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But I can't tell you that the Harbeths creamed the SuperZeros—or that I'd rather own a pair of the "new" LS3/5As over the $230 NHTs—because I think the SuperZero is a more neutral, transparent speaker than the venerable BBC design. And it can play a hell of a lot louder without strain, too. True, the SuperZero doesn't have the midbass hump that gives the LS3/5A its famous "li'l 'un that can boogie" reputation. And the NHT's high end is more extended and detailed than the Harbeth's, which has that warm, forgiving character that sez, "It's British and I paid a lot of money for it." But if I…
Aunt Corey's Uneducated White Trash DIY High-Pass Filter
But I knew there had to be a way to mate these two terrific products into one awe-inspiring $880 loudspeaker system. I tried running the SuperZeros full-range with the Muse while sending my preamp's output via a Radio Shack Y-adapter to the MA-1's line-level inputs—so the SW2 could fill out the bottom end, even though the SuperZeros weren't high-pass-filtered at all.
But I knew there had to be a way to mate these two terrific products into one awe-inspiring $880 loudspeaker system. I tried running the SuperZeros full-range with the Muse while sending my preamp's output via a Radio Shack Y-adapter to the MA-1's line-level inputs—so the SW2 could fill out the bottom end, even though the SuperZeros weren't high-pass-filtered at all.
Now I was getting somewhere! This sounded much better than using the MA-1's crossover. The SuperZeros remained clean and clear, and the SW2—the MA-1's 80Hz…
Home theater use
The SuperZeros should also be considered a prime candidate for Home Theater systems that see double duty as music-playback systems. I tried using five SuperZeros for the Left, Right, Center, and two Surround speakers—along with an SW2P to handle the bass—in my own Home Theater rig, and was extremely impressed with their performance when playing high-quality laserdiscs. And unlike every video-specific Home Theater speaker I've heard—including THX-approved models from Fosgate, JBL, and even the Snell 500 THX system JGH reviewed in Vol.15 No.12, p.202—the SuperZeros didn't…
The SuperZeros should also be considered a prime candidate for Home Theater systems that see double duty as music-playback systems. I tried using five SuperZeros for the Left, Right, Center, and two Surround speakers—along with an SW2P to handle the bass—in my own Home Theater rig, and was extremely impressed with their performance when playing high-quality laserdiscs. And unlike every video-specific Home Theater speaker I've heard—including THX-approved models from Fosgate, JBL, and even the Snell 500 THX system JGH reviewed in Vol.15 No.12, p.202—the SuperZeros didn't…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
NHT SuperZero: two-way, acoustic-suspension minimonitor. Drive-units: 4.5" paper-cone woofer, 1" soft-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 85Hz-25kHz, ±3dB. Crossover frequency & slopes: 2.2kHz, 6 and 12dB/octave. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 7.5 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m. Power handling: 100W maximum, 15W minimum.
Dimensions: 5.5" W by 9" H by 5" D. Internal volume: 2 liters. Weight: 6.5 lbs each.
Finishes available: high-gloss black laminate, high-gloss white laminate, hand-rubbed oak veneer.
Serial numbers of samples tested: A410-0001000…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Fig.3 shows the manner in which the SuperZero's impedance changes with frequency. The peak centered just above 2kHz is due to the crossover; that in the upper bass is due to the sealed-box woofer tuning. Reaching a maximum of 19.2 ohms at 120Hz, it indicates a complete absence of mid- and low bass in the speaker's output. Overall, the SuperZero is a super-easy load for an amplifier to drive, which, coupled with a calculated B-weighted sensitivity of 85dB/W/m—highish for the size—means that it can be used even with inexpensive receivers (footnote 1).
…
Corey talked about the SuperZero's tiny cabinet being more rigid than a larger one constructed from the same material—all things being equal. This will result in resonant modes that are higher in frequency and will therefore have less damaging effect on the music. Fig.10 shows that the mode highest in level lies at a very high 492Hz, or just below the B on the center line of the treble staff. Other modes are all much lower in level.
Fig.10 NHT SuperZero, cumulative spectral-decay plot of accelerometer output fastened to back of enclosure above terminal panel. (MLS driving…
Following my review of two high-performance minimonitors last November (footnote 1), I received a letter asking why I recommended a stand-mounted speaker at all when it was possible to buy a floorstanding design with more bass for the same amount of money. Furthermore, the correspondent went on, when you consider that the minimonitor sitting on its stand occupies as much floorspace as the floorstander, it's hard to see why a market for minimonitors exists at all.
Strong arguments, perhaps convincing to some. But floorstanding speakers have their drawbacks, too. It's much harder to…
This is the most extended bass I've ever heard from a small speaker, beating out for low-frequency extension even the Platinum Solo that I reviewed last November. More important, the Mani-2 didn't achieve its awesome bass at the expense of definition. The speaker went deep, but it went deep clean! There was no puddingy loss of definition, no boom to drive you crazy. (Talking about boom, check out the laserdisc of Live Secret World, Real World 14381-3051-6—what did the producers do, wind up the mid-bass to make Home Theater owners think their inexpensive powered subwoofers had suddenly…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, magnetically shielded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) metal-dome tweeter, two 7" plastic-cone woofers. Crossover frequency: 4kHz. Frequency response: 29Hz-20kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity: 85dB/W/m (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Maximum sound pressure level: 110dB before dynamic compression. Amplifier requirements: 40-200W (4 ohms).
Dimensions: 16.5" (420mm) H by 8.5" (212mm) W by 12" (305mm) D. Weight: 23 lbs (10.5kg) each.
Price: $3995/pair (matching Target R-2 stands cost $720/pair). Approximate number…
Sidebar 2: Review context
My relatively small room measures around 19' by 16.5' by 9'. Each of the loudspeakers was positioned for the best sound (with only one pair of loudspeakers in the listening room at a time), generally some 3' from the rear wall (which is faced with books and LPs) and approximately 5' from the side walls (which also have bookshelves covering some of their surfaces). Each pair of speakers sat on 24" Celestion Si stands, these filled with lead shot and spiked to the concrete floor beneath the rug/pad.
Amplifiers used were a Mark Levinson No.333 dual-mono (…