Needs quality power to shine.

NONE

This speaker made it into my all time favorite top 3 list. Right up there with the Magnepan 1.6qr and the Bohlender Radia X3 w/NHT Sub 1. I used an NAD C-350 Integrated Amplifier and with about 90% of my cd collection, the NHT 2.9''s worked flawlessly. On the other 10% of my cd''s, the 2.9''s needed more power. I took a leap of faith, sold the 2.9''s and bought a pair of Bohlender Radia X3''s with an NHT sub 1. Wow !!! I have to say, as much as I loved the 2.9''s, my new combo outperforms in every respect. Oh well, maybe one day I can have both and 2 different stereo rooms to boot. God Bless..Peace...Good Music To All...

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One of every speaker out there !!!

Excellent detail, wide & deep sound stage, precise imaging, excellent base response

Sounds bright&lean frequently, low upper bass/low midrange response, somewhat detached base response.

These speakers sound tremendous. But they have to be played at high volume to get a flatter response out of them. The tonal balance is some what lean and as a result it sound a bit on the bright side. Under close examination, I found that there is a big dip in its upper base/low midrange frequency response, thus, explains the lean balance. These are not for those who like full upper (not fat sounding)base/low midrange, sweet but detail sounding speakers. If you like jazz and have older analog recording, you might as well look else where. These speakers are capable of playing very loud with lots of base and detail. But, the overall tonal characteristic is lean and presentation is some what cold.
NHT had no problem taking these epeakers back even after months of usage. Excellent service.
Later I bought the NHT VT2s, which I found them substancially more natural sounding with great detail and better woofer integration than 2.9's.
Fit and finish is excellent.

Similar Products Used:

NHT 2.5, Super two, super one, VT-2
infinity prelude, Thiel 3.6

Incredible bass when bi-amping.26 hz out of the box.

requires a nuclear power plant to get them to run properly. Sony lovers, you may stop reading at this point uless you are using the STRDA777ES

i have found that you get very good bass detail using an Adcom gfa5006 to power the 10" subs. I am usig the Yamaha Rxv-2095 as the amp for mids and hi's. Even at low volume levels the bass is great. They are a bit deep in length and will require extra space. Great speakers for people who love a wide variety of music

Best speaker under $4,000.

None

Wow! is the first word I can use to describe these awesome speakers. I had the 2.5i's previously and was happy with them but the 2.9's are many steps above them. For $1,900 what can you say about a speaker that can capture ALL of the music. Even my wife, who is not a fan of my spending $$$$ on stereo equipment, was impressed. You'll listen to your favorites over and over as if it was the first time because in actualality it is. These speakers bring out the best audio. You'll hear things you never heard before. If you don't have these speakers you need to go out right now and purchase them.

Similar Products Used:

NHT 2.5i

None so far

>>but sadly the design of these speakers with the woofers pointed inwards, there would be no way of putting these speakers in my bedroom. I wanted to put a set of speakers in between some drawers and therefore needed the woofers to play outwards<<

Ahem, if you switch them (make the L the R and the R the L) they will play outwards?

At retail these rate a 5, a 6 at my price.

David K, no, the side woofers on the NHT 2.9 are designed to sound left & right as manufactured to fit the "Focused Image Geometry" style. Reversing the speakers would cause the radiation pattern to be off balance. The NHT-VT2 is almost like the NHT 2.9, but has a flat frontal face with the same amount of speakers with the woofers reverse. Another difference is that the NHT 2.9 has 4" & 6.5" midranges, while the NHT-VT2 has (2) 5.25 midranges, the 1" tweeter & 10" woofer are the same with either model. Therefore the NHT-VT2 can be reversed, but not the NHT 2.9's, unless of coarse the concern about the main design of the NHT 2.9 "Focused Image Geometry" can be over looked. Right now I am playing "Happy the Man" with the NHT-VT2 from my bedroom connected to a new Krell 300i integrated amp. WOW, I love NHT full range speakers & either the 2.9 or the VT2 are good choices. Peace JD3

Very complete range of freq...a low of 26Hz..excellent overall sound

A bit on the picky side with placement, equipment and accessories. A bit bright on some material.

They look good and sound excellent. The image from these speakers is excellent. The bass it great for music. I would recommend a sub for movies. It has taken some experimentation with equipment, cables and placement to get the sound I wanted (still experimenting actually...it's fun, what can I say). They are worth a listen if you are in the market for speakers in this price range. I would say however, you may find them bright if the dealer does not have them combined properly with equipment and cables.

