I have had a chance to listen to the NHT 2.5i's. Amazing!!! I had a pair of paradigm Montor 7. Descent speaker for the cash, but to bassy. These are perfect. Beleive it or not, but I networked my ass into a pair for $400.00!!!!!I picked up a Sony 50es, was skeptical at first on the receiver, but the NHT 2.5i's make it sound like a heavenly choir. Make the chance and check 'em out. NHT has great speakers for the buck, though I think that they have better music speakers for music/movies, than they do theater speaker for movies/music.

I am thinking about purchase NHT 2.5i or the NHT VT 1.2. Because the price is about the same. I really don't know which one to choose. I didn'ttest listen the VT 1.2 at the show room. It sounds great. But I know that its all about compareson. Either the 2.5i or the VT 1.2
is going to cost me about a grand. I don't want to regrate after I made the decision.
So, please. If anyone heard both speaker systems, please post a review to tell me (and may be many others ) whcih speaker
system to buy between NHT 2.5i and NHT VT 1.2.
Thank you.

airy, detailed, dynamic, involving speakers...excel with small ensemble jazz and rock

surprisingly (despite Focused Image Geometry) rather difficult to set up.

For the money, and for my musical preferences, and still going into shops to get a quick listen to new speakers out there, every time I come home, I am happy with the choice I made buying these speakers...

I listened to the NHT 2.9's against the 2.5i's, and yes, they were marginally better (and worse, in some ways), but they were too big, and cost almost double what the 2.5i's did, so I made my decision, and do not regret it...I think to make a significant improvement in the same direction of exciting, involving sound, you would have to throw down $3499 on the Dynaudio 1.8 mk2's, or worse, $4300 on the NHT 3.3's (both, unfortunately, are out of my budget, and even more unfortunate, I had the opportunity to hear...damn they're really good)

A word on placement...

When I first got these speakers, I experimented alot with placement, toe in, and seperation from the back wall. I lined them up according to the Image Focus Geometry, but they sounded thin and hard that way, so I thought, to hell with suggestions, and toyed around with them for about a week, and finally found the ideal set up for my room. I pulled them in closer about four inches on each side to the center, toed them out slightly (the planes of both sides meeting slightly behind my head), and placed them about 6-8 inches from the back wall, and viola! Magic happened. The midrange filled in, the treble blended more smoothly, and the mid-bass filled in nicely. Oddly enough, when I talked to my dealer about how he set his up (he owns a pair in his bedroom), I asked him how he set them up, and surprisingly, he had them set up, almost to the inch, exactly how I set mine up (except he didn't try toing them out, which I suggested to him, he tried, and thanked me for)

The thing I like most about these speakers is that they are HONEST! Of the music, but more importantly, of the equipment used to play the music on. That sounds as though I'm condoning putting the equipment ahead of the music, but I'm not. It actually makes shopping for equipment easier. If you need a new amp or receiver, for example, these speakers will tell you what that equipment sounds like. For the money, it is rare to find such an honest speaker, that has any appreciable bass output below 60hz. Once you have them, all you have to worry about is buying the right equipment to taylor them to your taste (Oh, BTW, to all the reports on these speakers being power hungry, I ran these off a Denon mini system for 4 months while I saved up money for better equipment, and they sounded just fine on 30 watts into 4 ohms...though they sound much better now)

All in all, I'd rather have an HONEST speaker than a colored one. If the sound is too bright on an honest speaker, you can swap equipment to make them sound smoother. On a colored speaker, they're is nothing you can change to make them sound UNcolored. And, as I said, for the money, you're not likely to find a more honest speaker.

Suggestions for NHT 2.5i owners...

for beautiful music on the cheap, find a pair of Dynaco ST70's, and run them in stereo bi-amp form. At most, it will run you about $600, but it will be the best $600 you spend on your system. I've ran my 2.5's like this for a year now...HEAVENLY!!! (Plus, you can start with one, then as funds allow, buy the second)

And, lastly, for those of you who absolutely HATE the way these speakers sound...

Check out Spendor's line of speakers...these are the only speakers I've heard that, hearing them, I know they're colored, they have flaws, but damn they just make music sound intoxicating. Female singers sound like love goddesses coming out of these boxes!

Thank you all for enduring what has been a far too self indulgent and lengthy review.

