I have owned these speakers for 20 years and I hope I never have to part with them. I’ve used several different amplifiers & NHT 2.9’s are very flexible but a powerful amp does bring out the finer details. I am very impressed with the soundstage, I recommend if anyone can still find these in Good condition to experience for themselves it is wonderful for music and in a home theater setting.

None to report.

Silky smooth lush transparent detailed linear sound even at very low volume. Amazing inner detail and air for a speaker in this price range. They sound like electrostatic speakers but with high and low frequency extension that you don't get from electrostatics. Very musical speakers. Revealing of other components in your system including wires. My Creek 5350se integrated amplifier make these speakers sing. You never get tired of listening to them. Liquid sounding midrange. Clarity and imaging are astonishing at all frequencies. Musical images bloom. Horn instruments and piano sound real. Voices, strings, and percussion sound organic. Electric guitar is silky smooth. Nothing ever sounds muffled. Highs are neutral yet sweet. Bass is tight articulate and extended with a touch of warmth. Good dynamic slam. Overall a neutral sounding speaker without sounding harsh. It's tough to pull off neutrality without sounding harsh or thin. Kudos to NHT's fine engineering. Music is accurately layered in a 3 dimensional sound field and separation between the left and right speakers are solid as if listening to high quality headphones. You can clearly hear the other speaker even when you are directly in front of one. Best sound is attained sitting in the middle sweet spot but they also sound good anywhere. There are many great speakers out there but these are in a league of their own at this price point.

None at this price point.

Simply one of the best speaker I've heard so far. Mine are paired with a Classe audio Ca-200 and they are close to Niverna when properly positionned. As mentionned by other reviewers they maybe power hungry but with good gears you won't be dissapointed. Also have a pair of NHT 3.3 but if you do not have a large room the 2.9 might sound even better.

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.

Smoothness of sound.

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

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.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Polk, Bose (sucks).

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.

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.

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.

Similar Products Used:

MAGNEPAN,PARADIGM REF., NHT, SONY ES, B&W, ROMAN AUDIO ECT....

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

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

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.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Definitive, Boston Acoustic, Mission, Peavey, Tannoy

sound stage, and detail

somewhat power hungry, not effecient

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.

Similar Products Used:

advent, infinity, defenitive research

Great Bass/accurate midrange open detailed treble. Nice round well balanced sound-not lean or contrived sounding.

Not as transparent as some other speakers I've heard. Still sounded like a pair of speakers. Could be faster sounding to let the music through. I bought apir of Audes Blues instead.

Ever since I got a pair of KEF 104/2's in my system twelve years ago I caught the audio bug. Going into all high end stores listening to speakers. A few years back the NHT 2.5i caught my attention for their clarity,imaging and bass. When the 2.9's came out I had to give them an audition. That was several years back. Needless to say upon hearing them in the showroom I was impressed. Recently when I heard that NHT was no longer making the 2.9's I sought a pair out finding a mahogany pair at OneCall.com. Well when I finally got them, I have to say I initially was not impressed. I read about the biting treble and the leaness of the midrange, that was what I initally heard. After about 30 hrs. of burn in the sound changed considerably. The treble became smooth and open. The midrange was VERY accurate. Even more so than my KEF's. The bass was unbelievable. No one would ever need a sub for audio playback. There was sufficent bass for all. I have to say that with my Conrad Johnson tibe preamp and amp that the sound was alot warmer than in the store where they were using solid state gear. But not as warm as my KEF's. This is an extremely accurate speaker that tells you exactly what is in the recording. My Amp was only rated at 45watts per channel and I don't think this was enough power to bring out the best in these speakers. I blew a fuse once listening to one of my bass rich tracks(I'm a jazz and R&B enthusiast with a penchant for rich female vocals too(Diana Krall,Astrud Gilberto,Ricki Lee Jones). I think this speaker needs about 150 watts a side to make them sing. I did however have them biamped with a NHT SA-2 amp which brought out the bass and relieved my tube amp from having to produce bass. What I loved about the NHT's were that it was the only high end speaker that had a natural balance in the midrange. Many high end speakers today have verry lean midrange balance which sound thin-AudioPsychic/EnergyVeritas/SonusFaber. They all sounded too contrived for my tastes. The NHT's sounded big round and natural-like my KEFS. But had better bass and a more refined,natural midrange. Now the negatives, It coiuld have been that I did not have enough power driving them but I was a bit disappointed in the resolution of these speakers. They did not sound as if they were as transparent as some others I have heard.

Similar Products Used:

KEF 104/2,B&W 804,AUDES BLUES,Sonus Faber,MeadowLark Shearwater,Audi Psychics,Mirage OM-5, Triangle Celius

Extremely natural sound with a good midrange, glorious bass, good soundstage

Took me days to position properly and months to find matching components. Worth the effort though

I have not much to add to the other reviews here - an outstanding pair of speakers. Since I got used to them, a lot of highly acclaimed speakers from B&W, VSR etc sound a bit dull to me. I just wanted to share my thoughts on how to "tame" their biting treble or "thin" sound which is frequently noted. Struggled with this for a couple of months, borrowed tons of different equipment and cables and finally found a good solution for myself. Result Number 1: You do not know what you are missing when you do not use LOTS of power on these speakers. I settled for a Krell KAV-300iL which at 6 Ohms does something around 300 Watts per channel. Upgrading the power cord to a Power Snake Sidewinder introduced proper bass and a more natural sound balance. I admit that choosing Krell did not make everything easier ... it is a very full-sounding, but essentially neutral amp. Result Number 2: All the wattage does not help a bit when you dont get it to the NHTs. Do not ask me how this works, but a double-run of Pro-9 Plus wires from Harmonic Technology Single Crystal Copper (not the bi-wired version, but 2 gauge 9 cables per channel) finally did the trick of taming the tweeter, tightening the bass of these speakers and for the first time introducing a glorious warm midrange. Other stuff I tried to no avail: MIT Terminator 3 (no detail, loose bass, overall unengaging), Cardas Cross (little detail), Straightwire Serenade (better but not enough bass), Synergistic Research Signature 10 (good bass, but overall a thin and dry sound), Synergistic Research Alpha Quad X-Shield (not so bad really, but not enough detail for long-term listening pleasure in this combo). Result No. 3: The NHT speakers are SO detailed and unforgiving that the source component matters hugely. I settled for the Arcam FMJ 23 because of its fantastic detail retrieval. It is just slightly rolled off at the top, which helps. This did it, I am not looking back. Ah, essential bits: Change the feet under the Arcam and get a proper power cable, things may otherwise start sounding too warm ... Then you can start playing with interconnects to modify the sound ... but that is another story