Attractive looking

Inefficient, can be harsh sounding with many CD's

I was impressed with the NHT's at first, but began to suffer from listener fatigue after using them for an extended period of time. To me, they increasingly sounded harsh and somewhat sterile - lacking subtlety and depth. Recently, I came across a pair of Snell KII's and replaced the NHT's. Now, I am enjoying my CD's again and hearing the true tonal quality of all types of music in my rather eclectic collection.

For everyone who will immediately blame the electronics, I am using an HK preamp and 85 wpc amplifier. The amplifier is neutral and open sounding, with adequate power under all but the most extreme demands.

Among the more popular speakers I have listened to recently, the B&W601s2's are really impressive. More expensive than the Super One's, but worth the difference in price.

Similar Products Used:

Snell KIIv(out of production), B&W601s2

Good overall balance if just a little light in the bass, good imaging, works well nearfield.

Not strictly a weakness for a speaker this small, it benefits from a subwoofer. Occassionally (but very rarely) makes some CDs sound harsh.

This is an excellent small speaker. As an audiophile, it would not be the center of my main system, but I have used it in my office system for two or three years now and I always look forward to listening to them. Augmented with a small Velodyne subwoofer and driven by a portable CD through an integrated amp, the balance and imaging are superb and always enjoyable. Although I have an occasional CD that is rendered as harsh sounding, it's not a common problem at all (and that despite the fact that I am using them "nearfield", that is, they are sitting about 4 feet from my ears).

If I knew I was going to have purchased the subwoofer, I may have bought Super Zero's instead. If you want a sweet and satisfying sound in your office or bedroom system, by all means consider either one of these speakers (Superzero or Superone). They'd even be fine for a main system, but I would imagine most people would want a sub woofer for sure, and there are probably maximum volume limitations that would concern those wanting sustained 100+ dB playback sessions.

Also check out the Paradigm offering in this price category - it has a "fuller" sounding bass which may suit others better (especially if a sub woofer won't be used). The PSB 300 (now called Century 300i and maybe even that has been replaced by now) is a smoother more polite speaker which I enjoyed but ultimately retired in favor of the NHT's. I listened briefly to the Kef Q15's and could recommend those at this price point as well.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Mini, PSB 300

Excellent imaging, and very good coherncy when used with a warm sounding amplification.

Don't overset your expectation too high and expect great bass. There isn't much, but what there is ok. Wouldn't want to put an etchy sounding electronics driving these.

I have been reading about how good these NHT Super Ones were over the past two or three years. Hey, but they were last year's story. Other mini-monitors have been getting rave reviews. I was always a bit skeptical, and I have always tended to buy higher than what I needed. So I was ready to buy Dynaudio's etc, and spend around $800-$1600 a pair, whatever. What I needed was a pair of speakers to fit above and in a built in cabinet system in my family room above a Sony 27 Wega. Think of a box area about 35in wide / 24 in deep, and 16 in high above the TV. Not very many monitors sounded good in that situation. I listen to lots mini's through home auditions fully willing to buy new and high. Just bought these NHT's used through the web just because they were so inexpensive. Shockingly, these were the best. They sit in that boxed area raised off the shelf by setting on a pair of sound anchors Vandersteens 2ci speaker stands with self-protectors under the spikes. Driven by originally by a NAD C-340 via Alpha-core wires. The NAD was just replaced by Electrocompliet Eci-1. I admit, the Electro is a fine integrated, and this set up sounds great now. Believe me, the NAD set up sound very good. Everything was picked up used piece by piece used via the web for under $1500, not one sorry experience. This is far better than I ever expected to get into that confining situation. I will say these NHT Super Ones are an outstanding value. If you are looking for that second or third system you should buy a pair used. You can't go wrong. New or used, price/performance is incredible.

Similar Products Used:

Pick your favorites. There are so many choices in this space.

Balance, neutrality, clarity

output, bass extension

I needed a smaller speaker to fit on a bookshelf, rather than the floor standers blocking the view out the window! Price was not too much of a concern. I listened to various Totems, other NHT and Mirage models. From the standpoint of value this was no contest. They actually sounded better than all the Totems, which were far more expensive, and not markedly inferior to the more pricey NHTs. I wish I still had my LS3/5As (sold in a moment of madness) to compare the two. What improvements in sealed box speaker design has occured over 20+ years? The BBC design had obvious weaknesses - output and bass extension but was so so accurate in its midrange and treble. The NHTs are remakably neutral and balanced for an American speaker (sorry) and suit all kinds of music, as long as you don't play them too loud. Soft sounding CDs/amps help tame a suspiciously bright top end and they sound great with vinyl (Linn/Denon MC). I must try them with the sub woofer employed on the TV system in the basement soon.