Similar Products Used:

PSB Stratus Silver(older version), Energy C-8's, Martin Logan Aerius

Amazing imaging, ability to dissapear in the room, any wife would be happy to decorate around this speaker

Sensitivity to placement (this has became fun to me)

Every where you read on the net, you are hearing about "value for the money"! In my past experience most of these reviews seem to place too much emphasis in the value and not enough on the performance of the gear. I will admit, I am tight with my money and don't normally buy any new gear ( I usually wait for someone with a little more income than me get talked out of satisfaction with a piece and snatch it away from them @ a steal). I was so intrigued by the NHT 2.5i, I could not wait for a used pair. Usually I buy and sell most of my gear with in a 8 months. and the NHT's aren't going anywhere. I have used these speakers with an Adcom GFA 555 amp, and tried 3 preamps (Adcom GFP 500, Dynaco PAT 5, and Sonic Froniters tube). Recently I boutht a Marantz PM17 to run these speakers, and I must say they do need more power than 60 wpc for outstanding performance. The 2.5i's told the true story is all of these components. I wish all the components I have worked with in the past showed such honesty. If so, it would have saved me a lot of buying and selling. By the way, my wife wouldn't let me get rid of these speakers, she has decorated our entire living are around them...That's saying something, she donated all of my other furiture to the Salvation Army.
If you are looking for the best, most attractive speaker you can find for under $5000. save some time and pick up the NHT 2.5i.

Similar Products Used:

I listend to every thing from B&W to entry level Aerials, nothing less than $5000 a pair will compete

Beautifully honest reproduction; tight, deep bass; beautiful and unique design, just plain fun to listen to!

Placement is as touchy as many have said (but hey, isn't playing with your gear half the fun?!)

There's just not more that I can add to what has already been said about these speakers. I really agree with the three posts previous to mine - these reviews pretty much echoed my own experience and pleasure with these speakers.

All I can add is this:

I started upgrading my system ass-backwards - starting with the speakers and moving upstream rather than the reverse. (It made sense at the time). I'd been running a Kenwood 1080 Dolby Digital receiver rated at 100 wpc (yeah, right) for a couple of years through some Boston Acoustics bookshelf speakers fortified with my M&K V-125 powered sub. For a couple of years I was satisfied, but finally got the "bug". My Boston's were the oldest component in my system, so I went shopping for speakers first. After a couple of months of research - which included copious user reports from this web site - the NHT's just kept beating the competition. So, I roared out and picked up a pair, and voila - new life was breathed into my Kenwood! Shoot, even that piece of junk sounded half-decent when hooked up to these fine speakers.

But, that's where I was "forced" (OK, twist my arm!) to upgrade the rest of my system. I knew the 2.5's were worth any investment I made upstream, and so far I've proven that assumption correct.

These speakers ARE power hogs - make no mistake. My Kenwood could make noise through them, but at noticeably lower volume than the much more sensitive Boston Acoustics.

I quickly came to realize that these speakers have a real distinct personality: They are cocky - they are good, they know they're good and they can back it up, and if you put a wimpy amplifier upstream they will push back. What they need is an amplifier with authority - something with plenty of juice (200 wpc) and authority (75-100 amps of peak current) to throw them around and show them who's boss. Like a prized mustang, once broken and brought under control, these speakers perform honestly, efficiently, robustly, and to the TOTAL delight of the owner.

With my Kenwood, they were detailed, but somewhat brassy and the bass was at times a bit out of control (not enough juice). Now, I'm running a B&K Reference 20 pre/pro through a Sherbourn 5/1500 amp (5 discreet channels, 200 wpc), and these speakers behave WONDERFULLY. The bass is so precise, and so tight, and the mids and highs are just amazing. I love these speakers!

I've still got my M&K Sub in the loop for 2-channel stereo, but I have it's crossover set only for frequencies below 50 hz to pick up where the NHT's just start to roll off. The NHT's are rated to 29 hz, and do a beautiful job reproducing typical deep bass found in music just fine, so I have the M&K in the loop just to back them up for those really deep passages, and for movies.

OK, I'm vomitting at the fingertips here - sorry. In summary, these are an absolutely beautiful speaker, and you will likely enjoy them for years to come. They have earned a cornerstone status in my system, and my living room. (BTW - my wife loves the look of 'em, too!)

My system:
Nakamichi CR-4 Cassette
Pioneer DV-05 DVD
B&K Reference 20 pre/pro
Sherbourn 5/1500 amplifier
NHT 2.5i main channels
NHT AC-1 center channel
Definitive bi-polar surrounds
M&K V-125 powered subwoofer
Bettercable interconnects and Bi-Wired speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Boston Acoustics

By far the most neutral speaker in it's price range

Needs quality amplification to sound it's best (read:$$$). Soundstage wider than deep. Not an easy loudspeaker to drive.

