from the
test bench
Buy a new Corvette, and you
won’t have to study the car zines
to figure out what brand of V-8
you’ll need to install under the
hood. Every Vette comes with
a maxed-out Chevy engine,
transmission, and chassis, so all
of the parts work together in
one finely tuned road machine.
Assembling a home theater
audio system from different
brands’ speakers and electronics
might be a bit more complicated,
but it’s really not that big of a
deal. Even so, the synergies that a
single-brand home theater audio
system can afford are obvious, and
I really think this new, more holis-
tic approach might turn out to be
one of the most promising trends
in consumer electronics. I had my
first glimpse of that future when
Now Hear This (NHT) unveiled
their first integrated electronics
and speaker system, the Xd, in
2005. For that project, NHT joined
forces with DEQX, a leader in dig-
ital speaker-correction techniques,
and PowerPhysics, a top developer
of digital power amplifiers
.
More
recently, Vinci Labs acquired NHT
and immediately collaborated on
development for the Controller
surround pro cessor and the Power5
and Power2 amplifiers.
NHT’s engineers next rolled out
the Classic Series speakers. I have
to admit, the name initially threw
me off track. I’ve admired NHT’s
speakers for 20-something years,
and the Classics’ sound was anything
but classic NHT. The brand’s “house
sound” was more forward and
tonally lean; the new Classic’s sound
is laid-back, with a fleshier balance.
I don’t know; maybe New Classic
would have been more like it.
I was inspired by NHT’s system
approach, and I couldn’t wait to
get my hands on the Classic Four
system. It has all the new stuff,
including a pair of Classic Four
towers, a Classic Three C center
speaker, a pair of Classic Three
monitors, and the Controller pro -
cessor and Power5 amplifier. It’s a
five-channel system, but you can
readily expand it to six or seven
channels with the addition of the
Power2 stereo amplifier ($1,200),
plus an extra couple of Classic
Cordero Studios
Hearing is believing.
NHT Classic Four Speaker
System, Controller Pre/Pro,
and Power5 Amplifier
The NHT system
made Steve want to
crank up the volume
and rock out.
^
Home Theater /
April 2007
>
www.hometheatermag.com
BY STEVE GUTTENBERG
ELECTRONICALLY REPRINTED FROM APRIL 2007
S P O T L I G H T S Y S T E M : T w o R e v i e w s i n O n e !
$ $ — $ $ $
