Blobb

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Summary:
I´ve had these for a year now, and all I can say is WOW!! I´ve had many speakers more expensive than these, but these are outstanding. Dynamic and powerful and with an incdredible clarity. They need a powerful amp, but thats how it works, great speakers needs juice.

Strengths:
EVERYTHING!! This speaker is just amazing.

Weaknesses:
Needs quality amp/cd.

Similar Products Used:
Krell, Nad, Sony, KEF.

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from local dealer

Summary:
I was originally shopping for a smaller speaker like NHT 1.5 which around my budget but saw the 2.9 and though I demo this for the heck. Well, I end up increasing my budget and was glad that I bought these speakers. The 2.9 sounded very detailed which made Diana Krall CD sounded more lively compared to my old speakers. Will not get any other speakers. Another speaker that I demoed is Dynaudio which produces somewhat better musical balance reproduction than NHT, but NHT does not cost $18,000 on sale which made NHT 2.9 an easy choice. Just make sure you have good clean amp with plenty of juice, good interconnect and correct placement of speakers and you will have a speaker that sounded like the other higher price brands for fraction of the cost.

Strengths:
Smoothness of sound.

Weaknesses:
Need good amp power to bring out more bass, but then performance always requires juice.

Similar Products Used:
B&W, Polk, Bose (sucks).

Price Paid:  $1475.00 from university audio

Summary:
This is an update/revision of a previous review. Because of my changes with my cd player and amplifier, I have now fell in love with these speakers. They are bar none, the best speakers I have auditioned or owned under 8K. I am now using a 54lb Sony ES F-808ES Integrated Amplifier (100wpc) and a ton of current. For my cd player I have a Sony ES X707 ES (champaign finish/rosewood sides), incredibly musical and non-fatiging combo. Nordost Flatline gold bi-wire. Plus 6 plug in the wall power line filters, with a hospital grade, isolated ground outlet. Yes, all of this makes a difference. A night and day one at that. That said, my room has also improved. I now have nothing between the speakers (very essential), 26" from the back wall, 24" from each side wall, the speakers are 8 feet apart, and I sit 12 feet away. A near perfect setup. I have the NHT's each sitting on 2 18" concrete plinths (1" thick each), with real spikes(not that crap from the factory). My Sony ES cd player and Sony ES Integrated amplifier are sitting on 2 16x16 ceremic plates and 3 18" concrete plinths each. (all of this thanks to the "Home Depot". Please dont waist your money on these so called audiophile stands that cost hundreds. I spent $45 total at "Home Depot" for all isolation needs. Once all of this was setup, I performed the ultimate test for dynamics "ENYA" CD. Needless to say, I was more impressed hearing this cd than any system I have ever heard. These speakers need a lot of space, care to detail's on positioning, amplification, power conditioners, isolation ects. For serious listening I would recommed that the grills be left off. And for late night listening try replacing your regular bulbs with those orange flicker lights. An incredible effect with my pair of sycamore finish NHT 2.9's. I could go on about all of the strenghts, but that would take hours. All I have to say is "Peace" and thankyou NHT for making speakers that compete with the best out there.

Strengths:
DYNAMICS !!! Smooth and coherent from top to bottom. Neutral midrange, detailed highs, and powerfull accurate bass that goes down very deep. This speaker has it all.

Weaknesses:
They need high quality power (100wpc min) with lots of current. They also need a very good front end (cd player). Smooth sounding components sound the best.

Similar Products Used:
MAGNEPAN,PARADIGM REF., NHT, SONY ES, B&W, ROMAN AUDIO ECT....

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from One Call

Summary:
I wasn't going to post a review but after reading almost every one of the reviews for the NHT 2.9s I felt compelled. While overall the reviews are flattering I have noticed some comments that I wanted to express my opinion about. First of All I will say that I own a pair of 2.9s and am completely in Love with them. I will not be in the market for new speakers any time soon, if ever, (Unless I win the lottery and can suddenly afford some Pipedreams). My gripe with some of the reviews is regarding the comments that the 2.9s are a bit bright and/or lacking in bass. I do not find this to be the case. What I do believe these people are experiencing is issues with source components and cables. The NHT 2.9s are so accurate and truthfull for a speaker of such meager cost in the world of Hi End audio components that even the interconnects you use affect the sound. With the right amplification the 2.9s have extremely good bass and are more than adequate for even home theater;(I had a sunfire sub in my system and took it out because it wasn't needed),(My amp is a Parasound HCA3500 @ 350 watts per channel). If you are going to use only one amp you need to bi-wire the 2.9s and you need more power than most receivers will deliver. On the subject of their brightness; the source components and speaker/interconnect cables have alot to do with whether or not they sound bright. The most important thing, in my opinion, is to have source components with very high quality D/A converters. These speakers need very high quality components driving them in order for them to reach their potential; They are if anything unforgiving and too revealing, if that's possible. I've listened to alot of speakers through the years and have owned several different brands; I do studio recording and live sound engineering from time to time. I think the 2.9's are a steal for the money. No speaker is perfect, and many speakers are better suited for entry-level systems than these, but for high quality playback systems you'd be hard pressed to own a better set of speakers than NHT's 2.9s.

Strengths:
Accuracy, Detail, Impact, Imaging, Overall sound quality.

Weaknesses:
As other people have stated they need a powerful amp. Additionally they are sensitive to the quality of your source components.

Similar Products Used:
JBL, Definitive, Boston Acoustic, Mission, Peavey, Tannoy

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from cousins

Summary:
I've owned the 2.9's now for about a year. I'm not one to write reviews however I feel this one is worthy of submitting. First these speakers are arguably one of the best sounding speakers in their class for the buck. Everyone here knows that hearing is subjective, if you like a speaker that emphasizes the high end a little and is very neutral through the midrange and has outstanding bass this may be the speaker for you. After a lot of research into different speakers; b&w, definitive research, infinity, and some other luzury names I settled on these. You might say these speakers made a bit of an audiophile of me. Soon after I purchased the 2.9's I quickly learned that I needed more power which led to buying a new a/v receiver and amp. Of course since I really enjoy h/t I needed a new dvd player, and nht sb-2's for the rear, an ar-2c center channel, velodyne hgs 12 sub, some very expensive cable, sony wega 40xbr, let me see am I forgetting something, oh yes monster hts 3500 power conditioner and the next thing you know old average Joe here has a 17,000 h/t system. Now don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that I'v gotten way off track here. I guess in some cathartic way I'm rationalizing the lunacy for the quest of the holy grail of h/t. May I submit it is not necessary to go broke for nice sound and vision. Do your homework and be diligent, and when you think you found the best deal, wait just a little longer because a better one is always out there. To sum up the nht 2.9's are great speakers. I've heard a lot of different ones, and these are special, albeit power hungry. NHT has packed a lot of great technology in this speaker which gives it wonderful sound stanging and imaging, clarity and detail is top notch, and all this in a attractive package (mahogany). All in all, pretty terrific value, when admittedly you can spend a lot more.

Strengths:
sound stage, and detail

Weaknesses:
somewhat power hungry, not effecient

Similar Products Used:
advent, infinity, defenitive research