Similar Products Used:

BBC LS3/5A, Mirage 290Si, various Spendors,Rogers, various KEFs

Clean,sweet sound with the right equip.

None, their small so they are what they are, can't expect much more from a small speaker.

I've been using (5) super ones in my home theater set up with the NHT sub-one and the sound is awsome, let me tell you this set up can fill alot of room with some pretty impressive sound. Can't go wrong with these little guys but I recomend using a sub with them you won't regret it. Like I said CLEAN&SWEET!!!!

After more than a year of shopping for speakers, I finally took the plunge and bought the NHT SuperOnes. I was orignally looking to get floor standing speakers to replace by large "bookshelf" Cerwin-Vega Re20's that I bought when I was young and foolish. I have just a regular Sony Pro-Logic receiver, and many people recommended that I would be better off getting a new amp than spending my money on speakers. But I want to step into a Dolby Digital setup, and my finances won't let me so that just yet.
I had heard the SuperOnes on two different occasions, and I really liked them, but was not too interested in bookshelf speakers. After checking out every speaker pair in the greater Phoenix area under $1000, I had just about decided that I wanted to get the B&W DM603s. But they were selling for $950/pr. A little too much for me right now. I went back to see the NHTs again and thought to myself, "If I am going to spend ~$1000, what else is there to compare to?" I saw the NHT VT-1.2, and was blown away, but at $1100/pr and with the optional subwoofer amp, I wasn't yet ready. I went back to audition the B&Ws when a friend asked my why I needed bigger speakers in my apartment. I thought about that for a minute, and realized that I'd be crazy to get these big speakers for such a small place (not to mention how I'd get them home in my car!).

I read the reviews at this site and thought perhaps the SuperOnes were worth a second try. I briefly thought about the B&W DM602s, but didn't like the bass. I took some of my best CDs with me and went shopping.

I went to the NHT dealer and asked to see the salesman who helped me before. Unfortunately, he didn't work there anymore. Another salesman helped me, but had problems getting the Onkyo reciever they were using to work. Finally, with some help from a second salesman, they got sound. I was disappointed with them. But I guess that could be attributed to tha fact that when I heard them ebfore they were on wall backets aimed directly at my listening position. Now they were on a shelf crammed with other speakers. The salesman suugested to take them into another room where he could set them up better. He put them on top of some NHT VT-1.2s and used an Onkyo Dolby Digital/THX receiver. He still couldn't figure out how to work it, which was apparent when we did get sound, because the amp was rated at 90 wpc, and we had it turned up halfway and it wasn't very loud. Now I was concerned about the compatability with my Sony receiver. If a THX certified Onkyo couldn't get these to sound good, what's the point?

I was wanting to check out the Paradigm Mini Monitors at another store and as I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a stack of NHT boxes by the door. I walked inside and they were setting up the whole line of NHT speakers! A salesman there told me they just put them out about half an hour ago and I demanded an A/B comparison between the SuperOnes and the Paradigms. He mentioned that they probably wouldn't sound as good as they ought to since they weren't broken in yet, but we tried anyway, using a 45 wpc Yamaha which sold for $300. Finally, they sounded good! We cranked them up not even halfway and they played significantly louder than the other store's setup, in a room twice as big to boot. Then he compared them to the Mini Monitors. I have always been a big fan of Paradigm, and was impressed with these. (By the way, I have been in this store about 7 or 8 times previously, so they knew me.) Switching back and forth, I compared them. They sounded very similar, with the Paradigms with an edge in bass extension. Then a particular part in the song I was listening to made a weird noise. The same noise my Cerwin-Vegas made, although not as bad. I was hearing the cabinet resonance, which I realized why I hated my CVs so much. The NHTs didn't have that problem. After a few more minutes of listening, I was sold. The imaging was outstanding and there was enough bass to suit me without using a subwoofer. I took them home for $320.

Now, earlier that day, I had been at yet another store where a snotty salesman tried to push Klipsch on me when I really disliked them and then commented on what "poor source material" I was using. He pulled out a cd of who I can't remember and I thought it was ridiculous. I listen to alternative rock. Jazz doesn't do it for me.

