Good looks(black piano),nice open sound with big bass.

A little on the bright side.

Purchased along with a NHT center 1 for use in my main a/v system. They work very nicely for home theater. My Yamaha 2095 can push them to levels that are beyond what the normal person would use. However, for music they are somewhat on the bright side with the Yamaha. Solved that problem with a nice Tandberg TR2075 Mark II, setup in the same system. Music is much warmer, with considerable depth. I had been using a set of Mission 774's in this system, but they were totally lacking in bass, and I did not enjoy using the subwoofer for music. The NHT's solved that nicely. They make a wonderful home theater speaker and absolutely must be matched with the NHT center 1. By the way, the 2075 has no problem pushing these speakers. You just need a quality amp that can handle the low impedance loads that these are rated for, 6 to 3 ohms. Remember, it's not size, but quality that counts!!

Similar Products Used:

Epos, Mission, and Boston

Nearly full range sound, impressive bass for 8" drivers, neutrality

Still a tad bright, bass sounds a little exaggerated at times (very infrequent)

The NHT 2.5i's are a great pair of speakers. I upgraded from a 1.5/sub combo--they are a dramatic improvement in terms of integration. The sound is much fuller and more balanced with the addition of the 8" woofer, so it seems much less bright than the 1.5. There still is a little too much in the high frequency range, but it's really not bad except on some particularly trebly recordings.

I compared the 2.5i to the 2.9, and I could not justify spending twice as much for the 2.9 because the improvement in sound was not that significant. The main difference I could tell was that the 2.9 had smoother bass response with less of a tendency to boom or sound artificially boosted.

I believe the Paradigm Reference Studios are very competitive with the NHT line, but it really comes down the the buyer's preference. The Paradigms don't have quite as much of an edge to their sound, and their aesthetics are more traditional with the availability of wood veneer.

In any case, the 2.5i's are a very good pair of speakers, and I won't be upgrading for a long time, or at least until I can afford speakers that will make a substantial improvement in sound. Highly recommended for anyone who's looking for affordable, awesome sounding floorstanding speakers.

Similar Products Used:

NHT 1.5, 2.9, Paradigm Studio 20, 80

This pair is being used as part of a 2-channel, audio-only digital system.
The contenders were: B&W CDM1SE, B&W Matrix 804, Magnepan 10.1, Paradigm Studio 60's.

I just want to say a few things in short about the runners up. The Magnepans by far had a deeper soundstage and the natural, open sound many rave about. Unfotunately, people are also right about the apparent lack of bass. Not only that, but it's very hard to mate them with a subwoofer (seemlessly, anyway). This, in addition to the high placement requirements and a very small sweetspot made me shy away. The Studio 60's were clean but a little too exciting for my taste - it seemed to over emphasise things a bit more than I like. Can't really explain. The CDM1 SEs are beautiful speakers in every respect. They have a glorious midrange - perhaps a little too glorified. They also have an overly warm sound. So if you have bright electronics, you'd like these. They are very natural but place a lot of emphasis on their strong suite - the mids. Nothing wrong with that. Then there's the Matrix 804. The CDM1 SEs sound warmer than these. But these speakers are what I call "live" speakers. They bring the music to life quite effectively - opening up the sound. They are very natural. But for some reason, I found them a tad bright. Sound stageing is awesome, but again - bright and fatiguing.

The NHT 2.5is have great soundstaging and imaging. Placement is not so much an issue as it is with the B&Ws and the planars. Bass is great - nice and flat, down to the really low freqs. The mids are not quite as sweet as the B&Ws, but they are accurate. The highs are open and sweet. It's hard to fault this speaker when used with the right equipment. They really are very transparent. But they are not as merciless as some would say - at least not with my setup. Bad disks sound really bad, but not as bad as with some of the others that are less touted as being so accurate.

I listen to A LOT of jazz, some funk and a little pop/rock. I find that, with my setup, they excell in jazz. Every instrument [because of the speakers' neutrality] is given equal opportunity to be heard and shine. These are characterless speakers. No colour. No glorification. Personally, this is what I like. Some like a coloured sound, and that's perfectly OK. Smooth, detailed, accuracy is my aim - and these speakers do the job with my setup more effectively than the others.

