HTholic

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $150.00 from bestbuy

Summary:
First of all these speakers are not audiophile speakers but they perform really well.
Hook these up to a good receiver such as Yamaha, Denon, HK, Pioneer Elite, Onkyo, etc... and you will be satisfied. crystal clear sound specialy in movies. Not the best bass but fixed with a sub and still these babys go down to 40hz. In their price range theyre the best. When i first bought the speaker I had a crappy sony receiver and was not satisfied at all but when i replace it with my yamaha rx-v1400 i was amazed how good these spekers sounded only by upgrading the receiver. I had these since 2001 and no need to replace them yet.

Strengths:
crystal clear sound, aluminum drivers,best performance in their price range

Weaknesses:
not bi-wiring

Similar Products Used:
JBL, Bose(stay away from these), Polk, Cerwin, ward field, AR, definitive tech(the best)

Price Paid:  $299.00 from Sears

Summary:
I posted earlier as Joseph Crosse and needed to post again as a correction to my earlier post. Due to restrictions on this website i COULD NOT POST AGAIN UNDER MY REAL NAME. Sorry, I apologize for this follow up post....I realized that the NS-A100X is completely different from what I own. I own the Yamaha NS-A100XT and my posted review would apply to that model of tower speaker enclosure. The NS-A100X is a smaller enclosure using only one poly 5&1/4" Midrange/woofer not found in the tower enclosure and a microcell tweeter. The NS-A100XT has two 6" Polypropelene woofers with inverted aluminum dustcaps, one 4" Poly midrange with inverted aluminum dustcap and one aluminum dome tweeter in a ported bass reflex enclosure. Unfortunately I think several of the other posts were confused as to model number as well. In fact the only one that may have been dead on with the review was the one comparing it to PC mutimedia speakers.
I never heard the NS-A100X and would assume by the picture of it on the Yamaha web site that they would sound horrible. The small enclosure and the plastic housing would make it a very low end speaker and on a level with PC speakers. I would never use them in Home Audio. Maybe for ambiance as outdoor speakers on the "B" selector for my amps. Otherwise I would avoid them. It's a shame about the Yamaha model naming schema. It confused a lot of us for this review.

I really don't know what to value rate these, so I'm putting 3 and overall 3 so as not to affect the review average. Hopefully in time the posted reviews for the NS-A100X can be sorted and applied under the correct Model of Speaker.

Strengths:
Correction to earlier Post

Weaknesses:
Sorry

Similar Products Used:
Ditto

Price Paid:  $299.00 from Sears

Summary:
Gee, what can I say. There really isn't the one loudspeaker that answers everyone's needs in terms of the full spectrum of acoustics we all demand. I used to compete in IASCA car audio competitions and applied the theories I learned there to Home audio, soundstaging and timing. The best systems component wise are mixed analog and digital, but this doesn't apply to speakers, especially if you want to do the job of sound staging in the home theater. My Home theater already consisted of several matched speaker sets of different manufacturers for their inherent qualities. IE...Klipse handles dynamic range transitions better than the Polks, but the Bass punch of the Polks are better, AR and Kenwood produce good highs to midrange and the mix of polycoated and paper cones gives a good dynamic fill, Infinity gives great midrange to bass, Sony poly's give good fill for surround but were to much for the front left to right staging. All aimed and directed at different angles, at walls, floors or cielings around the room for the right ambiance and excellent acoustic dynamic range and timing.

I used the NS-A100X to replace a front set of 8" Sony loudspeaker enclosures that were too boomy in the bass area. For my home theater this made dialog sound to deep and throaty...so in come the Yamahas along with the center and surrounds to voice-match and compliment the existing brands already in the theater. I went with the 6" model to eliminate the bass booming into dialog. This filled the gap for dialog and staging to compliment the other existing sets of speakers in the room. (It's a BIG room)

So in a nutshell I'd say that if you're looking for speakers that are good in the midrange to highs then this is a good pair to go for at this price. And understandably at this price you can't expect it to be the one single answer acoustically. If you want a little more bass then you'll need to look at the 8" NS-A200X sister model. Keep in mind that either model is best accompanied by a Subwoofer...in my case that's four in my HT. For the money I got what I wanted and that was a pair of loundspeakers to compliment what I already have. If anyone is interested in buying these you will need to get a sub, preferably powered, and a voice matched set of yamaha center and surrounds. Which, In my opinion is the right way to do home theater anyway. Then If you're looking to make the dive into HT and are on a budget, what the other reviewers before me said about these speakers as a pair on their own will not apply.

After all, think about it. They're asking these speakers to do it all. These speakers only have 6" drivers. They can't possibly do it all. But, they do cover the midrange to Highs very well and although lacking in the bass area they are good quality for the money and will provide good staging, imaging and dialog transitions from L to R, R to L. Just remember to buy a sub to provide the sub-bass and LFE's you'll want on a discrete channel anyway!!!!

I reccommend them for anyone looking for quality speakers on a budget, provided you get a full sattelite set to match, and for the pure audiophile looking for complimentary speakers that provide the missing ingredient in the Mid to High areas for their already existing setup. I do not reccommend these as the only pair of speakers by themselves to perform in home audio.

In case you're wondering. I have multiple amplifiers running in my HT setup, some are dedicated to a single speaker or pairs, others are running the full 5.1 format and complimented with Dolby Pro Logic amps for the EX rear matrix signals offered on some DVD's now. DI-poles and Bipoles don't apply. A classic Mono-pole mix of properly placed separates are the way to go. The Yamahas are running off a 5.1 configuration complimenting Klipse running off a 5.1 config, Polk running off a Dolby Pro Logic config, AR,Kenwoods and Sony running off paired or single dedicated amps. Overkill...no, just right for me. And it sounds so good. Thank you Yamaha for the affordable addition to fill the gap.

Strengths:
Different look with satin grey Grill, Good price for additional stage acoustics.

Weaknesses:
Not enough Bass, That's O.K. if this is an addition to existing speackers

Similar Products Used:
AR, Polk, Kenwood, Sony, Infinity, Klipse loudspeakers and surrounds in different combos.

Summary:
now, i know that i have used better than these, but i was trying to help my fried find a good inexpensive pair of speakers. he had listened to my PSB's and realized how badly he needed an upgrade.

first off, they look really lame. i know a speaker's appearance isnt everything, but still, they need to at least look decent. these just looked silly.

when we listened to these our jaws dropped. i have heard computer speakers sound better (these are just louder...). there was NO bass even though they had dual 8" woofers! the aluminum cones were a BAD idea. aluminum is great for tweeters, but not for low end. in addition to the HORRIBLE bass, they had acceptable midrange, and TINNY highs. the highs were muffled, and unclear.

there were absolutely NO separation between frequencies. all in all, for $300 or so (i saw them at best buy for $400), there is no way i would buy them. i would only buy them for $100 or UNDER. there is MUCH better out there, (DCM or some sony's). these just didnt have ANY good points except for maybe the midrange, which still wasnt any reason to buy them.

Strengths:
NONE

Weaknesses:
everything

Similar Products Used:
PSB, Klipsch

Price Paid:  $299.00 from best buy

Summary:
I had these speakers and some klh 9915's and together the sound was missing something. So I baught some yamaha nsa 1738's, moved the klh's out and wow, what a difference!These nsa 100x's, along with the 1738's sound great together. Bass is lacking a bit, but for the money a good choice. I would recommend these speakers to others on a budget.

Strengths:
price, midrange, highs

Weaknesses:
week on bass

Similar Products Used:
yamaha nsa 1738's