These are great, very neutral, speakers. They're also watt hungry and very picky about source amplification. I first listened to them through a denon receiver and thought they sounded terrible, I honestly don't understand how so many people here enjoy similar setups. The sound was hard and distant, no body or enjoyment at all.

That being said, I also listened to the speakers via SimAudio and Arcam amplification and loved it. I haven't heard a speaker in this price range that showed the sonic characteristics of an amplifier so well, and to my ears it easily out classed Paradigm's Studio 20 and B&W dm602s2. Also keep in mind that this is NOT an easy load for an amp, and from NHT's spec sheet the impedence curve is all over the place. I've also tried to drive it with my NAD c340 (50w/ch, 170watts peak into 4 ohms) and the speakers were lifeless.

My suggestion? Only buy these speakers if you're willing to spend at least their purchase price on amplification, as well as have a decent source. Personally I went with the PSB Stratus Bronze due to the fact that it's not nearly as demanding a speaker and it's also a little more forgiving.

My system (ever changing)

Adcom GCD700 (AQ Ruby)
NAD C540 (Wireworld Atlantis)->On it's way out
NAD C340 (AQ Jumper Cables)
PSB Stratus Bronze (Tara Labs RSC 1000 Bi-Wire)
Grado SR-60 headphones
cheap Technic's TT Heavily Modified & Grado Green Cart
NAP pp-1 Phono stage (AQ Jade)
Monster Cable HTS 2500 line conditioner
Various cones, sand bags, dampened chassis on source components, other assorted tweaks.

Similar Products Used:

PSB Stratus Bronze, Paradigm Studio 60, B&W dm602s2

great bass eye appeal

none to me

well what can i say these babies rock.i have used lots of speakers.and none have sounded like the nht's.is very tough for speakers to reproduce the bass in salsa merengue.the nht's do i't with no strains at all.for the price that i paid $650.00.in mint condition i cannot go wrong.if you like your music loud and clear these are i't.if you like other type of music.classical jazz not being biased.go for other brands.b&w etc. MY SYSTEM.....SONY 555es receiver.nht 2.5i audiocenter1 1.5i

Similar Products Used:

b&w cambridge soundworks kef infinity

Transparent, revealing, great bass.

Needs power around 100wpc to appreciate. Not kind to poorly recorded CD's.

For the money, I haven't heard a speaker that sounds as good as the NHT 2.5i. It's very transparent with a sound stage that extends outside the speakers. It's very revealing of the source. If you have a CD that you like, but wasn't recorded well, these speakers will reveal everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. I originally purchased these as part of a Home Theater (HT) set-up. I sold most of the HT components for high end stereo components: Audio Research LS-16 pre-amp, Meridian 508.24 CD player and Plinius SA 100 MKIII amp. The NHT 2.5i sounded awesome with this gear. I've listended to numerous speakers (using the same three tracks on my reference cd's) that cost two to four times as much. Each time I did, I was amazed at how much I liked the NHT 2.5i speakers. I would come home and play the same tracks and begin to smile that the NHT's sounded as good (or better) than those that cost around $4000. These can be found used for around $750. If you're looking for a great sounding, uncolored speaker with great bass for under $1400 (new). Please listen to the NHT 2.5i before you buy anything.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Vandersteens, Maggies, etc.

Articulate Sound, Good Imaging, Great Finish

Need clean power & can be bright

Overall, I found these speakers to be an exceptional value. Anyone who is looking for near audiophile quality on an enthusiast budget should see first hand what NHT has to offer.

Auditioned a pair Sonus Concertos and Vienna Haydn and found the NHT to be a better balance of music and home theater. While I liked the Viennas best of all for midrange, the NHTs offered more low end and a more cinematic experience when my favorite action movie was playing. (However, I would agree with the other reviewers in saying that a separate sub really makes the NHTs complete)

I would rate brightness on a scale of 1-10 (where 5 is neutral): 6.0.

Bass, soundstage, imaging. Built well. Small footprint. Great for movies and music!

Finicky set-up

I bought these about one month ago and enjoy every minute with them. It was a tough decision. I've listened to Vienna Bachs, Paradigm Reference, Steens, SuperTwos, and B&W. I choose the 2.5's mainly because the sound when playing music. There is something about their characteristic sound that was perfect for me. I can blast Metallica for hours or listen to a Chesky disk with ample enjoyment. They're not perfect but for the money, I felt they had the best value. They sound their best when challanged

I didn't expect what I heard when watching movies and that's without a DVD player. These things whale! Some might want an external sub for HT but I find them adequate.

I'm using a Denon 3300 right now and I think the match is right on! Take a listen!

Similar Products Used:

Vandersteen 2I's