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I encountered only one problem in my auditioning of the NHT 2.9s—a buzzing sound, more prominent in the right speaker than in the left. It occurred only on specific, very strong bass notes, and seemed to originate at the junction of the metal bracket and the cabinet's bottom edge. I didn't attempt to cure it (it was an only occasional nuisance), but the problem disappeared when I took the weight off the feet by tipping the cabinets. NHT might look into eliminating a slight ridge around the bottom edge of the cabinet. (It's not visible, but you can feel it at the join of bottom and sides.)…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way, floorstanding, acoustic-suspension loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" fluid-cooled aluminum-dome tweeter, 4" polypropylene-cone upper-midrange unit, 6.5" polypropylene-cone lower-midrange unit; 10" long-throw polypropylene-cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: 100Hz, 320Hz, 3.5kHz. Frequency response: 26Hz-26kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m. Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 3.1 ohms minimum. Recommended amplifier power: 30-250Wpc.
Dimensions: 39.5" H by 7" W by 21.5" D. Weight: 78 lbs.
Finishes: gloss black; mahogany or sycamore, add $175/pair.…
Sidebar 2: Review System
The system used to review the NHT 2.9s comprised a Mark Levinson No.37 CD transport and No.36s D/A converter, a Jeff Rowland Design Group Consummate preamplifier, and Kinergetics KBA-280 and Acurus A200 power amplifiers. Interconnects were TARA Labs RSC Reference (player or DAC to preamp) and Cardas Hexlink (preamp to power amp). Digital interconnects were Kimber AGDL, and biwire speaker cables were Monster M1.5s (upper range) and Z-Series (bass).—Thomas J. Norton
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The NHT's impedance (fig.1) stays between 4 and 6 ohms over much of the audioband, with a dip to 3.4 ohms at 54Hz but a moderately low phase angle overall. The combination of 6 ohms magnitude and 45 degrees phase angle at 40Hz might be too demanding for some receivers, but an amplifier rated into 4 ohms would be a good match for the speaker. My estimate of the 2.9's voltage sensitivity came in marginally higher than spec at 88dB/2.83V/m, meaning that even a 50W amplifier will drive it to quite high levels in a moderate-sized room. The peak at 30Hz in fig.1…
Fig.4 NHT 2.9, anechoic response on upper-midrange tweeter axis at 50", averaged across 30 degrees horizontal window and corrected for microphone response, with the complex sum of the nearfield woofer and midrange-unit responses plotted below 400Hz.
TJN also commented on the NHT 2.9's highs as sounding "a bit bright, with a slight bite to the treble." Fig.4 does reveal that there is a smooth rising trend apparent on-axis from the midrange to 12kHz or so, broken by some extra energy in the low treble. The speaker's lateral dispersion on the upper-midrange axis (fig.5), however, is…
TORI AMOS: Under the Pink
Atlantic 82567-2 (CD). John Beverly Jones, Paul McKenna, Eric Rosse, engs.; Eric Rosse, Tori Amos, prods. AAD? TT: 56:52
Atlantic 82567-2 (CD). John Beverly Jones, Paul McKenna, Eric Rosse, engs.; Eric Rosse, Tori Amos, prods. AAD? TT: 56:52
Tori Amos walks a thin line. On one side lie power and passion; on the other, pretension and preciousness. Like a gymnast on the balance beam, it's less surprising that she falls than that she can stay upright at all while performing such intricate and expressive exercises as she does on Under the Pink.
On Amos's debut, Little Earthquakes, she made it seem like a piece of cake. It would be understandable if, on a sophomore effort,…
I recently bought a turntable, the first I've owned in about 15 years. I had sold my vinyl collection—a mix of classic rock, early 1980s pop, and the odd jazz or classical LP—when I was in grad school, for economic reasons: I needed the money for rent, or food, or beer, or something. Nor do I know what happened to my old plastic turntable; more than likely, I left it curbside for anyone strolling by who was able to appreciate its value.
Returning to vinyl was, for me, no less an economic decision than getting out of it had been 15 years before. I was drawn back to vinyl not, as many…
Talking to fellow audiophiles, I sometimes hear generalizations about power-amplifier design: "High-power amplifiers don't sound as good as low-power amplifiers." "Tube amps are more musical than solid-state amps." "Class-A circuit designs always sound better than class-AB." "Bridged amplifiers don't image precisely, throw deep soundstages, or have the transparency of non-bridged output stages." Etc.
How did bridged output stages acquire this reputation? Bridged circuits double the voltage of the amplifier's single-ended output, boosting the amplifier's output power and headroom…
Rugged construction
Like the 7B-ST, the 14B-SST has a massive chassis with Bryston's black "thermal monolith" styling, including a row of heat-radiating fins lining each chassis side. The hand-assembled 14B-SST is available in two versions in North America, including the standard 120V 15-amp and a 20-amp models. There is also a 10-amp, 240V version for the European market.
Like the 7B-ST, the 14B-SST has a massive chassis with Bryston's black "thermal monolith" styling, including a row of heat-radiating fins lining each chassis side. The hand-assembled 14B-SST is available in two versions in North America, including the standard 120V 15-amp and a 20-amp models. There is also a 10-amp, 240V version for the European market.
Only a power switch adorns the 14B-SST's front panel. The only lettering besides the company name is the "ST" logo (for designer Stuart Taylor), which can be found on the membrane-type power switch. Two tricolor…
In fact, the Bryston 14B-SST seemed to have no character at all. It was a chameleon. Driving the Burmester B-99 speakers, the amplifier had reticent highs. With the Revel Ultima Salons, it was neutral and polite, without the snap and zip that the 7B-ST gives to percussion sounds. With the MartinLogan Prodigys, the big Bryston made the MLs' ForceForward woofers blossom and become forceful and taut, while expanding their dynamic range.
The 14B-SST's sonic character ranged from polite to powerful, but no simple profile emerged. In some instances, I loved what I heard; in others, I wasn't…