as with just about every NHT
speaker I’ve ever seen, the Classics
are available with a high-gloss black
finish. However, my samples were
decked out in what NHT calls
Special Dark, a reddish-brown,
chocolaty hue. I’d definitely go for
that finish in my room.
The room-shaking abilities of
the Classic Four’s 10-inch woofer
appeared to extend well into the
mid-30-hertz range in my large
home theater. I’d recommend
starting out subwooferless, and
then, if you want a little extra
kick, biamp the Classic Fours
with NHT’s X1 crossover ($350)
and A1 outboard amp ($400). If
that’s still not enough shake and
quake, pick up a Classic Ten or
Classic Twelve subwoofer ($600
and $850 each, respectively).
Obviously, if you’re planning to
assemble a system with the
smaller Classics, you’ll definitely
need one of the subs.
Hear This
As I said, NHT’s “house sound” has
changed from what I remember in
the past. At first, the treble seemed
a trifle reticent. But it’s all there,
even if reduced in level a bit, and
it’s exquisitely refined. The Classics’
dynamics are similarly easygoing,
with no strain or compression. Want
to crank Aerosmith loud enough to
make your ears threaten to bleed?
No problemo. The Classics love
volume the way a Dodge Viper
SRT10 loves speed. And I’ll admit
it: Playing music at near realistic
volume is a real kick. That’s rarely
possible with smaller speakers, but,
when I get to play with the big
guys, it’s tons of fun.
The imaging is spectacular in its
scope and room-filling dimensions;
the Classic speakers’ image height,
width, and depth approach what
I’ve heard from the better electro-
static and flat-panel speakers. But
electrostatics can’t generally deliver
the Classic Fours’ dynamics and
room-shaking bass. Their broad
tonal palette is on par with some
speakers that sell for more than
double the Fours’ price.
On the other hand, I’m not so
sure about the Speaker Wizard’s
effect on the sound. I listened both
with and without it over the course
of a day, and my impression was
that the Wizard’s cooler tonal bal-
ance goosed the Classics’ detail;
but, to my ears, it was too much of
a good thing. That said, in a differ-
ent room or acoustic setting, the
Speaker Wizard might be the cat’s
meow. Try it; you may like it.
I’ve been into horror movies
lately, and I keep coming back to
The
Ring
, the first and arguably the best
of the two installments. It’s super
creepy and chock-full of unsettling
noises and the sound of bubbling liq-
uids. But it’s the scene on the ferry-
boat that literally makes me jump
up from my couch. Naomi Watts
approaches a fellow passenger’s
horse, and the animal goes flat-
out berserk, breaks out of its stall,
gallops around the boat, and jumps
> Analog frequency response in Stereo96
mode:
–0.14 dB at 10 Hz; –0.04 dB at 20 Hz
–0.23 dB at 20 kHz; –21.00 dB at 50 kHz
> Analog frequency response with signal
processing:
–0.14 dB at 10 Hz; –0.05 dB at 20 Hz
–0.22 dB at 20 kHz; –53.40 dB at 50 kHz
This chart shows the frequency response of the left
(aqua), center ( green), LFE ( purple), and left sur-
round (red) channels at the preamp outputs of the
Dolby Digital decoder. The left channel measures
–0.02 dB at 20 Hz and –0.12 dB at 20 kHz. The center
channel measures –0.03 dB at 20 Hz and 0.04 dB
at 20 kHz, and the left surround channel measures
–0.03 dB at 20 Hz and 0.04 dB at 20 kHz. The LFE
channel, normalized to the level at 40 Hz, is 0.01 dB
at 20 Hz, reaches the upper –3-dB point at 118 Hz,
and reaches the upper –6-dB point at 121 Hz.
Response from the multichannel input to the
main output measures –0.90 dB at 10 Hz, –0.33 dB
at 20 Hz, –0.15 dB at 20 kHz, and –1.01 dB at 50 kHz.
The analog THD+N is less than 0.041 percent at 1 kHz
with a 100-millivolt input and the volume control set
to 2. Crosstalk with a 100-mV input was –83.08 dB
left to right and –82.65 dB right to left. The signal-to-
noise ratio with a 100-mV input from 10 Hz to 24 kHz
with “A” weighting was –116.33 dBrA.
—MJP
NHT CONTROLLER PRE/PRO
AT A GLANCE
HT Labs Measures: NHT Controller Pre/Pro
> FEATURES
Processing Modes:
Dolby: Digital 5.1, EX, Pro Logic
II,
Pro Logic IIx
DTS: DTS, ES, Neo:6, 96/24
THX Certification:
No
Audio D/A Converter:
24-bit/192-kilohertz
Dimensions
(H x W x D, inches): 5.75 x 17.25 x 17
Weight ( pounds):
27
These listings are based on the man-
ufacturer’s stated specs; the HT Labs
box below indicates the gear’s perfor-
mance on our test bench.
>
CONNECTIONS
Inputs:
Video:
HDMI ( 3), component video ( 3),
S-video (4), composite video (6)
Audio:
Coaxial digital ( 3), optical digital
( 3), 7.1-channel analog (1), stereo
analog (6)
Outputs:
Video:
HDMI (1), component video (1),
S-video (2), composite video (2)
Audio:
Optical digital (2), stereo analog
(2), 7.1 preamp (1)
Additional:
NHTBus (1), RS-232 (1), 12-volt
trigger ( 3), IR jack (2)
NUVISION NVX32HDU LCD HD MONITR
from the
test bench
NHT CLASSIC FOUR SPEAKER SYSTEM, CONTROLLER
PRE/PRO, AND POWER5 AMPLIFIER