NHT Sub Two Subwoofers
NHT Sub Two Subwoofers
USER REVIEWS
[Sep 01, 2003]
67deucess
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Sound, power, speed, depth.
Weakness:
??? This is a follow-up review to a post I made on this site over a year ago. Since that time, I've come to appreciate this sub more and more every time I use it. In no way has its performance deteriorated over time. My system now is as follows: -NAD C340 integrated amp -DIY speakers using Peerless and Advent drivers -DIY speaker cable & interconnects -Samsung DVD player as a cd-transport I have the SubTwoi connected using the Pre-Out/Main-In method and the sound is, in a word, transparent. It is extremely hard to tell where my main speakers leave off and where the sub begins. The depth of this sub still amazes me. Listening to orchestral recordings reveals incredibly lifelike sound--when those big drums hit, you feel as though you are truly there. Sometimes I swear I hear noises in other areas of the house, but its just the sub going to work. I leave the contour switch on the "flat" setting for both movies and music and the sound is always clean, tight, and powerful. It complements the NAD in a great way. In fact, I sometimes forget I have the sub hooked up, due to the fact there are no dips in the musical scale, and when I say musical, I truly mean musical, since its main purpose is performing in my musically-biased stereo setup. If you ever come across one of these babies for a decent price, I highly recommend picking it up, and once you get it properly set up, you'll wonder what you were listening to before. |
[Jun 25, 2003]
dremichael
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Power!!!!! Very tight & clean. The controller makes it very simple to adjust the LFE level. Unlike Velodyne and most others where you have to reach behind the sub.
Weakness:
The biggest weakness is that they stopped manufacturing the sub twoi. If I would have known, I would have ordered two at same time. One other weakness, it loves dust. (It has a high gloss piano finish) I am having trouble understanding the difficulties the last reviewer left. It was very simple to setup. I had sound tested several subs during my search for the right one. I listened to the velodyne's 8" & 10" sub and was disappointed with the sound. They had to work to hard to keep up with the low frequency. But once I came across and listened to the NHT Sub Twoi, I new that would be the one to compliment the rest of my system, including: Marantz: AV9000 Marantz: MM9000 Monster Power: HTS-3500 Sony: DVP-NS700P - DVD player Sony: KP-57HW40 57" wide screen tv Cerwin Vega: AT-100 (18" drivers) NHT: 1.5CI NHT: AC-1 The sounds produced are nothing less than amazing. Probably one of the best demonstrations of the subs capability is the pod race seen from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It almost shakes you off of the couch. NHT was right when they said "the subwoofer your neighbors will never forget" Similar Products Used: Velodyne, B&K, Polk |
[Feb 24, 2003]
gailloue
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
I don't want to trash NHT so I'll give a "middle of the road" rating since my problems must have some technical explanation since most people here rave about this product.
Weakness:
Difficult to setup to say the least... I recently purchased NHT's SubTwo subwoofer mainly because of great reviews all over the Net. I bought it from OneCall and have nothing but good things to say about them but I can't express my disappointment with the SubTwo's performance. I've been a longtime NHT fan. I also own the more modest NHT SW2P sub with 90-watt external amp. I thought the first SubTwo I received was defective. I couldn't get any decent bass out of it. After checking connections and the settings on my receiver, I sent it back for another unit. I was convinced the unit was defective. After receiving the second one, I plug it in and same results! It's been driving me nuts. I tried with two different receivers. A top-of-the-line Onkyo 919 and a superb Anthem amp with the same results. I've tried every crossover setting, phase, placement in the room, etc... I experimented with all the receiver's settings and even did A/B comparisons with my old SW2P. The bottom line: my 90-watt SW2P has more punch! I was expecting to shake the house like some other reviewers reported but instead, I now find myself still using my SW2P and using the SubTwo as a coffee table. I see both drivers moving in phase with authority but my ears tell a different story. What am I doing wrong? Has anyone else been through the same frustration and found the magic setting to unleash the power of the SubTwo? Please do not suggest the most obvious experiments because - believe me - I tried many, many different things. Similar Products Used: NHT SW2P |
[Aug 27, 2002]
JD3
AudioPhile
Strength:
NHT controller can fit many diffeent set-ups either as mono LFE or stereo. One of the best "Musical" subs around.
