NHT SB2 Speaker Review

[MDINNO]

Yes, and you would know that if you actually read the reviews regularly.



Not this particular model. I own eight SZ XU + parts for my ambiophonics system (half are spares) and a pair of C3s. I also owned the Classic 2 which was okay but certainly not fantastic. As for the SZ XU model the crossover is pretty laughable as is the linearity. The good news is that I used them nearfield and can EQ them pretty easily so hurrah for that. The 2.1 is a solid improvement but it's still just an okay mini monitor (hard to find those that match footprint competitively).



The CBM-170SE is okay when it's on sale, the 340 is okay if you need output. Beyond that the value starts dropping as you go up the product line. They have compromises, and the woofers when pushed can start having issues including propensity to crack which is why a subwoofer is basically mandatory on them.

I wouldn't bother with anything outside of the CBM line without specific understanding of requirements assuming you want to deal with Ascend.



Define "greatest" in an objective manner.



Is terrible, at least on this specific model as demonstrated.



On their 5" 2-way and 3-way bookshelves they offer good performance at reasonable listening levels when accompanied by a subwoofer. Their towers should also be pretty good depending.



Neat, then why post here at all? I think some of the flaws were overstated, but the CBM line does have some compromises and the fact is the Sierra 2 didn't measure nearly as well as it should have. Once you get into ~1K NHT generally trounces them in quality within their SPL limits.



They're okay. They also have a lot of competition now that they didn't have a decade ago. The handwaving by Dave after the Sierra 2 review/measurements came out not to mention my experience with him in the past has put him on my no buy list. Not that it matters, I ended up being quite content with my main rig after replacing my Ascends myself.

I'll put it all in a nutshell on how I look at it and why I think it's ridiculous. So you gonna tell me that if you can grab either the Ascend Acoustics reviewed here or the NHT SB2's, on E-Bay for a great price and in mint/GOOD condition that you would rather have the Pioneer SP-BS22A?? Insanity!! I'd like to see you go around and ask any serious Audiophile that would agree with that. I'm not saying the Pioneers aren't fine speakers for their price. They absolutely are especially their towers. Probably the best budget towers under $300. But to put the bookshelves in the same league as any of the Ascends or any of the NHT's, even the SuperZero with zero bass, is crazy.

 

[pierre]

I'll put it all in a nutshell on how I look at it and why I think it's ridiculous. So you gonna tell me that if you can grab either the Ascend Acoustics reviewed here or the NHT SB2's, on E-Bay for a great price and in mint/GOOD condition that you would rather have the Pioneer SP-BS22A?? Insanity!! I'd like to see you go around and ask any serious Audiophile that would agree with that. I'm not saying the Pioneers aren't fine speakers for their price. They absolutely are especially their towers. Probably the best budget towers under $300. But to put the bookshelves in the same league as any of the Ascends or any of the NHT's, even the SuperZero with zero bass, is crazy.

you pinpointed it: we are not serious audiophiles, we are deaf and we love science. I feel bad.

 

[tuga]

Is there any speaker that is ever recommended here?? The NHT's are fantastic speakers. So are the Ascend Acoustics which were also shot down here. I can tell you for a fact the SuperZero 2.1 and the SuperOne 2.1 are some of the greatest speakers ever made. The SB, Classic, and C- Series just improved and/or continued on their sound. When I saw that Ascend Acoustic speakers were shot down also here I knew the credibility of this site is gone. Ascend's are one of the best speakers on the market period. I already see SB2 on Ebay. An absolute steal for someone looking for excellent speakers.

The purpose of measurements is to characterise how a speaker performs over a given set of parameters which relate to how accurately the recorded signal is reproduced (transduced and "projected" into the listening room).
Good performance in one or several parameters may or may not correlate with your preference and it may or may not correlate with perceived sound quality of a given brand as "recognised" by the audiophile community.

 

[Shike]

So you gonna tell me that if you can grab either the Ascend Acoustics reviewed here or the NHT SB2's, on E-Bay for a great price and in mint/GOOD condition that you would rather have the Pioneer SP-BS22A??