The bottom line: If you want excellent, transparent speakers that show only your source and power componwent's character and seize out as much as you can from your source, then these are a good choice. If you like your music very warm and (nothing wrong with that), then look elsewhere. Also, make sure you mate these with fine components or you're in for a lot of disappointment.

Remember, matching components well is far more important than any individual (vaccuumed) assessment.

for reference:

Integrated Amp - Roksan Caspian
Source - Marantz 67SE
w/ Transparent Inter and Kimber Kable

4 stars.

Imaging, midrange

Way too much booming bass

I had these speakers for 4 days before I had to return them. The lower bass was so exagerated that I just couldn't stand listening to them for long periods. The midrange, highs and imaging were perfect. So what I did was buy the NHT 1.5's (bookshelf speakers) which would still give me the incredible imaging of the 2.5 i's. I will be complementing them with a velodyne subwoofer, that way I can at least control the low frequencies.

Detailed throughout bass, mid and treble. Good range. Low bass extension.

Short soundstage (about 5 feet high). If you stand up while listening, you lose a lot of sound. Side firing woofer limits speaker placement a bit. Not the prettiest things.

I would have purchased the NHT if it weren't for the form factor and the vertical limits of the soundstage. In the right room, they would be fine.

Similar Products Used:

Inferior comparables:
B&W CDM 7SE (NHT bass is much tighter)
PSB Stratus Silver and Paradigm reference 100 (very large, bass is muddy compared to NHT)
Meadowlark Kestrel (detailed, tight bass, good size, the winner for me)

Very articulate, well defined bass and mid-range.

Need gobs of power. Placement is key.

I don't have much to add that hasn't been said but I spent a few weeks getting these speakers in the right location. They are very rear wall sensitive when it comes to bass and very side wall sensitive to treble.

Getting them to shine in my case required adding more power (a second set of monoblocks bi-amped). 100 watts just wasn't enough. They sound much better and more controlled with 300 watts running through each side.

Since no speaker is perfect I'll give them four stars with five stars for value. There are other speakers I'd rather have but for the price I paid, it's hard to beat em'.

Good Bass and sharp Treble

Geometric shape allow only one ideal placement

I purchased these NHT's 3 weeks ago. They sound a lot better than my 1985 Sansui 16inch woofer speakers I have been playing since I got these. I have never spent this much on speakers before and I happy with this purchased. Good tight Bass and good sharp crisp treble. I listen to primarily Funk Music and it never sound this good with the Sansui. don't get me wrong, They had bass but it was boomy and treble was not as sharp.
PS the NHT do require some juice. You would think anyone who spends this much on speakers will have a good amp to match. Nuff said, These babies Jam.

Analyzing music, HT

Musicality, Warmth, Smoothness, Midrange

I tried to like this speaker but just could not. NHT has a dry and harsh tone bordering on sharp and tinny. The metal tweater in the 2.5i is harsh. These speakers might sound better with 200 watt amps bi amped etc but I don't want to spend anymore money. I got some KEF Q15s and they're much easier to drive and sound much fuller and smoother with my setup atleast. I've also found the small Q15s fill my listen area with greater ease then the 2.5i could and the Q15s sound much fuller and richer. Good luck to those who buy this speaker with system matching. They seem to lack a nice warm midrange.

Cal Audio Icon MKII CD
Sony 7700 DVD
Yamaha Dolby Digital receiver
DH Labs cables
AC 1

I can sum up the experience in one sentence. I have found no better pair of speakers for under $2,000.

The model under review is the NHT Series 2. This the original, from way back in '92. I find this speaker to be still in my listening room. Quite an accomplishment for a 6 year old piece. Since buying the speakers I have said goodbye to 2 Amps. 1 Pre, 2 CD player, endless cabling, metres of speaker wire... The only thing that has carried my audio needs all these years are the NHTs.
I would describe their sound as full. Nothing missing, nothing over stated. They carve out every signal sent with precision. Some have called them bright yet I think that perhaps other parts of their systems were at fault. My listening room has a hardwood floor, reflection city. I can't say that I have found them bright. As far as I am concerned the job of a good speaker is to produce the source as recorded, or at least what the player/pre/amp has done to the original signal. To that end, the NHT 2.x is a great speaker. If the sound engineer was having a bad day, you'll know it, if he was on the top of his form, you're in for a treat.

I can't however recommend this speaker to those with mass market equipment. You will be dissapointed at just how inadequate that equipment is.

Highly recommended.

Regis Poirier