Weakness:
Out of Production, very little demos left Found one of the last demos of the out of production NHT Sub Two to match another sub which I wrote about before. Therefore I am now able to play Stereo Mode through the NHT Controller without effecting my normal set-up within a Martin Logan SL3 stereo set-up. In mono mode I had the sub controller set at 40 Hz low by-pass at 3/4 volume. In stereo mode I find 50 Hz low by-pass at 2/3 volume to give more "Presence" a better soundstage, & clearer bass detail. The 2nd sub is moved to another system; a 5.1 audio/video with (2) NHT VT-2 & (3) VS-2a speakers when watching DVD movies. This is not a "Normal" HT sub, but can well do the job, especially during DVD concerts. |
[Aug 05, 2002]
shotimer_1
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
massive quantities of TIGHT, deep, musical bass.
Weakness:
none cute little subwoofers with tiny high excursion cones look like a million bucks, but when it comes down to it, , large drivers, lots of them, large cabinets, and lots of power makes the best subwoofer. a pair of these NHT subwoofers will rearrange your perception of what good sound is. |
[Jul 25, 2002]
Ed
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Power, Musicality, great looks, external controller that makes it easy to adjust volume and easily integrate with mains to produce a seamless soundstage.
Weakness:
Nada Am I glad I got the NHT SubTwo i when I did! I cannot believe it is out of production. It is so, so good. The external controller is simply wonderful. With my receiver's pre-out, main-in connectors I can take advantage of the line level high pass filters, getting great integration between mains and sub and improving the dynamic range for my mains and surrounds. And My wife doesn't appreciate bass like I do, so it is easy to turn down when she is around. As far as performance - I feel and hear the meaty low notes on pipe organs - a favorite of mine. And whether it is 1812 Overature cannons, T Rex, the Matrix Subway Scene or Apollo 13 taking off - Slam Bam! And not only does it do it right when loud, even on soft passages where the low frequencies on the source material is ample, the results are absolutely authoritative. Similar Products Used: NHT SW2Pi |
[Jul 04, 2002]
shotimer_1
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
I think a lot of credit is deserved by NHT for providing us with this controller. with both subs hooked up to one controller, one set of settings applies to both, so you don't have to go trying to integrate the subs with each other, instead of just with the rest of the system. besides providing the excellent range of high pass, low pass, and 0°-360° phase control, and video contour control (for movies, boosts output at the cost of extension, something not applicable in my system), it provides for the great LFE mix. normally, if you use dual subs to handle the bottom of the range for the front two channels, you'd have to set the subwoofer output to off on the receiver so that it would fold the LFE signal into the front speakers. However, with the SubTwo i controller (but not the SubTwo controller), you can hook up the front pre-outs to it, AND also the LFE connection. The LFE level knob on the controller will let you control how much of the LFE signal is in the mix. Yes, there are ways of doing this with the reciever, but this is so pure and so convenient with the knobs! stereo subs are the way to go, and kudos to NHT for creating a controller that is designed to help you do
Weakness:
none wish to address two things in my review here . one, the use of two subs, and two, the wonderul controller. I've believed as long as I can remember that low frequency sounds are non directional, and therefore cannot be localized. The idea being that you dont' need stereo subwoofers because of that and the fact that bass that low down is rarely stereo in the recording anyway. Well, the second might be true, but playing around with the equipment, I realize that the first is not. I have the system hooked up so that my reciever drives the center and rear speakers, but the front mains are driven by an external 250wpc power amp. I take the pre-out of the front channels, and hook it up to the SubTwo i controller, and then pass the signal on from there to the power amp to drive the main speakers. The low pass and high pass are both set at 50 Hz. If I set the receiver to stereo and turn off the power amp, the only sound I get is the 50Hz and below content from the subs. and here is the kicker. With either one turned off, the location of the one that is on is clear as DAY. there is no question of my ears not knowing where it is. Even when the low pass is turned all the way down to 40Hz. SO when I watch movies or listen to music, I can very clearly hear the bass coming from area where the active sub is. But with both on, the bass sound becomes far less localized, actually forming a soundstage! Similar Products Used: not important |
[Jun 29, 2002]
haru
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
bass performance without limits
Weakness:
