NHT owner’s club - Enter at your own risk!

[Daddyjt 9,584]

It occurs to me that NHT (Now Hear This) speakers have quite a following here amongst the Carver faithful.  There is certainly quite a bit of NHT information and opinion/experience scattered about the pages of The Carversite.  Hoping to start a topic here to consolidate some of this lore and foster discussion.

 

My own NHT journey started with a lowly pair of 2.5 (2nd from the left in the group photo below).  I think Tim ( @PhilDent ) was with me for the “Great Speaker Shootout” of 2019.  These lowly little NHTs with a 1” tweeter, 6.5” mid and 8” ported side-firing woofer Flat-out beat Infinity Kappa 9, Polk SDA SRS 1.2 (fully modded), Legacy Focus 20/20, Polk LS70, Klipsch RF7, B&W 805, and Carver ALIII.  We were stunned.  I mean really, it was difficult (to say the least) to believe. 
 

This particular, and my first pair of NHT speakers happened upon me by chance.  I was picking up a Carver M500t that was advertised on the local classifieds in Missoula MT.  When I showed up to buy the amplifier, I learned from the woman selling it that it was part of her husband’s system - sadly he had just passed away.  I was buying the amplifier for $300.  She asked if I was interested in the rest of the gear - an AMC preamp, Sony 5-disc cd carousel, and the NHT 2.5 pair. I said “sure - how much? “  She said “just take it all”, as she was moving to a retirement home, and had no need of any of it, as the home forbade anything other than counter-top radios.  She even had all the boxes (including the speaker boxes).  As I loaded up and drove away, conscious struck, and I hit the ATM for an addition $200 and took it to her.  She teared-up and said she was going to miss sitting and listening to music with her husband, and thanked me profusely for the additional funds. 
 

I like to think that my “good deed” helped lay the groundwork for my happy relationship with NHT speakers.  More to come….

 

 

 

 

[Sk1Bum 11,368]

Hey Mark, the glowing praise that you and several others lathered on NHT 2.5, 2.5i, and 2.9's is what got my attention. When an almost perfect pair of 3.3's popped up less than 3 hours away from me, I had to go give them a listen. I told the seller that I wanted to give them a listen first, and he said fine, but I'd have to bring my own amp, pre, and source. I took either a C-1 or C-11 (Ci-1 I think), an M1.0t, and an oppo 103 along with Dark Side of the Moon, Brothers in Arms, and a couple of other cds. The seller had the speakers set up facing the garage door, and at least 15 feet from either side wall. We hooked up the gear that I brought, powered it up, and put Dark Side of the Moon in the oppo. I hit the play button, and we sat in a couple of kitchen chairs about 15 feet in front of the speakers. 

 

I was absolutely floored by the sound stage, the accuracy of the music, and the bass without a sub. The look on the seller's face was almost like one of his children was moving out. I then got up, walked over to the pre, and hit the SH button. I turned around to walk back to the chair, and the seller was looking from side to side. I grinned knowing what he was hearing. I got back to my seat, and noticed that not only had the sound stage widened, it also had depth. These speakers, the placement, the source material, and Sonic Holography was magical together. We listened to a couple of more songs, and I got up to change CDs. Once I turned the volume down, the seller said, "I'm not so sure that I want to sell them now." I must have shown on my face what I was thinking, because he followed that up very quickly with, "Just kidding, I offered, and I'm pretty sure that you're taking them home." I thought, "one way or another," but I said, "Yes, I believe I am."

 

These speakers are fantastic, and I may be using them in a less than perfect situation. I can improve that when I get an NHT M7 center. The Klipsch center that I'm currently using doesn't blend as well with the NHTs as I'd like, and it was the same with the Amazing Platinum ribbons.  The SVS SB3000 pair works well with the NHTs. I just need to find an M7 at a good price. NHT still offers them, but I've read the wait is several weeks. There was a seller on ebay that was selling NIB at $200 under NHTs price. Of course they're gone now. He claimed he stocked up when NHT first offered them at a promo price. 

[jeffs 3,226]

Good stories.

 

I bought my 2.5i a bunch of years ago from a guy who didn't have room for them in his new home. Mint condition, great price.  We listened to various artists in his living room before I packed them up .... some of his music, some of mine.

I could tell that he didn't want to part with them, but the bungalow style home had no permanent place for them. 

 

Also have 2 pairs of 1.5 bookshelves. Sycamore colored ones are on my desk/bench, black set is part of a 2.1 system I put together for my daughter.  Includes a m400 amp.

 

The 1.5 are sealed, same tweeter and mid as the 2.5, but no 8" driver.

 

[4krow 6,513]

Kind of the same experience when I bought a pair of large JBL 4343 back in the 80's. Right to the point, the seller had not wired them correctly. I knew something was very wrong, but took them anyway. Got them home and discovered the error. Yah, they sound way different after that.

