What do you think of these???

nellis8166

http://nhtxd.com/

marker

I've heard them. It seems like they cost a lot, and they do, but when you consider that for that price you are also getting stands, power amplification, processing, and wire & cabling, then it doesn't seem quite as bad. All you need is a source and pre-amp. With that said however, I don't think now is the time to buy. This is still a new technology and will probably be pretty much the standard by all companies in 10 years or so, so the prices will obviously come down, as well as improvements made in tweaks and refinements. It is best to play the waiting game at this point IMO.

There will be a 2 tone black/charcoal colored system available in the fall that will look much better.

When comparing them to NHT T6 Evolutions, the T6 will have more output in a bigger room (unless you add a second sub to the XD system), and a higher or taller vertical soundstage, but other than that, IMO the XD is definitely better in every way than the T6, which itself is a Stereophile Class A rated speaker.

ezc

The XD's are very good. I have heard them in a 2ch setup & in a 5.1 setup. Amazing sound from small bookshelf speakers. We are a NHT dealer & we have st4's & sb3 we use for demo's but the XD with speaker correction is at another level of preformance. The system when it was first released was $5000 the same system now is $6000. Set up in a 5.1 system is very good & I was impressed that speakers that small filled the room with great sound. It is costly & you dont have many upgrades to the system to try & improve preformance. The system works very well for the customer who dosnt want to mess with the system & will not want to do upgrades.

F1nut

Ace,

Did you listen to the 2 channel set up with or without the speaker correction system?

Frank Z

Fugly, Fugly, Fugly.

marker

Jesse the DSP is always on, be it 2 channel or surround. The 6K price is for 2 satellites and 1 sub. An additional sub is extra $$$.

They suggest a 4.1 or 4.2 surround setup as a center channel is not even needed since they image so well over a wide area. IOW, no "sweet spot", as basically anywhere in the whole room IS the sweet spot.

If I had the $$ and wanted them now, I'd probably do a 6.2 or 6.3 surround setup with them, but I think that'd be way overkill (not to mention about 20 large in coin). I'd just get a 2 channel set up and just use a conventional sub/sat speaker/AVR combination for movies.

F1nut

LOL.....yeah Frank, that was my first thought when Mark first showed them to me. I think the new colors will help a lot.

Ok Mark, thanks. I quess I'll be keeping my modded SB3's for the shop.

organ

Frank Z wrote:

Fugly, Fugly, Fugly.

LOL. I agree but I can see how some people can find them beautiful. I'm sick and tired of the ultra funky futuristic look some companies are putting out. Give me a plain black box and I'm happy.

Maurice

marker

If you think they look ugly in the pics, just wait till you actually see them in person! The pics do not do them justice as to just how ugly they really are. My local NHT dealer said only one person has actually thought they looked good and everyone else hated their color. The 2 tone black should look much, much better when it comes out.

When we have the RDU Polk gathering this fall, everyone will get the chance to hear these speakers.

IMO, one of two things will happen with this, either this will take off, become widespread and is the norm rather than the exception within a few years, or, it is ignored and fades away. I can't imagine the big electronics manufacturers Pioneer, Onkyo, Yamah, etc. wanting this to take off as it would potentially put a dent in their sales, unless they get involved by putting in the receivers or something.

organ

I agree, they would look much better in 2 tone black. But the shape and curves is a big turn off for me. I serously hope this doesn't take off.

The perfect looking speaker for me is a plain black box but if I want something sexy, I look at my LSi9. I bet chicks would dig the LSi look.

Maurice

marker

organ wrote:

I agree, they would look much better in 2 tone black. But the shape and curves is a big turn off for me. I serously hope this doesn't take off.

The perfect looking speaker for me is a plain black box but if I want something sexy, I look at my LSi9. I bet chicks would dig the LSi look.

Maurice

If you ever actually heard them, I doubt very seriously you'd be saying that you hope it doesn't take off simply because of how they look.

organ

Oops, I thought you were talking about the looks taking off as in the receiver companies making stuff that would accomodate the new look. I'm sure they sound fantastic. NHT is a highly respected company. My bad.

Maurice

ezc

F1 I listened to the 2ch with speaker correction. NHT had the systems set up in thier suites at this years CES. From what i was told the speakers do not have a crossover in them it is hadnled by the DEQX speaker correction box. They used a $49 panasonic dvd player as the source for 2ch & the 5.1 system & again I was amazed how good two small book shelf speakers with a sub sounded. What really amazed me was in the 2ch set up one speaker was turned 180 deg. so one was pointed at the listening area & the other at the front wall, the sound didnt change by much, even with the speakers pointing in the opposite direction. This would be the perfect system if I just wanted to have a system that I set up once & just played. I did have alot of interest in the DEQX setup for my LSi's, but its kinda of costly & even if i picked up the line I dont know how many i could sell.

organ

OK, I finally read the technical stuff and I'm a little confused. If ezc didn't post his impressions, I would have called NHT's Xd horse ****. But I have to say, I'm still a little confused. Ezc said that when one speaker was turned 180 degrees, the sound didn't change much but the drivers are facing away from the listener completely. A lot of magic going on there.

Maurice