Bye Bye NHT

[Ajani]

Looks like NHT will be closed (at least for awhile):

http://whathifi.com/News/US-NEWS-NHT-calls-a-time-out/

I really hope they re-emerge as something up-to-date but not lacking in quality... I'd hate to see a respected HiFi brand close up shop permanently because of this economy...

[blackraven]

What a shame, I really like their Classic line of speakers.

[pixelthis]

AND it wont be the last.
Any consumer electronics company that is in any case marginal is doomed.
The achilles heel of consumer electronics is that they are long lasting durable goods.
My speakers are going on seven years to eight years and still sound great, why should I buy new ones in a depression?
The last 50 years or so has been a paradise for the electronics biz...
now comes the nightmare.

[Mr Peabody]

It looks like NHT has been passed around a lot. It makes sense to do some reassessment.

Pix, what are you talking about, "the last 50 years"? I'd say until the 80's hi fi was just a comodity, probably had ups and downs but not a boom. Then came the 80's with a big car audio peak, then an economic down turn, some where in there home theater began, the 90's saw the DVD, now HDTV and Blu-ray, some where in there SACD came and went. There are things to get people excited about CE products, it's just a bad economy. It's normal for the weak to fall, it thins out the herd. It's not any different than any other industry. Also factor in that time line late 80's and 90's the assault of the mass merchants which totally changed the way people buy electronics, late 90's and on factor in the internet, it don't leave a lot of places for boutique higher end lines to get shown off.

[JSE]

I really liked their speakers up until around 2004 or so. They seem to get to "gimmicky" recently. Not sure of the line name but the speakers that were very thin an deep with side mounted woofers sound great to me. They also seem to be a pretty good value. Too bad they stopped making them a while back.

Sad to see any company close shop.

[pixelthis]

It looks like NHT has been passed around a lot. It makes sense to do some reassessment.

Pix, what are you talking about, "the last 50 years"? I'd say until the 80's hi fi was just a comodity, probably had ups and downs but not a boom. Then came the 80's with a big car audio peak, then an economic down turn, some where in there home theater began, the 90's saw the DVD, now HDTV and Blu-ray, some where in there SACD came and went. There are things to get people excited about CE products, it's just a bad economy. It's normal for the weak to fall, it thins out the herd. It's not any different than any other industry. Also factor in that time line late 80's and 90's the assault of the mass merchants which totally changed the way people buy electronics, late 90's and on factor in the internet, it don't leave a lot of places for boutique higher end lines to get shown off.

I've been living in the world, dont know where you've been.
In the seventies millions of albums were pressed every year, everybody had to have a receiver, Pioneer had their exelent line of SX receivers, audio was everywhere
A lot of great names got their start in the fifties, the audiophile hobby really took off then.
The eighties were really just the crest of the wave, I could actually walk into a department
store and buy high end gear, hard to do that now.
Now audio is in trouble, the ranks arent being replenished, the young are too busy listening to cheap mp3 on ipods and even cell fones.
And now a depression is going to hit, and the buyers for high end audio gear are going to disapear, wanting something doesnt matter if you cant afford it.
WHAT a lot of people dont know is that the current unpleasantness is not the usual tornado, more like a HURRICANE.
The age of the audio "rig" might be over or marginalized to the point of extinction.
People (the few that care) are going to look on the typical audio rig of a big amp and speakers as a thing of the past, like horse and buggy.
The real market for audio that got started in the sixties is basically over.
Just hasnt hit the ground yet.

[RGA]

This situation has not even began to hit home yet. Marginal audio companies who are in that limbo area - not low-fi FutureShop stuff but not very high end are going to get hit first.

The middle class kind of gear won't find homes because the middle class is where the recession/depression will hit hardest. The guy who was going to spend $2k on a speaker or amp now might not because he can't. The high end companies may not get hit too much because people who are prepared to spend $10k on cables are in many ways recession proof.

I said a while ago that NHT would probably go bankrupt. They kept changing their philosophy on sound - first it was AR9 inspired then sub sat then heavy on the EQ and when your team keeps changing their mind then how do you really know where they stand. They looked to me like they were always throwing darts and building everything to sell something. And to my ears something was always better for less money. They probably had some good engineering but their products were a bit confusing.

[Mr Peabody]

I've been living in the world, dont know where you've been.

* The only question is what world, I think you are on a planet by yourself.

