NHT C3 Review (3-way speaker)

[sarumbear]

As I understand it, @direstraitsfan98 is sending a FP01 to Amir.

Can't wait!

 

[alex1berg]

Shoot, the owner noticed that in my picture the midrange is poked in on the bottom and it is!!! That could explain the worse than normal response in that region. I tried to see if I can poke it with my finger and I cannot. So it must have come that way. I will add a note to the review.

But wait, everyone selling used speakers with mashed-in domes on Ebay, say it doesn't affect the sound at all.

 

[amirm]

Well, we will find out when we test the next one.

 

[BYRTT]

...computed from ASR data... ...Here is the spinorama (and friends) without EQ and with EQ...

Thanks share man it looks nice, not that it mean so much but it looks your script or software have Floor+Cieling & Left+Right vice versa as visualized in below animation ..

 

[MZKM]

Thanks share man it looks nice, not that it mean so much but it looks your script or software have Floor+Cieling & Left+Right vice versa as visualized in below animation ..
View attachment 112011

Yep, 20kHz should be going down.

Here are mine (H then V):

I wish Google Sheets was a little more robust (Excel can do this, which I imagine I could use for 3D polar plots), for anyone wondering how I did the above, it literally is just a ~ 37x195 grid of cells where I transpose the SPL data horizontally and then apply cell color fill conditional formatting based off the SPL value relative to the calculate mean. Mine is less picky for red though, I allow a wider rage than Amir/Klippel does.
The colors though were tricky as I wanted it mathematically correct, so I found a gradient website were you plug in the beginning/middle/end colors you want and the # of in-between colors you want and it’ll spit out the according HEX values.

 

[restorer-john]

Well, we will find out when we test the next one.

Try not to poke the next one in, OK? *kidding*

 

[jhaider]

On-axis response is kind of wavy. This was unexpected as measurements performed elsewhere are much flatter. My in-room measurements showed the same so I don't think it is an issue with NFS measurements. Likely a design change was made to tilt up the highs more to keep up with the competition in the showroom.

I don’t think that’s the case. The one Soundstage measured was the latest version, and the one I reviewed was a couple years older, yet there is good agreement between their NRC chamber measurements and my outdoor amateur measurements. Also NHT is an online only shop since their ca. 2009 reorg, I think.

My money here is on a broken midrange. Those metal domes are thin foil. Expected driver fragility is one reason I didn’t ask about buying my review sample C3’s to replace my NHT Classic Three rears, even though C3 is a better speaker in every way. (Well that and I’ve not found rear speaker quality that important.) At least on C3 you can replace each dome separately; Classic Three has tweeter and midrange on the same flange.

 

[amirm]

The one Soundstage measured was the latest version

Their review was published March of last year and likely their sample came well before that given their lead time. A lot could change between then and now. Anyway, we will find out when the next one comes.

 

[amirm]

Try not to poke the next one in, OK? *kidding*

My mistake was not using photoshop to cover the dimple!!!

 

[jhaider]

Their review was published March of last year and likely their sample came well before that given their lead time. A lot could change between then and now. Anyway, we will find out when the next one comes.

I base my comment on the finish. The questionable carbon fiber finish on the Soundstage sample is the newest release.

Besides, how much product development do you think realistically happened since March 2020? There have been other concerns...

 

[sejarzo]

These are screen grabs from the photos of the C3 on Amazon. I see at least one dimple in almost the same spot on the midrange driver in both angles.

 

[SMc]

My lazy decision to leave the grills on is vindicated, unless they come factory-dimpled.

.

 

[txbdan]

Interesting. My two C3s both have perfectly domey domes.

 

[Russ_L]

Any relationship between the original NHT design team and the current designers? My 2.9s are still singing beautifully after 20 years.

 

[cursive]

Any relationship between the original NHT design team and the current designers? My 2.9s are still singing beautifully after 20 years.

The original founder, and I believe designer of the 2.9 is Ken Kantor, who unfortunately is no longer with NHT and hasn't been for some time. I've spoke with him on various forums though, and he's always had great things to say about the current designers, and speakers put out by NHT.

 

[amirm]

These are screen grabs from the photos of the C3 on Amazon. I see at least one dimple in almost the same spot on the midrange driver in both angles.

That's amazing! Wouldn't be funny if the next one came the same way?

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Stereophile had an interesting interview with Ken Kantor way back in 1997. Fun quote:

The history of hi-fi is dominated by companies that shared the same attitude. Marantz, AR, KLH, and JBL didn't try to produce the ultimate products on earth—all they wanted to do was give the consumer something of real value. Those guys are my heroes.

I think a lot of people are afraid of high-quality stereo. They've been convinced—by snobby fans or snobby dealers—that they can't even hear differences, much less afford the good stuff.

https://www.stereophile.com/interviews/232/index.html

 

[pierre]

Thanks share man it looks nice, not that it mean so much but it looks your script or software have Floor+Cieling & Left+Right vice versa as visualized in below animation ..
View attachment 112036

Fixed! thank you!

 

[sejarzo]

That's amazing! Wouldn't be funny if the next one came the same way?

One would think the same speaker was used for all the pictures supplied to Amazon, but to me, the dimples don't necessarily look the same. Could be the angle and lighting, though.

If I opened up the box and found a brand new speaker had a dimple in a driver as bad as the one in the pic showing both mid and tweeter, I'd return it.

 

[jbags]

I have the Classic Threes. They are the best speakers I have owned, and given my room good enough for jazz.