good), Rega Ara (very good). Regards, Rich |
The Absolute Zero has existed under varying names for at least a dozen years. Each generation of the speaker has seen evolutionary type improvements. It is not that the Absolute Zero is worlds different than its predecessor, the SB-1. It is probably though, the best sounding incarnation of this speaker. Regards, Rich |
These speakers will probably not come up for review, unless they are part of a review for a complete NHT home theatre speaker package and then the Zeroes would most likely be the surround speakers. Are you still resisting the suggestion to go hear them in person? FWIW: Most folks on Audiogon are not fussing with $200 speakers. Not a value judgment, just an observation. I would try over at the Audio Asylum to see if anyone is chatting these speakers up . Regards, Rich |