False dichotomy. I never once said that I personally would buy the Pioneers? Would I take the Sierra 2's for $100? Yep. That's not how much they cost though, and that's the point. What are they selling for realistically and are they worth that price? I myself have stated the CBM line is okay but has definite compromises. I personally would look at other competition because I've OWNED the CBM-170SE in a 5.1 configuration. They were fine. I'd like to see other competitors considered and measured like Chane, RHB, and HTD. They're not the only game at the $300/pr level anymore. I've personally upgraded past the $300/pr level for my home theater/main system so it's a mute point to me.

In addition I've noted that at $1K the C3 from NHT stomps Ascend's bookshelves in quality, so clearly I believe NHT makes some good speakers - otherwise why would I own any of them?

Insanity!!

If that was what I said rather than the strawman you've built to knock down?

I'm not saying the Pioneers aren't fine speakers for their price. They absolutely are especially their towers. Probably the best budget towers under $300. But to put the bookshelves in the same league as any of the Ascends or any of the NHT's, even the SuperZero with zero bass, is crazy.

See, I'd take the Pioneer's over the SB2 and depending on usage the SuperZero line. For my nearfield system though size matters as I mount them above my monitor (used for Ambiophonic). This means I need a very compact wall mountable mini monitor which the Pioneers don't have. The use dictated the speaker choice. Again, for the record I own EIGHT SZ XU - four in use and four for parts/replacements - on my computer rig and a pair of C3 for my bedroom.

Why you believe everyone here cares about this specific Pioneer model is baffling. It's good for small systems being quite competitive and likely in line with the SuperZero and SuperOne. Beyond that though there's speakers from Revel, KEF, JBL, etc. There's performance leaders that are different all across price brackets.

 

[CDMC]

Have a pair of these I picked up for $25 and use as garage speakers as a roon endpoint. Amir’s midrange cut plus a -4 db 1q high shelf at 3500 hz make them sound pretty decent. Not great, but well worth $25.

 

[AudioLover73]

In case people are stumbling on this researching these speakers, I just wanted to say that the NHT SB2s sound very pleasing. I have 3 pairs of them, and I listen to them daily. It's easy to see why they won in the shootout because if you actually listen to them, you will see why people prefer them over others. I'd gladly pay $200 for them in this day and age. I'm about to add a pair of these as surrounds to my NHT C4s. Now those sound absolutely fantastic!

 

[MR_Pete]

In December of 2005 I bought a pair of NHT SB-2s for $300 from J & R Music Computer World.

Attached is a simulation of the cross-over network of the SB-2. The values of the components shown in the schematic diagram are measured values. The resistors R2 and R4, 4 Ohm, stand for the rated impedance of woofer and tweeter of the system. I measured the resistance (Re) of the woofer and tweeter. The measured resonance frequency of the tweeter equaled about 3 kHz.

Resistor R1 in the high-pass filter on the left undoubtedly serves the purpose of lowering sensitivity of the tweeter to be equal to that of the woofer. So the voltage of voltage source V1 at input to the high-pass filter is 2.9 times that of the voltage source at input to the low-pass filter to simulate the higher sensitivity of the tweeter.

In the frequency response simulation, the solid black trace, V(n003) is voltage applied to the tweeter, and the solid blue trace, V(n006) is voltage applied to the woofer. These traces cross at 2 kHz, which is much too low given that the resonant frequency of the tweeter equals 3 kHz.

With respect to frequency equal to 2 kHz. phase of the voltage drop across the tweeter and woofer equal respectively 143 deg. and -79 deg. Attenuation of the filters at 2 kHz equals -10 dB. So if the tweeter is connected to the filter oppositely to that of the woofer, the acoustic output of both drivers should be close to in phase, and the summed acoustic output (assuming flat acoustic response of the drivers) would be - 4 dB. However, given that the tweeter is being driven at a frequency below its resonant frequency, the acoustic output would lower than - 4 dB.

