NHT SuperZero Bookshelf Speaker (Single)

Features NHT SuperZero Bookshelf Speaker (Single)

Amazon.com

NHT (Now Hear This) has been making waves in high-end audio for some time, offering solidly designed speakers at prices far lower than their stunning sounds would lead you to expect. The SuperZero is a marvelous bookshelf design, delivering sweet and seamless sound across most of the audio spectrum. In our tests we found that the speaker rolls off bass in the bottom couple octaves, making it most suitable as a satellite speaker in a home theater (and it's sold singly, so you can buy five if you decide to go the home theater route).

The speaker is quite plain to look at, but this only makes it all the more stunning when you fire it up and hear its gloriously natural midrange and mellow but perfectly detailed high frequencies. And we have no trouble recommending this as a bookshelf speaker for close quarters--say, a bedroom or dorm room, where placement near a wall will emphasize whatever bass is there. Additionally, a subwoofer will do a great deal to fill in the low end.

Timbrally, apart from the drop-off in the low end, this speaker is spot on. Voices, acoustic instruments, electric guitars, drums, synthesizers--you name it, this speaker does it justice, letting you lose yourself in a musical presentation for hours on end without strain or fatigue (provided you're not playing them too loudly, of course. This is a definite temptation). We were simply astounded at how NHT's SuperZero played us not so much the sound as the music, the true test of any speaker's mettle.

The SuperZero's speaker terminals are rugged five-way binding posts, and the backside comes with two threaded holes for wall mounting. Wall placement, whether the SuperZero is on the wall or merely near it, will beef up the bass a bit, but we found that it sounded the most natural with 2 or 3 feet of space on all sides (stands are not included). --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

Gorgeous sound
Outstanding timbral balance
Incredible quality for the price

Cons:

Lack of bass

ASVOLOVA

Wednesday, March 20, 2013