NUVISION NVX32HDU LCD HD MONITR
from the
test bench
NHT CLASSIC FOUR SPEAKER SYSTEM, CONTROLLER
PRE/PRO, AND POWER5 AMPLIFIER
overboard. Yikes! The Classic Four’s
low bass was deep enough to com-
municate the unbridled horsepower
of the scene. The NHT ensemble’s
visceral sound is just plain scarier
than any sub/sat system I’m familiar
with could ever hope to muster.
The remastered DVD-Audio disc
of David Crosby’s
If I Could Only
Remember My Name
is a trip to the
outer fringes of hippiedom, circa
1971. Supported by a slew of
fellow travelers from the Grateful
Dead and Jefferson Airplane,
Crosby made a perfect musical
time capsule. The surround mix
knocked me out, but, even in stereo,
the sound possessed a flesh-and-
blood natural quality.
The
Pixies Acoustic: Live in Newport
DVD’s unplugged vibe is a nice
contrast to the band’s usual electric
edge. The warm blend of guitars
and Kim Deal’s bass guitar sounded
sweet, and, now that I can hear
every word in Frank Black’s twisted
lyrics, they’re even weirder than I
had thought. The Classics’ sound
kept surprising me, especially when
I played my reference discs, stuff
I’ve heard on what seems like a
billion systems. My respect for
Lucinda Williams’
Live @ the Fillmore
CD kicked up another notch.
There was something about the
yearning in her voice that really
touched me. The low-level detail-
ing and the ability to hear the
concert-hall acous tics were extra-
ordinary. Yeah, the system’s powers
of persuasion were clearly work-
ing their magic.
Just to convince myself that the
sound wasn’t just a magical synergy
between the NHT speakers and the
electronics, I hooked up a $1,500
A/V receiver to the Classics, and
their sound still shone through. It
was very sweet, big, and powerful
but nowhere as transparent, and the
bass definition loosened up a
smidgen. Still, it’s hardly a fair com-
parison—a $4,750 surround-
processor/power-amp combination
should sound a whole lot better than
a $1,500 receiver. I guess it all comes
back to the maxim that the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts,
and, in this case, the parts are plenty
outstanding on their own. The Clas-
sic Four system takes it to another
level.
> All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm
loads:
0.1% distortion at 257.1 watts
1% distortion at 299.1 watts
> Frequency response:
–0.29 dB at 10 Hz; –0.09 dB at 20 Hz
–0.27 dB at 20 kHz; +0.68 dB at 50 kHz
This graph shows that the Power5’s left amplifier
channel, with two channels driving 8-ohm loads,
reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 291.6 watts and
1 percent distortion at 349.5 watts. Into 4 ohms,
the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at
538.9 watts and 1 percent distortion at 640.2 watts.
An input level of 117.0 mV was required to produce
an output of 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load, indi-
cating an overall gain of 27.59 dB.
Crosstalk at 1 kHz driving 2.83 volts into
an 8-ohm load was –109.0 dB left to right and
–106.78 dB right to left.—
MJP
NHT POWER5 AMPLIFIER
AT A GLANCE
HT Labs Measures: NHT Power5 Amplifier
> FEATURES
Number of Channels:
5
Power Rating (watts
per channel):
200, into 8 ohms
Frequency Response: 3 dB from 20 Hz
to 20 kHz
Dimensions
(H x W x D, inches): 5.75 x 17.25 x 17
Weight ( pounds):
37
Price:
$2,000
>
CONNECTIONS
Inputs:
RCA (5)
Outputs:
Five-way binding posts (5 pair)
Additional:
NHTBus, IR in and out,
12-volt trigger in and out
These listings are based on the manufacturer’s stated
specs; the HT Labs box below indicates the gear’s per-
formance on our test bench.
95
95
95
93
87
General information
Controller Pre/Pro, $2,750; Power5 Amplifier, $2,000
>
NHT, (800) NHT-9993,
www.nhthifi.com
>
Dealer Locator Code NHT
NHT’s new electronics aren’t
merely me-too components.
They look cool, sound wonder-
ful, and offer tremendous value.
>
Touch controls for
every function eliminate
all mechanical switches
>
The Power5’s ICE-
power digital modules
are used in far more
expensive high-end amps
>
The most affordable
touchscreen-controlled
pre/pro I’ve seen
>
Most 200-watt-per-
channel amps go for a
lot more dough
>
Speaker Wizard pro-
vides proprietary equal-
ization for NHT speakers
>
Auto speaker calibra-
tion on tap as well
>
Clean, beautifully
balanced sound
>
Abundant power
reserves
>
Navigating the
Controller’s touch-
screen display can
test your patience
>
Awkward remote
ergonomics
NHT CONTROLLER PRE/PRO AND POWER5 AMPLIFIER
OVERALL RATING
Build Quality
Value
Features
Performance
Ergonomics
94
94
Posted with permission from the April 2007 issue of
Home Theater
® www.hometheatermag.com. Copyright 2007, PRIMEDIA Inc. All rights reserved.
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