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Is there a better bookshelf speaker? I am using my SuperOnes as front channel speakers in a surround sound set up. I am in love with the NHT line, I have superzeros as rears and am using the supercenter. The only weakness I could possibly see is they need power (only 87db sensitive), but anyone purchasing these should have enough money to buy something to push these babies to thier full potential.

Purity of Tone

Can sound a bit "buttoned up", or restrained in comparison to some of its competitors

There certainly are no perfect speakers in this size/price range, and the Super One is no exception. I wish it always sounded as acoustically natural as the B&W DM 302 and AE Aegis One can. I wish it had the dynamic capabilities fo the Paradigm Mini Monitor or the JBL HLS 610. I wish sometimes that it had the relaxed silkiness of the KEF Q15 or the big ol' midbass warmth of the Tannoy Mercury M2. I wish it was as sonically "invisible" as the Super Zeroes and that it did the "man, these things sound so much bigger than their size would indicate" trick a bit better. But they don't and I"ve adjusted to reality. The reason I've not replaced them with one of the above excellent speakers is what I would call the tonal purity. I just think they're the cleanest, smoothest, purest sounding little buggers among the candidates that I can afford. They're a very nice match with the NAD C340 integrated, whose slightly big midbass gives the Ones a nice touch of richness. More power would be great (I want a Musical Fidelity A300 integrated, at 150 wpc), as would a nice sub, but most of the time I'm a happy guy.
Two other points: (1)The best review of the Ones is Marlon Feld's review at www.goodsound.com and (finally)(2) If these speakers were a group/artist, they would be Steely Dan/Donald Fagen. By that I mean extremely clean, tight, polished, cerebral, and again, pure. But sometimes you wish they would let loose and show some emotion!

Build, imaging

Too nice of speakers to trust your drunk friends to mess around with.

Well, the first time I reviewed these my stereo was $1100 total. It's now about $4500 with TV, DVD, Audio ReQuest, etc. I love these speakers dearly. I'm going to college this fall and there's 8 of us living in a duplex (8 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 kitchens). We'll watch alot of TV and movies and surround sound Playstation 2 games which all use the center channel a hell of a lot. All that sound thru one speaker? That's quite silly. So I was trying to think of a way to get some more speakers hooked up for center channel, but didn't want to go spend a bunch of money on an amp and a pair of speakers for just the center channel. Well, then I bought some supposedly awesome Infinity Delta 60 speakers off of UBID.com for $284 a pair. They were a great deal at that price. I think they retailed for $800 last year. Anyway, their sensitivity rating is 92db so they will be quite a bit louder than the SuperONEs. I was gonna hook up all 4 as main speakers but on my Sony STR-DB930 receiver I can't adjust volumes between A and B mains, so the new Infinities are gonna drown out my beautiful S1's. But then it hit me; get an OLDER Yamaha amp for under $100 and use it for center channel with the S1's hooked to it. Then, on my main Sony receiver, hook up the center channel pre-out AND the main left and right pre-out to the Yamaha amp as different inputs on the Yamaha. Then I could switch back and forth, using the S1's for center channel (along with my current Klipsch center) then switching the Yamaha amp to a AUX2 or whatever and use the S1's for mains. Good thinking, Snake! Then I could listen to just the S1's for music if I want, or the S1's and the Infinities with BALANCED volumes. Man, why didn't I think of that before? Probably because I didn't need to. Anyway, my S1's are kinda getting phased out for video sources, but I'll still use them for stereo video games, my Audio ReQuest MP3 jukebox, radio, and other stuff. I bet the S1's hooked up to a Yamaha Natural Sound amp would sound very sweet. Plus, the Infinity speakers are 6 ohm so I don't know if I could use 6 ohm and 8 ohm speakers as mains with the Sony receiver set at 8 ohms. And if I set the receiver to 4 ohms, the center and rear channels won't work with both pair of mains on, I think. It doesnt really make that clear in the instuctions. I don't think it will do surround sound with the ohm switch set at "4" and both pairs of main's on. So I guess I'd be screwed there anyway, but I'm not gonna be screwed because there are 4 good Yamaha amps being sold on eBay right now. Well, there's actually about 20 being sold, but 4 that end in the next 24 hours. So I'll use a seperate amp for the S1's. I don't think I'll ever get rid of these great little speakers. I am very very picky about stuff like electronics and whatnot, so I'm buying and selling different stuff alot. I've been thru 4 TVs, 3 receivers, and a couple VCRs before I settled on what I have now. But the NHT SuperONEs will never even be considered for replacement (although I kind of am now, but not really). Well, sorry for boring you. I know this isn't much of a review, but if you don't like it, don't read it. Oh ya, the review 2 down from this one says the treble is weak and the bass is strong! That guy must have his head up his arse! The treble is perfect and the bass is weak, like it's supposed to be. That guy must be used to bright speakers or something. But how could he say the bass is strong? If he thinks that bass is strong, he should hear my freak duplex shake when I have my 3 sub-woofers boomin' YEE HAAAAAAAA

Similar Products Used:

Optimus LX5

Nice build quality, nice finish, sturdy binding posts, excellent imaging, price, warranty, reputation

Cheap grill designs, watch out for unauthorized dealers online as NHT won't stand behind warranty

I'll be frank. I prefer the Paradigm mini monitors to anything in this category. But they are a pain in the neck to get a hold of. Plus they aren't discounted and only sell at authorized retail prices. There imaging is superb and their cinema sound is great for the price. However, the NHTs would be a hairline close second if not on par. Thus, I decided to go NHT when I found a dealer from eBay that sold them to me at a price I couldn't turn down.

NHT also has rave reviews and I've seen them in magazines from Stereophile to Home Theater to online web sites from audioreview to deja. Quite simply I've seen them in too many reviews as part of the test setup in putting other gear through their paces such as amplifiers and receivers.

No these aren't HiFi speakers, but for the price I definitely consider them MidFi for the quality, looks and sound. I have them on Target (UK) FS series 28" stands that I filled with sand and on spikes. They are are great.

Cinema sound is great. Good imaging, nice midrange and smooth treble with no harsh peaks I've found. Music is ok as well though I prefer full range 3-way speakers for good rock sound w/out a sub.

I have these as my fronts, the SuperZeros as my rears and the SuperCenter as my center channel. I have them mated with a Velodyne CT120 12" 130watt sub. In my opinion, a great combination for price/performance. I definitely recommend this setup. If you don't have cathedral ceilings like I do, go with the 10" sub for tighter response to fill less volume.

In summary, great speakers. Job well done NHT.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm mini-monitors, B&W, Polks