[AndrewJohn 10,412]

I'm into a pair of 2.5i's but they are attached to my wife's system, so I don't get to futz with them much, they are Mains, in a 7.1 system for her rom-com movie watching.

 

I am still on the hunt for the 3.3's.  I come across listings for 2.9's, but with out income, I keep telling myself to hold out - knowing that Murphy is waiting in the wings, so catch me with my audio funds depleted..., then 3 pairs of 3.3's will pop up.  LoL.  I still search.

 

I have a question

OK, for the NHT experts here, @Daddyjt..., since the NHT flagship 3.3's were launched in the 1990's, is anyone noticing any breakdown of drivers? surrounds, crossovers now that these fabulous speakers are approaching 30 years old?  It's hard to notice slow degradation..., but if the crossovers were refreshed, did it change dramatically?  What about surrounds?  I'm curious as they don't look easily DIY'able to re-foam.  Thanks for any insights.

[Belvedere2 232]

Bought my mom a pair of 2.5s a couple yrs ago. Sound very nice with a Pioneer receiver I had. Of course around Christmas she was also in need of a turntable. Off went my other Pioneer.

[PhilDent 1,958]

On 1/13/2025 at 5:48 PM, Daddyjt said:

My own NHT journey started with a lowly pair of 2.5 (2nd from the left in the group photo below).  I think Tim ( @PhilDent ) was with me for the “Great Speaker Shootout” of 2019.  These lowly little NHTs with a 1” tweeter, 6.5” mid and 8” ported side-firing woofer Flat-out beat Infinity Kappa 9, Polk SDA SRS 1.2 (fully modded), Legacy Focus 20/20, Polk LS70, Klipsch RF7, B&W 805, and Carver ALIII.  We were stunned.  I mean really, it was difficult (to say the least) to believe. 

 

Yes, @Daddyjt I was there for the speaker shootout of 2019.  You are indeed, in part, responsible for my growing NHT collection.  My memories of that night are how good the 2.5's sounded against the big boys and that it was the only one that had any Wife Acceptance Factor whatsoever.  And to my surprise the least impressive speakers of that night were the Carver ALIII's.   

 

The first time I saw the NHT speakers I did not like them.  I thought that the side mounted woofer was a gimmick and there was no way that it could sound good.  Similar to my initial dislike of Glock pistols where I thought that there was no way that a plastic gun could be reliable.  I was fantastically wrong twice.  NHTs sound great and Glocks always go bang.

 

As soon as I left Mark's place I began searching for NHTs.  My first acquisition did not go well.  I found a guy near me who was selling a home theater setup with a center channel, 2.5i's and 1.5 surrounds.  He was asking $450 for the set.  When I went to his place to pick them up I encountered quite the bizarre experience.  His dad opened the door and let me in.  The house reeked of cat piss, but they had quite the hi-fi and speaker collection set up in the living room.  He called for his son to let him know that I had arrived.  I see a guy, who looked to be in his mid thirties, struggling down the stairs pausing to cry out in pain, wincing and grabbing his stomach.  In between crying out in pain he told me that he had a mysterious syndrome that caused him excruciating pain.  At this point the dad appeared to roll his eyes and walk away.  In hindsight a red flag.  He said that he couldn't audition the speakers for me, the speakers were sold "as is", and he produced a form for me to sign that stated that there were no returns.  Red flag number two.  I genuinely felt bad for this guy who continued to cry out in pain as I signed my nom de plume "Phillip C Dent" on his form and gave him $500 so he didn't have to make change.   I loaded up the speakers and headed home looking forward to re-creating what I had heard at Mark's place.  That did not happen.  With great anticipation I swapped out my Elac speakers and... the 2.5is sounded like total dog shit.  The windshield wiper sized needles on my M500tmkii were slamming to the max and still the level wasn't all that loud and it just sounded wrong - very wrong.  Why did the NHT speakers not sound like they did at Mark's?  As I suffered for weeks with their disappointing sound Mark enabled the purchase of a pair of Silver 9t monoblocks.  Surprisingly these powerful amps even struggled to make these speakers sound like I remembered them. WTF?!!  

 

Eventually Mark made it out to my place and I auditioned the speakers for him.  IIRC I played The Chain by Fleetwood Mac.  I can still remember his reaction:  he just looked at me and said, "No".  He got up, examined the speakers and to my embarrassment said, "your drivers are frozen".  I find it hard to believe that the seller didn't know that he sold me speakers with drivers that did not work at all.  As it turns out the room correction software of my receiver had been trying to push all the frequencies through the woofers causing the amps to work like crazy.  Mark did some quick research and discovered a solution.  The rear 1.5 speakers had the same drivers.  He did a quick swap and... they sounded like I remembered.