The SB-2 is specified as an 8 Ohm system, but that is hardly the case as the amplifier driving the SB-2 sees basically the 4 Ohm impedance of the woofer in the bass and mid-bass frequency range where most of the energy of a music signal is located

The 6.5 inch woofer of the SB-2 has a plastic frame which I have never seen before. Previously I only saw stamped metal. I haven't disassembled a lot of commercial speakers, but I've also built pretty many speaker systems from scratch and so I have looked at quite a lot of raw drivers sold separately. This might not have any affect on reproduction by the woofer.


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[Ashoka]

How old the tested speaker was?
Does procedure involve testing integrity of device?

 

[Archon43]

Sorry, I just got a pair of these NHT SB2 off eBay in fairly pristine condition and these sound amazing so I call this review suspect!

I also own two pairs of the SuperOne 2.1 and one pair of the SuperZero 2.1 and I was using the SuperOne before installing these. My SuperOne's and now these are on Isoacoustic stands on my desk, driven by my Topping E50 DAC with Ifi Power supply, and the SMSL A300 amp.

These look and sound better than the SuperOne's and the SuperZero's easily. They are like a step up in clarity and dynamics. I really like both the SuperOne and SuperZero, but I feel these were a solid upgrade.

I also disagree about these needing tons of power, because at 30 on my SMSL, they are just as loud as the SuperOne and especially SuperZero. They are all non-ported, so will not be as loud at any given volume as most ported designs. That being said, my SMSL drives these easily and they sound really good to me.

You must have gotten some bad speakers, because these sound a step better than both the SuperOne 2.1 and SuperZero easily. All three I really like, but considering I am using the exact same setup as I did with the One's and Zero's, I am hearing none of the issues your equipment seemed to pick up. If the SuperOne sounds not as good but measures better (according to your reviews) and you indeed have a good working pair of NHT SB-2, I guess measurements are meaningless because these are outperforming every other speaker in my house and I do not feel I need to upgrade my speakers!

 

[Archon43]

I happened to find a pair of NHT SB3 in great condition on eBay. Well, you would think the higher end SB3 would sound better than the SB2, right? I did not find that the case at all. In fact, I sold the SB3 to my friend already and kept the SB2!

I did not understand the SB3 upside down tweeter, I know there is a reason but tweeters are supposed to be at ear level. The SB3 may even measure better and would likely have better performance in a large room, but in a small to medium size room the SB2 are definitely the better sounding speaker in almost all respects.

But in my small room, the SB2 walked all over the SB3. It was not even close and I was quite surprised! The SB2 sounded richer, more balanced, and the bass was tighter. The SB3 sounded darker, not as balanced, and more hollow sounding. Imaging is also noticeably better on the SB2.

I have noticed that sometimes price is not equal to performance, and measurements are not everything when it comes to sound. It seems anything larger than a 5" or 6" woofer is not going to sound as good in a smaller room as opposed to a larger one. I had the same experience with studio monitors, in my room the small studio monitors usually sounded better, but in my front room the larger monitors usually won out.

I also think the Schiit Modi Multibit sounds better than my Topping E50 (definitely better than the Modi 1, 2, and 3+ I owned previously), but measurement-wise the E50 is on another planet. The E50 has a higher noise floor, but dynamics and musicality the Multibit is easily better. Clean is pristine, but not always better.

 

[ricardomontalbahn77]

I just got a pair of SB1 in pristine condition out of curiousity as I have never tried NHT . I am running them off a fosi TB10D (improved version) amplifier nearfield on my computer setup. They replaced my Pioneer Andrew Jones BS22 speakers. The BS22 is decent but the SB1 wipes the floor with them. I have been amazed how a 10 inch box puts out that kind of sound. It is slightly enriched in the high frequency but I suspect it is the amp as my QAcoustics 2020i also sound brighter with that particular amp. Either way the SB1 sounds very good and I have owned/tried 100s of speakers.