For some reason, the SuperOnes aren't usually recommended for this type of music. I don't know why, but I assume it's because it doesn't have strong, lower bass, has low efficiency, and is so accurate that already badly recorded rock albums sound worse. I totally disagree with all three. First the bass is extemely accurate. I really like this because I have been really disappointed with how drums sound on a lot of speakers. Drums don't sustain like a bass guitar does, and some speakers don't do drums justice (I have been around enough live music to know what a good snare sounds like). Secondly, these are more than loud enough for my small apartment. I have plenty of reserve power available for when I need it louder. Thirdly, I think the accuracy is great. One thing people need to realize is that rock music is not classical music. "Perfectly" recorded rock music sounds artificial and over-engineered. I though the whole idea behind stereo is to recreate a live peformance as closely as possible. These speakers do that. Go to a rock concert and you're not going to be critical of how "perfect" the sound is. That's totally against the idea of it. It doesn't sound perfect, it sounds REAL. Not perfect? That's part of the experience. I think a lot of audiophiles look down on rock music since they don't always get this.

After listening to them for several weeks, I love them and I don't think I could have done better without spending a lot more. The tonal balance is near perfect. The highs are very detailed and airy (great on cymbals, the mids are natural (doesn't sound colored like they're going through a PA system which are usually over-equalized), but the vocalist it right there a few inches in front of you), and like I said, the bass is tight. Soundstaging is very wide and places the instruments better than any other speaker I have heard, and the imaging is superb. Get right in the sweet spot and it's like being there. But you don't need to the in the sweet spot to get excellent sound. Very highly recommended. Just be sure to get some good stands so they sound their best.

Detail, clarity

needs at least 100watts to drive them and can sound harsh when paired with the wrong equipment

i've been using the super one's for almost five years now and it still sound good compared to other bookshelf speakers. clarity and detail is spectacular but bass may be a bit lacking. you may need to drive it with at least 100 watts to make it really "sing" and equipment matching is a must. i was using an HK AVR25mkII before and it really sounds harsh giving me listener fatigue. only when i switched to rotel amps and marantz pre-amp did i noticed how really good these speakers are. plus i used some spikes for my speaker stands and the detail were about 10 to 20% better.

Clear well defined highs, clean mid range, great load handling

Wish it was built like the Polk RT35i, also would be nice in the midrange cone was constructed out of aerogel, polypropylene, kevlar, layered laminate, even treated fiber =)

These are hardly little speakers. To get the best performance from them, you need to run them off QUALITY components. A lot of the bad reviews on this product you will notice are from people with horrible components (ie- Sony, Technics, and Kenwood recievers). I'm using the SuperOnes with SuperZero surrounds, SuperCenter center, and Velodyne CT-120 sub into a Yamaha RX-V800 as a second level system. The Ones are very elastic speakers excelling in both HT and music applications. FYI, being bookshelf speakers, they aren't intended to handle low frequency signal, which is where subwoofers come in. The Ones lay over perfectly with a decent woofer crossedover at 65Hz (low pass). The Klipsch and Polk can't even compare to the clarity and smothness of the Ones. KEFs were a close second, but no gold. 302s weren't practical with my room size and setup, but are excellent with larger rooms. The PSB and Mission were just too hard to obtain new and from authorized dealers. At the price, these Ones CAN'T be beat.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 302s2, Polk RT35i, Klipsch KSB 3.1, KEF Cresta 2, PSB Century 400, Mission 731

I have owned these beauties for about three months and i could not be more happy with them. The imaging of these speakers is fantastic. For example, at the beginning of Independence Day the titles break up and fly by the listener as they travel from the front channels to the surrounds. When watching this I switched of Pro-Logic and listened to the opening in plain stereo and the letters continued to fly straight by my listening position as if I was still in Dolby Pro-Logic. Many of my friends are buying new systems now and I tell all of them the SuperOnes are the way to go for any type of audio application.

Detail, focus, soundstage, and image

Very revealing

I had been using the SuperOnes as the center channel and surround channels (using SuperTwos as the front LR) in a home theater set-up. They work great for this. The SuperOne holds its own as a center channel. I recently moved 2 SuperOnes into another room in a 2.0 stereo setup. I was amazed! (I'm replacing the surrounds with wall-mounted SuperZeros).

The pair of SuperOnes sounds almost better than the pair of SuperTwos. The ONLY thing they lack is the deepest bass. For bookshelf speakers, I was quite surprised at how much bass they have. Better still, the bass and lower midrange that they do have is very accurate. So, I would imagine the SuperOnes + a subwoofer would actually better a pair of SuperTwos (not to put them down -- I love them, too).

To get a better speaker, you have to move up to the more expensive B&W range.

These do reveal any harshness in your setup.

Similar Products Used:

JBL and Mission bookshelfs