a 6.5-inch woofer, and a side-
mounted 10-inch subwoofer. The
Classic Three monitor is a three-
way design that utilizes the Classic
Four’s top three driver configura-
tion, and the Three C is a three-
way center with similar drivers,
but it has two 6.5-inch woof ers.
The drivers all have aluminum
diaphragms, by the way,
and are new NHT designs.
You rarely see this sort of
dual-dome (tweeter
and
midrange) arrangement
anymore. Most midrange
drivers are cone shaped
and paired with dome
tweeters. Based on what
I heard, the dual-dome
approach works wonders
for imaging precision.
The Classic cabinets
feel rock solid; wrap your
knuckles on these brutes,
and all you’ll get are sore
fingers. The top section’s
curves flare back, minimiz-
ing image-smearing dif-
fraction effects. Naturally,
it’s a shame I feel that I’d have to.
The matching Power5 is a Class
D (switching) amplifier with a
relatively compact and lightweight
design. It incorporates the latest
Bang & Olufsen ICEpower amp -
lifier modules, which have been
used in a number of pricey, high-end
amplifiers. This five-times-200-watt
amp never got hot or even slightly
warm during my use.
In addition to the Speaker Wizard,
the Controller has an auto speaker-
setup program, but I used the
manual setup. I noticed that, as
the test tones were playing over
the speakers, the Classics’ timbre
matching was near perfect. A lot
of brands claim their speakers are
timbre matched, but, in
actuality, they’re not. The
Fours, Threes, and Three
C sounded remarkably
similar. My biggest oper-
ational complaint was
that, whenever I skipped
chapters on a DVD, the
Controller’s sound cut
in and out for a frac-
tion of a second before
continuing.
The Controller and
Power5 communicate
via the NHTBus cable,
so, for example, when
y o u ’r e l i s t e n i n g i n
stereo, the amp auto-
matically shuts down
the unused channels.
Modern Classics
The Classics’ beauti-
fully chiseled shape looks
expensive. When I started
the review, I hadn’t yet
learned the system’s prices
and thought the Fours
went for about $2,500 per
pair, but they’re $1,800.
And, when you figure in
the Fours’ deep-bass capa-
bilities and the possible
elimination of the need for
a subwoofer, $1,800 starts
to look like an incredible
deal. The Classic Four is a
four-way design with a
0.75-inch dome tweeter,
a 2-inch dome midrange,
[
H I G H L I G H T S
Controller Pre/Pro and Power5
Amplifier:
Communicate with each other
Amp uses high-end modules
94
93
93
95
93
General information
Classic Four Loudspeaker, $900/each; Classic Three C Center-Channel Speaker, $600; Classic Three Bookshelf Speaker, $400/each
NHT, (800) NHT-9993,
www.nhthifi.com
>
Dealer Locator Code NHT
The most impressive aspect of
NHT’s new Classic designs is
that they’re such well-rounded
products. They excel in every
category: build quality, value,
features, and performance.
>
Incredibly solid
medium-density-
fiberboard cabinets
>
Flawless paint finish
adds a high-end sheen
>
Build quality is com-
parable with speakers
that sell for double and
even triple the price
>
The Classic Four is a
lot of speaker for the
money
>
The aluminum dome
midrange and tweeter
drivers are so cool
>
The Classic Three is a
three-way design, and
that’s a rare distinction
among compact monitor
speakers
>
The Classic Four has
bass; you might not
need a subwoofer
>
The speakers have
excellent model-to-
model timbre matching
and superb, three-
dimensional imaging
>
You can use the Three
C center speaker’s adjust -
able rear foot to angle
the speaker down if it’s
placed atop a TV
>
Eliminating the sub-
woofer might provide
needed space
NHT CLASSIC FOUR SPEAKER SYSTEM
OVERALL RATING
Build Quality
Value
Features
Performance
Ergonomics
94
94
Steve was disap-
pointed that a great pro -
duct like the Controller
comes with a user-
unfriendly remote.
^
Samsung HL-S6188W
DLP HDTV,
$3,300
Resolution:
1,920 by 1,080 (1080p)
Best Video Connection:
HDMI (2)
Weight:
79.4 pounds
JVC HD-61FN97 D-ILA
HDTV,
$2,900
Resolution:
1,920 by 1,080 (1080p)
Best Video Connection:
HDMI (2)
W
eight:
97 pounds
NEED A DISPLAY?
We recommend the fol-
lowing displays for use
with this NHT system:
Screen images courtesty of 20th Century Fox
NUVISION
NHT CLASSIC FOUR SPEAKER
SYSTEM, CONTROLLER PRE/PRO,