 

So since then. I have collected:

1.5's

AC 2 Center Channel

2.5's

(2) 2.5i's

2.9's (Mark enabled during covid)

3.3's

 

My recently acquired 3.3's have an issue that I haven't figured out yet.  The top drivers have some distortion going on intermittently.  I'm sure that I'll get it figured out - maybe I'll need another visit by @Daddyjt.  The journey continues...

 

 

Edited January 16 by PhilDent

[AndrewJohn 10,412]

On 1/15/2025 at 11:12 PM, PhilDent said:

My recently acquired 3.3's have an issue that I haven't figured out yet. 

 

Ferrofluid leaking/dissipating over time?  Read a post on this in another NHT forum..., these speakers are now pushing the 30 year mark..., like Carver Amazing ribbons needing rebuilt.  I dunno, just a thought to share.

[Daddyjt 9,584]

On 1/14/2025 at 10:06 AM, AndrewJohn said:

…I have a question

OK, for the NHT experts here, @Daddyjt..., since the NHT flagship 3.3's were launched in the 1990's, is anyone noticing any breakdown of drivers? surrounds, crossovers now that these fabulous speakers are approaching 30 years old?  It's hard to notice slow degradation..., but if the crossovers were refreshed, did it change dramatically?  What about surrounds?  I'm curious as they don't look easily DIY'able to re-foam.  Thanks for any insights.

I pulled the crossovers on my first pair of 2.9, and I did not notice any caps even remotely bulging.  As the crossovers are rather complex, I did not tackle a rebuild at this time.

 

As for the surrounds, they are are rubber (not foam), so breakdown is not a concern. Indeed, the only immediate issue is the foam diffraction strips.

 

@PhilDent, your issue sounds like a potential electrical connection issue in one of the drivers. Swap L&R speaker wires and begin the isolation process.  Give me a call when you have time….

[Daddyjt 9,584]

I have an update on NHT’s customer service, but I realized I’m missing a big piece here, so I’m going to do one of those “I have to tell you this story so I can tell you the next story” things…

 

After my experience with @PhilDent and the 2.5, I started looking for a pair of 2.9.  They seem more plentiful now, but back then they were fairly scarce.  I found a set in Bozeman MT - about a 5 hour drive from me.  I rented a minivan, loaded up the family, and we made a weekend getaway out of it.  The speakers were in great shape - they were in a beautiful home that sat on about 10 acres with about 1/4 frontage on the Galatian river.  Probably a 5+ million $ spread.  Anyway, loaded up the speakers and spent the weekend in Bozeman and came home.

 

prior to finding the pair in MT, Tim had found a pair for me in LA.  I shot him some money, and he agreed to hold them until I could make it over to his place. So at this point, I technically had two sets.  
 

Long story short, I fell in love with the 2.9 - it was everything the 2.5 was, but more.  Up until about 6 months ago, I had more or less decided that the 2.9 would be my “forever speakers” - especially since I have 2 pair, I have spare parts:-)  Then the 3.3 pair in Idaho Falls pops up - about a 3 hour drive.  Needless to say, THEY are now my forever speakers!  I know these photos exist elsewhere on the forum, but in the interest of continuity, I’m inserting them in this thread…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Receiver2000 3,963]

What a love story.

[Sk1Bum 11,368]

Hey Mark, what is your crossover setting to the sub? Is the sub the SVS SB4000?

[Daddyjt 9,584]

As the saying goes, I told you that story so I can tell you this one…

 

A couple months ago, I start helping Tim diagnose his issue with his 3.3 - a slight “buzz” or distortion at specific frequencies on specific recordings.  (This may not have played out exactly as I recall - @PhilDent feel free to correct any of my errors)  First step was swapping speaker cables - sound stayed in the same speaker, so that eliminates all the upstream components. To me, it had all the earmarks of a voicecoil rub on the 4” or the 6” driver.  So I tell Tim to pull the 4” drivers and swap them to see if it’s the crossover.  In the midst of that, one of the drivers becomes damaged - now I’m feeling like a jerk:-(  So Tim calls NHT to inquire about a new 4” driver and ends up talking to Antonio.  Antonio as it turns out is the guy that engineered and designed the 3.3, and in his words, “the best speaker NHT ever built”.  Antonio says yes, they have the 4” drivers for sale.  So Tim asks me if he should replace both, and I figure why not.  THEN I start thinking that since I love these speakers so much, maybe I want a couple replacement drivers, just in case.  THEN I start thinking that TWEETERS are fragile, and maybe I should have a couple of those too.  So Tim ends up ordering us each 2x 4” drivers and 2x tweeters - all for  $400 ($200 each).  
 

fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I decide to install my new tweeters.  The ones in my speakers work fine, but they are ugly - a bit faded and - well - just ugly.  I figure I’ll install the new ones, and keep the old as backups.  As I get to the task, I quickly run into issues - the old tweeters have the terminals together on the bottom of the magnet assembly, and the new tweeters have the terminals on the sides. The tolerance of the cutout is such that the side terminals keep the new tweeters from fitting in the cutout.  So now I email Antonio and ask if the tweeters are electrically similar, as I can slightly grind out a bit for the terminals.  He says to measure the overall diameter of the tweeters.  Shit - the new ones are 1/4” smaller in overall diameter.  This means my 3.3 pair were VERY early production, also confirmed by the green/red binding posts.  Antonio told me they have none of the larger (older) tweeters. He says the new tweeters are identical electrically, but he says “let me look around and see if I can find any of the old ones”.