ATI 1505 amp (very pleased)
Denon 3300 as preamp (works very well..very pleased)
Phase Tech bipolar surrounds (sounds very small)
2 x HSU 1220 subs (will be delivered shortly)
Sony 7700 DVD (works very well..both DVD and CD)
Yamaha CDC 665 (just ok)
Bettercables.com (they are ok, work well theses speakers)
Monster M2.4i (very pleased)

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Lots of stuff.

Fantastic low end........great imaging and definition

Very placement sensitive

Took me several months to get the placement of the speakers correct. I ended up placing them appox. 8 ft. apart, 5 inches off rear wall, 4 feet from either side wall and 11 feet from my listening position. The imaging and soundstage is incredible. Although, sometimes at high volume it sounds as if I am listening to a high quality set of headphones. The left and right separation is so defined.

Also, invested in 20 Ft. of Tara Labs speaker wire and interconnects. The wire allow me to bi-amp from my receiver (Yamaha RXV-995). This helped to calm the high end of the speaker which can be a little bright. Would recommend only high quality cables and interconnect with the 2.9's, they are very sensitive!!

Great, detailed sound. Suited to playing many types of material.

Placement is critical and was hard to get right in my room.

I bought these speakers for use in my Home Theater to replace an inexpensive JBL system. I ended up getting four NHT 2.9's for front and surround L and R, and an AC2 for Center. I did not get 3.3 because it had to be played too loud to work right in my smallish room (20' x 14').

The sound out of these things is very nice, once they are placed right. Lots of details, especially in the mids and highs. The bass is deep, loud and pretty tight, but sometimes the transition from deep bass to higher bass just sounds 'wrong' to me, a little unbalanced. The mids and highs are very clear and defined. The JBL's I had before did were very harsh on the high end, these speakers are crisp, but smooth. These speakers seem to open the soundstage, they project a fairly wide image with precise and deep positioning; it has been a while since I heard 'depth' in the sound. If you do not like subwoofers, which I do not for regular music, these speakers do a nice job of bringing you a full sound without one. I am not bi-amping them, simply no need for it. My amp seems to crank out enough power to suit my needs. If you are in a big room, you will however need a big amp.

I ended up placing the front speakers about 10" from the front wall, about 24" from the wall on the right, and about 36" from the wall on the left. Between them is a projection TV with about 18" between speakers and TV; I turned them about 15 degrees towards the outside wall to get a nice and even sound. In the back, the speakers are about 6" from the rear wall, and on straight lines with the front speakers, also at about a 15 degree angle. After I slightly turned the speakers to the 15 degree angle, the bass response became much smoother and more 'real'.

If you have a poor amp or source player, or poor source material... You will hear it. I happen to like that, but many people do not. If the CD is mixed a little bright, you will hear it. If there are musical errors in a performance, or if the mix is a little funky, you will hear it. As I said, I like that, but be prepared for others to comment on this. If you play good stuff on good equipment, be prepared to be amazed. With the volume just a little bit up, I think these are some of the best speakers in this price range I have heard.

In the case of home theater, which this system ends up being used for a lot, the advantage of good surround sound is... Well.. It makes the experience. I really enjoy my DVD's a lot more now. Be warned that the crossover, driver array, cabinet and therefor the 'sound' of the AC2 is different, and IMO inferior, to the 2.9; I can hear a difference, it sounds more bright to me, which I do not like. I wish I could use a single 2.9 as the center, but for many reasons that will not work. I run all speakers as large, since it seems to give the most balanced sound, with no level boosts or cuts. I have a Velodyne FSR12 that I use with these; took a bit to get the combination to 'sound' right (Largely due to the damn preamp!), but the combo sounds very sweet now. The system will 'blow you away' and really do a good job of creating 'reality'. But again, on a DND that is poorly done, you will probably notice it is poorly done.

Finally, these are the first speakers I have ever bought that got the "Oh! Nice!" reaction from my spouse... They are nice to look at and do not take up too much space. To me, that was a nice response, one I had never heard before when I brought speakers home.

Niels.

Amps: Sony TA-E9000ES and TA-N9000ES (See review)
CD Player: Numerous, Sony, Pioneer, Phillips
Cables: Monster for speakers, AudioQuest for the rest

Similar Products Used:

B&H, JBL, Infinity speakers.

Excellent sound quality in an attractive design.

These speakers are the bomb.. I dare you to find a more realistic speaker for under $2000. Make sure you have a lot of power to run these babies. They are power hungry.
"Best bang for the buck" slogan was made for these 2.9's.