In the seventies millions of albums were pressed every year, everybody had to have a receiver, Pioneer had their exelent line of SX receivers, audio was everywhere

* No not everybody had to have a receiver. Most people had the "All-In-One" units with their 8-track and stack & play turntable.

A lot of great names got their start in the fifties, the audiophile hobby really took off then.
The eighties were really just the crest of the wave, I could actually walk into a department
store and buy high end gear, hard to do that now.

* What Department store carried high end gear. You talking about JC Penney's selling MCS? Or, maybe you had a Western Auto special.

Now audio is in trouble, the ranks arent being replenished, the young are too busy listening to cheap mp3 on ipods and even cell fones.

* Although Ipods and cellphones are around and have a purpose, let me remind you that it was the young who helped vinyl make the little come back that it has. And there are still some on this very board that think all digital is the same. No big revelation is about to happen.

And now a depression is going to hit, and the buyers for high end audio gear are going to disapear, wanting something doesnt matter if you cant afford it.

* Average Joe don't usually buy the high end gear.

WHAT a lot of people dont know is that the current unpleasantness is not the usual tornado, more like a HURRICANE.

* The only tornado is your wild bursts of hot air. You know when I see the stock market in the morning and a new plunge, I think "holy carp", then they say something like, "this hasn't been this low since 1997". Then I think well it's been this low before and bounced back. I think what is hitting is a wave, or snowball, of negativity. Attitude won't put a dollar in your pocket but it has a lot to do about how you go about putting one in there.

The age of the audio "rig" might be over or marginalized to the point of extinction.
People (the few that care) are going to look on the typical audio rig of a big amp and speakers as a thing of the past, like horse and buggy.
The real market for audio that got started in the sixties is basically over.
Just hasnt hit the ground yet.

* You should realize that people who spend money on true high end gear is already a minority. Always has been and always will be but audio isn't going any where. Some here have mid level systems but $50, 60k or more vehicles. It's where you put your priority.

[Luvin Da Blues]

........ It's where you put your priority.

Does this mean I have mine all screwed up!!!!! You betcha.

[jaejw1]

I really liked their speakers up until around 2004 or so. They seem to get to "gimmicky" recently. Not sure of the line name but the speakers that were very thin an deep with side mounted woofers sound great to me. They also seem to be a pretty good value. Too bad they stopped making them a while back.

Sad to see any company close shop.

i agree 100%

hello all.. been a looky-loo for many many years now.. i have always used audioreview as a way to figure out what to buy.. my first intrduction with nht was back in 97 i believe.. i went to a place called "SUPERCO" in cerittos california,, they sold NHT's there.. and i fell absolutely inlove with the 1.5a's and the supertwos,, all i wanted in an audio system was one or the other..
bad thing was that it was out of my price range.. so i figured that the super ones or super zeroes would be best... i checked on this site and read absolutely every review posted on those speakers..

fast forward.. 2003. boght my first pair of NHT's,, the 1.3a's and my first rcvr.. a yamaha 6.1 dts A/V rcvr.. i was inlove again..

today i still have my yamaha rcvr,, NHT 1.3a's and new to the set up is a vs-1.2a center channel and a set of nht new wave speakers im planning on putting in the rear for my surround....

with all that said.. i never liked the newer stuff.. i hope that when they open their doors again they will go back to basics.. and back to the sound that made them what they are today.. seems like they tried to appeal to the masses

[CWall99]

It looks like NHT is back, but, in the mode of Outlaw, SVS, Elemental Designs, and others, as a web-only provider. I think they may still have a few gigs going on with some retail outlets, but, by and large, it looks like they've seen the future.

Which sort of sucks because I'd much rather listen to speakers in a store, even if the audio surroundings weren't like my own listening space, as it gives me an idea of what they'll sound like before they arrive.

Nevertheless, I love my 1.3As (have had them for at least 17 years, I think), and will probably continue to be a fan of the NHT sound.

[Mr Peabody]

I agree, I like to look at them inperson and get a feel for them. Buying online is not the same, are we going to bring in and audition six pair of speakers then bring back the one we decide we want. Research and reviews can narrow the field a bit but it doesn't take the place of up close and personal. Same with other components. If online grows you will see prices go up because these online retailers will have to cover the price of shipping and not making a sale.

[bobsticks]

Good. Mebbe I can pick up an Xd system for less than 3k.