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REVIEW: NHT - Now Hear This SB3 Speakers

152.16.223.122


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Model: SB3
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $600
Description: 2-way acoustic suspension bookshelf speaker
Manufacturer URL: NHT - Now Hear This
Manufacturer URL: NHT - Now Hear This

Review by Phredd ( A ) on October 08, 2003 at 17:40:45
IP Address: 152.16.223.122
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for the SB3


BACKGROUND: I'm an unwilling reviewer - my old speakers kicked the bucket and I don’t have a lot of money hanging around to spend replacing them. I have old components which probably should also be upgraded, but no money for that, either, so I figured my replacements should be a) compatible with my present equipment, and b) amenable to a few future upgrades. My original target price was $250, but it rapidly became clear that there was nothing out there that would meet my needs at that price point. Accordingly, after some long discussions at home, I was able to bump my price range up to the $500 mark.

My room is a good one - roughly 12'Wx23'Lx18'H at peak with a symmetrical slope upward from a start of about 9' along each short wall. I have experimented with the staging of the room and it is actually better to place the speakers along one of the longer walls; unfortunately, other domestic needs have interfered, so the stereo now fires down the long axis of the room, starting in front of a bay window. Surprisingly, the window is quite forgiving if one is careful with placement. However, by necessity, the primary listening position is more than 10' away from the speakers. I have 30" stands to raise the speakers above the level of most of the furnishings in the room, and this height is also at ear level for the relatively small sized speakers being tested here. Although the room is large, I generally listen to music at low to medium volume. I have somewhat sensitive ears, and music levels other people find involving I sometimes find to be literally painful. I listen to all types of music, but I am most demanding when it comes to classical music and auditioned these speakers primarily with that genre. However, I used everything from large orchestral/choral works to chamber and solo work, and I did make a rare foray into rock, folk, and jazz.

As mentioned, I have not been in the market for speakers for quite a long time, so I knew from the beginning that I would need a complete education. My approach was not to do a bunch of reading, but mostly to get out to the local stores and listen. Of course, I realize that many stores selling speakers in this general price range do not offer very good listening accommodations, but I figured I could at least narrow the field in order to conduct more thorough auditions later. Accordingly, I listened to various speakers from Athena, Bose, Boston Acoustics, Infinity, Klipsch, Monitor Audio, NHT, Polk, and PSB, among others. I quickly eliminated most of these, but I did have some lingering interest in Polk, Monitor Audio, and NHT. The interest in Polk was mainly prompted by their close-out of the RTi 150 model, which put the store demos just in my price range (they normally retail for around $1300/pair). I conducted extensive in-store auditions (rudely interrupted by hurricane Isabel), and had finally concluded that I could probably live with the weak, rolled-off highs in order to get legitimate frequency response down into the high 20s. However, the store sold them out from under me, so I came back to NHT and Monitor Audio.

THE DUEL: Through in-store listening, I had narrowed the field to two in my price range: the NHT SB3 and the Monitor Audio Silver S1. Both speakers were on sale at the respective vendors, so although both list for $600, I could have the S1s for $400, and the SB3s for $510 – still a noticeable difference in price.

The Silver S1s are considerable smaller than the SB3s, and the look is completely different. The S1s are beech wood, almost yellow in color, with completely squared off corners, and are about twice as tall as they are wide. The SB3s are glossy black lacquer, and much squatter in appearance (although they stand just as tell as the S1s), with rounded corners.

It quickly became apparent that these two speakers were as different in overall sound as they were in appearance. The S1s were very bright, and extremely detailed. However, these speakers had a very minimal bass response. Although their frequency-response is rated down to 45Hz (±3db), I found the audible floor of accurate, full-volume reproduction to be considerably above that. String basses were quite lost and the tuba and bass drum were chopped off. Even timpani reproduction appeared to be affected in the very low ranges, a very unusual phenomenon. Baritone-voiced instruments such as bassoon and cello were somewhat recessed and quiet even in relatively exposed passages. On the other hand, bells, flutes and cymbals were treated very well. Piano reproduction was also very clean, but lacking in resonance. It sounded as though the pianist were playing on a 3/4 size instrument. Vocal reproduction was astonishingly wonderful, however, particularly female voice. Cecelia Bartoli on these speakers was phenomenal. The vocal stage was pushed a bit forward, as though the singer (or chorus for larger works) had been moved to well in front of the accompanist (or orchestra). Although a peculiar effect, it was not unpleasant, and I would rate these speakers very highly indeed for vocal or small ensemble music, so long as not too much bass is required. These speakers would benefit hugely from a subwoofer, although I did find that their sweet spot was difficult to find, and off-axis listening to be somewhat unpleasant. The boxes of these speakers were clearly audible even just a foot or so off the center line.

The SB3s were essentially polar opposites of the Silver S1. For the SB3s, it was the vocalists that appeared to be recessed, while lower mid-range and true bass instruments gained more prominence – possibly slightly too much prominence in the lowest instruments. But although the bass was more prominent, it was still quite clean, except once again in the lowest passages, were it did take on a slightly flabby quality. Bass drum reproduced quite well, though naturally not down to the complete bottom of the instrument – nothing at this price point will do that! String bass and tuba came through richly – again, possibly a little too richly. If you are particular about absolutely flat response, the bass gain will need to be turned down slightly on your system for these speakers. I would not be surprised to learn that these speakers have something of a peak in the low range – say about 70Hz – although I can find nothing in the literature to support such a specific claim. It just sounded to me like the low end was slightly boosted.

Surprisingly, the biggest difference between this speaker and the S1 was in the baritone range. Bassoon, in particular, took on significant additional depth and clarity, while cellos were warm and sonorous without being inaccurate. Trombones, too, were richer and less bright than with the S1s. Piano was also much improved overall, if a bit less detailed. No more 3/4-sized instruments. The full range of resonances was reproduced clearly and accurately, so even the higher notes sounded more vibrant and real. Upper-register instruments were clean and accurate, without being forward or too bright.

Another area in which these speakers excelled was hall ambience. Dead recordings sounded dead, whereas recordings with a good deal of reverberation reflected that accurately. In particular, some recordings of the St. Louis Symphony recorded in Powell Hall (which I have been fortunate enough to hear live) reflected that sound stage much more accurately than did the S1s. In general, the SB3s sounded flatter across the frequency spectrum to me, except for the extra punch in the low end. In addition, they provided a much broader sound stage, and the sweet spot extended much further off the center line. It is possible for two people to hear decent imaging as the same time, although perfect alignment is still better, of course. Even from considerably off-center, one could not hear the speaker enclosure.

One little quirk in the SB3 is the woofer-on-top design. This means that the staging on the SB3 starts much lower than you expect, and the speakers are much more sensitive to low obstructions. A throw pillow on my couch needed to be moved, even though it was physically about 2 inches below the bottom of the speaker and just over a foot distant. Be prepared for this effect when you place these speakers. Also, the SB3s did seem a bit inefficient, particularly in comparison to the S1s. Volume levels had to be continually adjusted upwards to get the same volume levels out of the SB3s. When auditioning these speakers, be sure to be aware that they may not sound as loud as some others.

In the end, I opted for the SB3s, despite their higher cost, due to their better reproduction of large-scale music than the S1s. I did like the S1s quite well, however, and would recommend them for jazz or lighter music. For full-scale orchestral music, though, and for most bass-heavy rock music, as well, the SB3s seemed clearly superior.


Product Weakness: Boosted bass; recessed vocals; inefficient.
Product Strengths: Clean, uncolored sound; wide sound stage and decent off-axis listening; excellent baritones


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Denon DRA-425
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): none
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Ancient Denon CD and tape deck
Speakers: NHT SB3 & Monitor Audio Silver S1
Cables/Interconnects: 12/2 wire
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Orchestral - full down to chamber
Room Size (LxWxH): 23 x 12 x 18
Time Period/Length of Audition: 1 week
Type of Audition/Review: Home Audition




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Topic - REVIEW: NHT - Now Hear This SB3 Speakers - Phredd 17:40:45 10/8/03 ( 2)