 

About a week later, I get an email that he did indeed find a couple.  He tested them thoroughly and sent the pair to me for $150.  What a stud - I remember a time when service like this was fairly common… Not so much any more.

 

Thank you Antonio and NHT - you guys are a class act.

 

 

 

 

 

[Daddyjt 9,584]

13 minutes ago, Sk1Bum said:

Hey Mark, what is your crossover setting to the sub? Is the sub the SVS SB4000?

No, that’s a Velodyne DD18 in the photo.  It’s no longer there, as the 3.3 definitely required NO sub for music.  That DD18, along with another, AND 2x SVS SB3000 (4 total subs, giving me a 7.4.4 Atmos) are all in the HT now.  It’s flat-out scary the amount of DEEP bass in that room now….

 

[Daddyjt 9,584]

Brand new (25 year old) tweeters now installed - pics below, old then new. I tested function just enough to know they work, critical listening later…:-)

 

 

 

[PhilDent 1,958]

So my 3.3's were having a very strange distortion/vibration at certain frequencies.  I'd typically hear it with female vocals, and I heard it in both speakers.  Sometimes it would be more noticeable on the left and then it would migrate to the right speaker.  I hesitated pulling the drivers out and troubleshooting because of the fear of destroying something in the process.  Yes this is foreshadowing.  The right speaker eventually got so bad that I couldn't ignore it anymore.  Fiona Apple and Aimee Mann convinced me that it was time.  I removed the screws and attempted to remove the driver, but it was stuck and wouldn't budge no matter my persuasion techniques.  My solution was to remove the tweeter below it so I could apply pressure to the back of the driver.  This technique worked too well.  As I tried to balance the tweeter in one hand and apply pressure to the back of the driver with the other, it suddenly released and dropped to the floor ripping the wires off of the voice coil.  Well if the driver wasn't bad before, it was definitely toast now.  OK, time to formulate a new plan.  I decided to remove the driver from my AC2 center channel to see if the driver was a match.  I figured that I could do without a center channel for a while if it meant solving my issue.  Turns out it is a match.  This driver came out easily and I installed it into the right 3.3.  After some auditioning I still heard it - just slightly less than before.  The vibration was still lurking - like that annoying thing that your car does regularly until you take it to the mechanic.  There was still more troubleshooting to be done.

 

I called NHT hoping that they would point me in the right direction to find the replacement drivers.  To my surprise they have original drivers for sale.  Score!  After consulting Mark @Daddyjt we decide that we should ask what other parts are available for these magnificent speakers since we want to keep these speakers running as long as possible.  Antonio from NHT was amazingly helpful.  He had been with the company for decades and had worked on the production of the 3.3s and in his opinion these are the best speakers they have ever made.  He took the time to educate us on which speakers from their lineup used the same drivers, woofers, tweeters and what they had available to replace aging parts and what issues they had seen in the past. They even have new crossovers and will even service and repair the old crossovers.  Antonio even gave us a great price on tweeters and drivers and both Mark and me had our order in a couple of days - truly unbelievable support of a speaker that is 30+ years old.

 

So back to the original problem.  In my trouble shooting attempts I had noticed that sometimes the vibration would go away and then would reappear. It turns out that the driver wasn't the culprit - the wires attached to the drivers were touching the side of the cabinet and vibrating/resonating at certain frequencies.  I buried the wires deeper into the foam filling and since then -  problem solved.  I'm guessing that the moving of the speakers caused the wires  to move from their original position and contact the cabinet.  To get the speakers in position in my "Music Room" I had to muscle these 123lb monsters up a flight of stairs with a dolly.  I'm still impressed that I was able to pull this off by myself. 

 

So in the final analysis I didn't need any new drivers after all.  I just needed to move some wires.  But the process revealed how much NHT supports their products. I am confident we can keep these speakers purring for years to come.

[Receiver2000 3,963]

When you started to say that you had distortion/vibration with female vocals  i was going to say that's just how some women sound...hahahaha. and it travels from left to right as they move around the room.

 

But seriously,  I appreciate your story and solution. That's a good company there!!!! Especially to have drivers available from 30 years ago.

 

Next time you have the need to lug  something up your stairs, call me, I'll help. But may be a beer or two involved.