two big heavy cabinets, two controllers This is a follow up to my previous review. I loved the SubTwo i (Which is different from the SubTwo) so much that I wanted another one. I had always fantasized about owning a flagship Velodyne 18" sub (first the F and then the HGS), and I figured that two SubTwo i's may not extend as far below 20 Hz as an 18" velodyne might, but they would definitely equal or exceed it in terms of maximum SPL at minimal distortion in the 20-50Hz range. The SubTwo i is out of production and has become very hard to find. No dealer anywhere near had any. Some of the authorized internet dealers (crutchfield, J&R, One Call) were mostly out of them. Audio Video Logic had a demo unit only. Yawa had a demo. I called Spearit Sound, and they had ONE new-in-the-box unit left. I made an offer ($800 shipped), they took it, and soon I had a pair of matching SubTwo i's. All for a total of $1648. Vs $3500 for an HGS-18. And I have about 56% greater actual piston area (rather than nominal area) than the Velodyne. I've currently got hooked them up in stereo, and still need to play around with positioning and hook up options. But already the performance is PHENOMENAL!! so smooth, strong and powerful! Bass Perfection!!! It is AWESOME to have bass that comes up your spine and pounds your brains out, that is so strong that it kicks you in the stomach till you start losing side of which side is up, and yet is so tight and so sharp and so clear that it makes you think of surgeon's scalpels slicing grape skins without cutting into the flesh of the fruit! JUST AWESOME! Similar Products Used: a single Sub Two i by itself, assorted subs from other brands including an NHT SW1P some years ago |
[Jun 26, 2002]
nguyentc
AudioPhile
Strength:
Very tight, deep sound and plent in very well with music and movie. Got alot of power without making a boom sound
Weakness:
Big and hard to hide, other than that everything else is cool. I wanted to appologize for posting a bad review in here about aweek ago, after having paying higher price than most people and after hooked up to my system and found out that it did not perform well, I was mad, real mad... To make the story short. I finally got it to connect properly to my system and the NHT SubTwoi was phenominal in sound. Yes, even with the Sunfire Truesub that I am having to compare, it does blow the Sunfire away and the Velodyne as I have in the past would not come close. So, sorry for my bad reviews on this products. It is truely an outstanding sub to have and all the reviews in here are true and correct. Similar Products Used: Sunfire, Velodyne, Carver, B&W |
[Jun 21, 2002]
67deucess
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Power, build quality, separate controller, equally good for movies and music, goes plenty deep, very clean, and did I mention power?
Weakness:
I only have one (not like I need another, but it would be nice). First of all, let me say, WOW, what a sub! Having never owned a subwoofer before, I really didn't know what to expect from the SubTwoi, since I bought it based on the great reviews posted here. I originally wanted to get the SubOnei, being as though I thought the SubTwo was a little out of my price range, but I then found the sale at Audio-Video Logic.... Anyway, the sub was delivered in 2 days (AV Logic was a great buying experience), and my initial reaction was, "My God, this thing is huge," followed by, "but it sure looks pretty." Setting everything up took about a half-hour, and getting it to sound right took a little more, but was easy thanks to a great instruction manual. However, when I first turned on some music, I thought the unit was broken because no sound was heard--but I did notice that the bass of my mains had increased. Here, the sub was doing just what it should, producing clean bass without calling attention to itself. Of course, after some fiddling with the very nice, and handy, external controller, the bass increased significantly. OK, time to test a movie. Flip the little contour switch on the controller for movies, pop in "The Fast and The Furious," and go to the final race sequence. I never knew such bass existed. No lie, VHS tapes were falling off the shelves. I could hear the ceiling boards shaking, window panes rattling, and any open cabinets (or closed ones for that matter) vibrating like crazy, and our family room is a large room which opens into a large kitchen. I had heard plenty of subs before (Mirage, Fosgate Audionics, Boston, Bose, Klipsch, and others) but none had bass like this, and the best part was there was no distortion coming from the sub itself. Heck, the volume wasn't even all that high. So I knew it was great for movies, but what about music? Flip the little switch back to flat, turn the volume down a tad, pop in some Incubus, and listen. The sub blended in perfect with my existing setup--powerful, but not overpowering, clean and fast, not muddy or boomy. In fact, even with the volume up very high, the sub does not sound boomy or annoying in any way. With other subs I listened to, sure things would shake, but with this sub, you feel the bass in your chest. In conclusion, if you can still find one of these subs, buy it, it's worth the money and you won't regret it. Similar Products Used: Never owned, but have heard a multitude of subs before (see summary). |