Great Rock & Roll speakers?


I have a pair of Vandersteen 2 sigs with a DNA-1 & CJ PV10al. I have never been able to get the image proper with the speakers due to odd ball room placement. I really like the speakers but need something to image better in the same price class. I don't have a lot of room behind the speakers & don't want monitors. I really love the bass response of the speakers but had the idiot lights flash during a listening session once. Since then I have been paranoid to really crank them. I spoke with Richard & he explained how the lights work so it is obvious that I listen to alot of music that is heavy in the mid-bass region. So I need to find a speaker that is a good match to my DNA & CJ that will image well sitting close to the walls. The overall size of the speaker isn't much of a concern as long as they aren't much larger than the Vandy's. Speaker placement issues would pretty much rule out planar speakers & adding additional subs is not the direction I would like to take. Check my system here & let me know your thoughts.
fishwater
NHTs are designed for placement against the back wall and they are known to Rock-- don't know if they have a model in the $1000.-$1500. range. In fact I don't know if they're still in business-- maybe changed hands. There should be some good ones around used though. Corey Greenberg, when w/ Stereophile, used to Rave about them and the way they rocked. Good Luck. Craig
Fish; I just looked up NHTs for sale, and it's the 2.9 model I was thinking of-- there are at least 3 pair for sale in the Vand. 2Cesig price range. BTW, I've owned 3 pairs of 2Cesigs and my experience was like yours, ie I could get the warning lights to come on without much trouble. The 2Ces were not designed to be played above about low 90s SPL, but I'm quite sure the NHTs are though. Both the 3.3s and 2.9s have been reviewed by Stereophile quite awhile ago. Cheers. Craig
Craig's giving you good advice. I owned the 2.9's for two years and they were excellent, especially given their price range. I would assume the 3.3's would be even better. Both will benefit by being driven by good electronics - they're very revealing. But, as Craig says, they are made to be placed basically against the back wall. They go deep and loud - you won't blow them up to be sure. The 3.3's go for less than $2K used here on A-gon, the 2.9's for around $1200. They're a different-looking speaker, so research, but their gloss-black finish is very nice. -Kirk
I have owned NHT 3.3's for 3 years and they go deeper than the 2.9 which have a sealed 10" sub on each speaker versus the 12" sub on the 3.3's. Because of the angled front setup for proper imaging it really easy!
Just get them as close to the back wall as you can, make sure they are perpedicular to the back wall and parallel to each other. Seating position for correct imaging is 1.3 to 1.5 times the distance between the speakers. and adjust the angle of the speaker up/down with the spikes based on your couch height!

3.3's will do 23hz and it is tight and solid, visually they don't take up a lot of room because they are so thin. If they stick out too much into the room then get the 2.9.

Later you can biamp them with an NHT SA-3.

Actually I have had a problem owning my NHT 3.3's in apartments and currently I have had to pull them off the back wall 13" so they don't get me thrown out. Also My Velodyne 18" sub sits disconnected for movies because of the bass being generated. If you can't get enough output out of the NHT's then you have lost serious hearing!

The satin(Italian) black doesn't show fingerprints like the gloss black does.

Disclaimer, I am selling my pair on Audiogon because I'm moving and I plan to upgrade to another excellent imaging speaker (Wilson 6's or 7's depending on funds) that is full range at 4+ times the price after I move.

You can see them in my system in an 11x11 foot apartement room (Yuk) Chris