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Re: Is The NHT T- 5 A Stupid Design ?

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Godzilla.

(A)

In Reply to: Re: Is The NHT T- 5 A Stupid Design ? posted by Ozzy on October 19, 2005 at 08:18:02:

Haha... it looks to me that they wanted to stick as many drivers into the box as they could. I'm sure it sounds fine the way it is. But i was trying to say i think the product is over engineered to accomodate the drivers and their positioning and may likely sound better if it were a simpler design. Some of their other speakers are simpler designs.
If NHT felt a driver on the rear or on top/bottom would help them sell more speakers they would put one there too. The woofers on the lower cabinets are on the sides only to accomodate the design of stacking the monitors on top... they can claim sonic advantages but basically, i believe, they designed the cabinets and then figured what drivers to put into them.
Thus, they sound fine... but probably could sound even bettah.
Peace.
Godzilla

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You have a point, but here's where you're wrong..... - John Ashman 13:56:45 10/19/05 (3)
The M5/M6 concept is a unique one. The question being "how could we make a speaker that functions well as a left, right AND center and how do we take any downsides and work it to our advantage?"
Looking at it as a center speaker, the layout is ideal. Good midrange dispersion, high output, low profile. Way better than an MTM. But as a left/right speaker, it would have some potential issues. But NHT has long moved the tweeter around on the front baffle in order to get the sound and imaging they wanted, at least on mirror imaged speakers. Sometimes on the outside, sometimes on the inside.
The M5/M6 simply "aim" the best sound part of the midrange/tweeter overlap at the person furthest away from the speaker on the couch. The speaker is actually about 1-2dB hotter about 20-30 degrees to the inside than it is directly in front of it throughout the upper mid/lower treble. To the outside, near the wall, it's actually *down* about 10-12dB. That means less sidewall reflection. And that means more consistent sound in asymmetrical or overly reverberant rooms.
AND, you get a less expensive product. If these had to be mirror imaged, individually labeled and all that? It would probably add about $50-$100 to the price. So, they were able to take a design with some potential issues, make lemonaide out of lemons and keep the price low at the same time.
Is it perfect? No. It will sound better in mediocre to bad rooms than most speakers will. But maybe sound a bit more closed in or lack some of the precise imaging of other speakers in an ideal room. Still, it's accurate, low distortion, has a wide sweetspot, deep bass and a lot of output, something most speakers in its price range can't do. It is measurably one of the most accurate speakers ever made, consistently measuring +/-1.5dB from top to bottom.
The Classic Four has a vertically stacked midrange/tweeter array and goes for very wide dispersion. It will sound more open in a bigger, better room and also image more precisely, while still having a wide sweetspot. BUT, it will be more easily thrown off by a rooms asymmetry or a bright room with too much reverberation.
So, each design will work better than the other in a different environment. Unlike most companies, NHT actually assumes less than ideal setup in a less than ideal room.
- From what you describe.... - Ozzy 16:07:56 10/19/05 (1)
  ....it sounds like an ok design for a home theater enthusiast. Doesn't interest me though.
  Oz
  - Correct - John Ashman 17:33:34 10/19/05 (0)
    Again, it's a problem-solving compromise, but an effective one that works in more rooms and setups.
    The new Four has virtually no compromise in the speaker but will be more critical about placement.
    You have to select the one that matches your room and ability to set up properly.
    Still, having sold a few dozen T5s, I can tell you it's an awesome speaker for the money, even with its clever compromises. The compromises would be far more objectionable in a $5K or $10K speaker. I've not had any problem selling them at $2500. Other speakers in that range are compromised in bass quality/depth, output, accuracy, adjustability. Every speaker has compromise. Even them newfangled digikal ones. :-)
- Re: You have a point, but here's where you're wrong..... - Godzilla. 15:32:07 10/19/05 (0)
  Thanks. It's kinda neat to see how the engineers took the time to consider all this stuff. Neato.

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