Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: NHT - Now Hear This Xd Speakers by Daverz

Model:	Xd
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$3000
Description:	NHT Xd active loudspeaker system
Manufacturer URL:	NHT - Now Hear This
Model Picture:	View

Review by Daverz on June 01, 2009 at 18:43:45
IP Address: 24.161.171.180 Add Your Review
for the Xd

The Xd speaker system has been reviewed extensively:

http://www.deqx.com/assets/aushifi_review_sep2005.pdf
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1105nht/
http://www.nhthifi.com/current/press/reviews/new/SSXdReview.pdf
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/nht_xd.htm
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/satellite/nht-xd-loudspeaker-system-review
http://www.avguide.com/review/nht-xd-speaker-system

So I'll only add a little to this. I think a user review is still
worthwhile as these are still available new from Listenup.com for
$3000 and used from sellers on Audiogon for well under $3000. What I
don't know is if you'll still have a chance to hear these speakers
anywhere. And I hope my comments may be useful to other Xd owners.

I think the Soundstage review gives you most of the bad news, as I
experienced the same things, though I'm much more impressed with the
sound of the speakers than he is:

* My Xd amp (the physical unit itself, not the output) makes a high
pitched mechanical noise like a fluorescent light. This is not
really bothersome with the rack 3 or 4 meters away, but as many
people sit closer to their equipment rack, it could be a problem.

* I did send the amp back to NHT to get them to fix the noise. Their
tech support was easy to get to over the phone and knowledgeable.
However, after a month, they only swapped out the DSP board, which
was not the problem. I believe the problem is a buzzing inductor,
as described in the Soundstage review. This may have been partly my
fault for not including a detailed enough description of the problem
with the amp. I may try again with tech support.

* The speakers do hiss at a very low level (11 dB according to NHT).
This should not be a problem except for extreme near field
listening. I did not find it a problem with at a 6.5' listening
distance. Still, you lose 11dB of S/N in your fancy high-end
system.

* In the default configuration, the subwoofer can thump on and off
when listening at a low volume. It's easy to open up the subwoofer
back panel and jump clearly marked pins to turn this off (jumper not
included on the board).

* The amp can switch on and off if you a listening at *very* low
volumes. This is easily switched off on the back of the amp.

Of course, there's also the practical issue of a system with an amp
that only works with these speakers and speakers that only work with
this amp. (Though I suppose a knowledgeable DIYer could replicate the
digital crossover using some of the published info and some
experimentation.) Also, some of the prospective features of the
system, such as room correction via a microphone input, were never
realized when NHT summarily discontinued the product. Even some of
the digital crossover files that were sent to the audiophile press
were not provided to customers. The company's financial woes do not
help matters.

I've used the speakers for about 6 months. For this review the
equipment used was

- Cambridge Audio Azur 840C CDP
- BAT 3iX preamp
- All connections between components (turntable excepted) were with
balanced XLR ICs.

(See my profile for analog rig.)

My room is an open floorplan with wall-to-wall carpeting in a second
floor condo with vaulted ceilings, an open kitchen, open loft,
stairwells, and a long open hallway. Easily an 8000 cubic foot
volume.

After much experimentation, I ended up with my listening position
along a wall and the speakers well out in the room 8' apart and with
each speaker 8'2" from my ears. (I live alone, so this is possible).
I found the speakers too focused, forward, and "heady" at closer ear
distances. Even at 8', a suboptimal adjustment of the sub level or
distance could turn the sound hard.

I did not try any of the XDs EQ settings for wall and corner
placement.

I used a Radio Shack SPL meter to test various positions (but always
centered) and volume levels for the subwoofer. As in the Stereophile
review, I ended up with the sub centered at the same ear distance as
the satellites, but in this large room I did have to increase the sub
volume level from the 12:00 "Just Right" position to about 1:00. I
use a Subdude under the sub, which is effective in preventing bass
energy from leaking into the floor. Getting the satellites up off the
carpet using the built-in spikes helped midbass tightness. I was able
to get fairly smooth bass response +/- 2dB from 50-200Hz. Plenty of
bass for a second floor condo, but if you need more you'd probably
need the extra sub that the system can support.

With this placement, I get a wide, deep, even, precise, enveloping
soundstage. There is still a touch of forwardness with CD playback,
but vinyl playback is more laid back and relaxed, and even more
spacious, as one might expect. This system may be revealing some
forwardness of the CDP. So I would probably not want to combine these
speakers with equipment that was itself known for forwardness. The
BAT tends toward the dark end of the spectrum, so I think it mates
well with the Xds.

As for general tone of the speakers, whereas my old Dunlavy SC-IIIs
might paint things in warm pastels, the Xds paint with primary-colored
acrylics. Of course, you don't get the scale and weight of big
floor standers like the Dunlavys, but the Xds are capable of portraying
image height well.

I never felt there was any harshness or grain in any part of the Xds
spectrum (that wasn't inherent in the source). They are colorful but
have no added warmth or sweetness, either. I suppose they could be
described as a bit squeaky clean sounding (er, no, not squeaky). A
little Disney, maybe.

A telling example of what the Xds can do for certain recordings is
Vaclav Neumann's AAD set of the Martinu Symphonies, which I've
listened to many, many times over many changes of equipment and had
always felt sounded too reverberant and blurry. With the Xds the
sound was fine, not blurry at all, the hall ambiance now sounding
natural rather than boomy and overdone. This rehabilitation of
familiar recordings has been a common occurrence with the Xds, though
also some favorites have been revealed as harsher than I realized.
(Certainly the BAT has played its part here, too.)

As described in the press, these have incredible clarity. You don't
feel you are missing anything in the music. This can be very
involving and thrilling, but could also lead to some fatigue over
hours of listening. A speaker like the Sonus Faber Grand Piano Domus
might have you melting back into your chair contented. The Xds might
have you sitting on the edge of it.

If only we had access to the DSP itself to program in, say, some extra
warmth or to give a more laid back sound. (This is a DEQX unit, so I
suppose it's not impossible to figure out how to do this.)

For all these frustrating faults and broken promises, I'm very happy
with the sound I'm now getting out of this system. I did not
immediately fall in love with them, and they have never been warm and
cuddly. But in the end I don't need my speakers to give me back rubs,
and I like they way they can pull my attention totally in to the music
for hours at a time.

Product Weakness:	Lack weightier sound of floorstanders. May be fatiguing.
Product Strengths:	Soundstage, imaging, clarity, neutrality, involving presentation.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: NHT XdA, included in Xd system.
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): BAT 3iX
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Cambridge Audio Azur 840C
Speakers: NHT XdS satellites; XdW subwoofer
Cables/Interconnects: Monoprice 16AWG XLR cables; NHT Xd speaker cables
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 24' x 16' x 11'-19'
Room Comments/Treatments: Acoustic panels and Echobuster quarter rounds; wool blankets
Time Period/Length of Audition: 6 months
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	NHT XdA, included in Xd system.
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	BAT 3iX
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Cambridge Audio Azur 840C
Speakers:	NHT XdS satellites; XdW subwoofer
Cables/Interconnects:	Monoprice 16AWG XLR cables; NHT Xd speaker cables
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock
Room Size (LxWxH):	24' x 16' x 11'-19'
Room Comments/Treatments:	Acoustic panels and Echobuster quarter rounds; wool blankets
Time Period/Length of Audition:	6 months
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner