NHT SW12 Subwoofers

NHT SW12 Subwoofers 

DESCRIPTION

  • 250-watt amp
  • 12" front-firing aluminum cone woofer
  • frequency response 27-180 Hz (±3dB)
  • continuously variable 40-180 Hz low-pass crossover
  • speaker-level and line-level inputs
  • dedicated LFE input and output
  • phase switch
  • bass-reflex design
  • high-gloss black lacquer finish
  • subwoofer: 13-1/2"W x 20"H x 15"D

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-2 of 2  
[Dec 10, 2007]
ezyernie
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Power, speed, depth, accuracy, absence of ringing or coloration and adjustable crossover / roll-off and other controls. It can apparently be matched with many speakers because of the flexibility afforded by the controls.

Weakness:

None that I can report.

This is one tremendous subwoofer! I went shopping for a sub after listening to what a friend's 7.1 system sounded like on the DVD "Next". The avalanche scene was so loud, impactful and clean with the Orb subwoofer we had to turn the volume down. I was floored!

I needed a subwoofer that could deliver that my Polk 10Bs could not: a bottom end with such depth and force that complete the sonic experience at the bottom end of the spectrum. The sub needed to have a complete set of controls for crossover/rolloff frequency, volume control and room placement.

I listened to some showroom setups and was leaning to Velodyne until a buddy described his home theater with the all-NHT sound system. I found a Classic Twelve at Audio Advisor, on clearance(< $460.00, including shipping). It has proven to be the best singular component to make a difference in my audio system. The finish is one of the finest I've seen for a speaker, highly polished, pristine right out of the box.

Setup was quick and easy. Tuning the sub to the system is a trial-and-error effort that requires patience. I was able to locate the sub in a convenient location near the system and was able to do some tuning with minimal effort using the crossover and volume controls.

I listened to some truly percussive jazz by the group PASSPORT.
BAM!!! What power and depth and impact. and no ringing, booming or blurping of the bottom end. If you can, audition these in an audio-only implementation if you can. I believe you'll enjoy the experience.

I viewed several videos, including "Star Wars", "the Incredibles" and "NEXT". WOW! Hear the Millenium Falcon take off, enjoy the battle against Buddy's robot and marvel at the sustained fury of the avalanche caused by Jessica Biehl. I invited my friend with the Orb because I intend to return the favor. I'm sure we'll enjoy exchanging notes.

To me this Sub blows away any competition in the under $1,000.00 range.

My system includes:
Polk 10B (pair)
Adcom GFP-1A Pre-Amp
Adcom GFA-555 Power Amp
Hafler Iris Pre-Amp
Dual 5000 Turntable
AR Turntable
Sony DVP NS-400D DVD Player
Denon CDR-W 1500 CD Player/Recorder
Denon TU-400 Tuner
Nakamichi CR-3A Cassette
Phillips HDTV 30PW9100D/37

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 07, 2007]
ezyErnie
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

plenty of bass for my 20'x12' living room.
Tunable to taste, or for accuracy.
Can blend into almost any system.
fantastic price from audio advisor

Weakness:

It spoils the owner and raises expectations for the other equipment.

I've been happy with my polk 10b in a stereo setup and then I heard my friend's ohm speakers with an Orb subwoofer in his 7.1 setup warching the movie 'NEXT", which has a devastatingly loud avalanche scene.

So I needed a quality subwoofer to go along with the polks. It had to be have a few features: setable low-pass filter frequency, volume control, phase switch and not too large. I got all that in the NHT 12.

The finish is of the highest quality right out of the box. The placement was easy because I had space behind the stereo cabinet which the 12 fit into perfectly. Setup was as easy as connecting plugs. I plugged the subwoofer into the second set of pre-amp outputs of my Adcom GFP-1A. I plugged the Sub's power cord into the wall socket. All done.

I use higher quality monster cable for all my interconnects.

The group Passport has three albums with tremendous percussion: 'Cross-collateral', 'Looking Thru' and Infinity Machine'. It took maybe half of an hour to experiment with the filter and volume to get the impacts to sound completely 'natural' and proportionate. The sound of the pedaled bass drum has impact, depth, rolloff and nuance. I'll be experimenting more with the music as I have barely scratched the surface of what it sounds like these speakers can do.

I later tried a couple of movies, HULK and TRANSFORMERS. WOW!! Pulse cannons and Tank Fire and Jet engines and car engines and all those other sounds have a visceral quality now and are substantially more convincing.

Through my listening so far, I can unequivocally state that the NHT 12 never presented bass that was not part of the music or video. No ringing or booming, either. But if there is bass in your program, the NHT will present it.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 08, 2006]
nguyend6
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Good astheatics, build quality, very musical.

Weakness:

Does not have standard speaker level input binding posts, but this is minor.

This subwoofer is magnificient. I was in a market for a sub, after looking and audition several subs including JM lab 11 and 13 inch subs, B&W 650, Paradigm pw2100, HSU VTF2-MKII, Velodyne SPL1000R, Martin Logan, and others, I finally ended up with this sub. This NHT sub has a glamerous look with black piano finish and very good build quality. But what really impresses me is its sound quality, it is very musical. It sounds good for both music and hometheater, and it shines especially with music. The bass is clean, accurate, powerful allowing you to hear every note of music clearly. This even sounds better than the Velodyne SPL1000R ($1300) both in output volume and accuracy. Of the ones I listened to, only the Martin Logan Grotto, Depth can compete with this but they cost significantly more. For the price, nothing else can compare its musicality. Here is my gear: Denon AVR3802 Receiver Adcom 5400 amp NHT 2.5i fronts, SC1 center, and 1.5 rear Marantz CD player Panamax Power conditioner Panasonic RP-91 DVD player Monster cables Mitshubishi 52725 Madalian DLP Monitor

Similar Products Used:

KEF PSW2150, NHT SW1P, Velodyne SPL1000R.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-2 of 2  

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