B&W CDM 1NT vs. NHT Classic Three?

[blackraven]

I really like the NHT Classic three's and almost bought a pair if it were not for the deal that I go on my Monitor Audio S1's. I compared them to a pair of Paradigm Mini Monitors and a pair of NHT two's blew them a way. The B&W's will have a more lively sound than the NHT's but I found the NHT's to have a more natural and forgiving sound.

I have a Parasound A21 amp and I think that it will be a better match with the NHT's than the B & W's. B & W's tweeters will be very fatiguing with the Parasound. What are you using for a preamp?

By the way, I am using a hybrid tube Preamp and DAC with the A21 and they match really well.

[KLJTech]

Good to hear, I'm hoping that they sound as nice as I've heard/read. I go back and forth between a Vincent SA-31 and a Creek OBH-22 passive preamp.

I see that you have the 1.6 Maggie's, I'm using those in my Den...Love em'. At some point I'd like to get the new 1.7's as I've heard that they're incredible. The Classic Threes are for my office but that's where I actually get to listen to music the most...the room is only 12'X13' so it's a bit small to use the Magnepan's to their full potential.

Thanks for the info.

[blackraven]

Good to hear, I'm hoping that they sound as nice as I've heard/read. I go back and forth between a Vincent SA-31 and a Creek OBH-22 passive preamp.

I see that you have the 1.6 Maggie's, I'm using those in my Den...Love em'. At some point I'd like to get the new 1.7's as I've heard that they're incredible. The Classic Threes are for my office but that's where I actually get to listen to music the most...the room is only 12'X13' so it's a bit small to use the Magnepan's to their full potential.

Thanks for the info.

I live about 20min form the Magnepan factory in White Bear Lake Mn. I got to hear the first retail pair of 1.7's in the country. While they sound better than the 1.6's, the difference is not night and day. I would rather spend the money on upgrading the electronics than going from the 1.6's to the 1.7's. Or jump up to the 3.7's.

[KLJTech]

Before ordering the NHT Classic Threes I did consider trying a pair of the little MMG's. If the Classic Threes don't impress me (I think they will) I may still go that way. I've always loved Magnepan's and so has anybody that has ever taken the time to hear them in my home. There's magic in those panels.

[blackraven]

Before ordering the NHT Classic Threes I did consider trying a pair of the little MMG's. If the Classic Threes don't impress me (I think they will) I may still go that way. I've always loved Magnepan's and so has anybody that has ever taken the time to hear them in my home. There's magic in those panels.

The MMG's are a great speaker for the price. I run my MMG's with a Grant Fidelity Tube Preamp/DAC and a Class D Audio amp. I have them pushed out near the corners of the room in my basement and they put out some surprising bass. But they do sound the best with a good sub and plenty of clean high current and dynamic power. They are a totally different speaker than the NHT's. If you decide on the MMG's and a sub, consider a non ported sub like a Martin Logan Dynamo 700 or one of the non ported compact subs from svs.com I use an original Martin Logan Dynamo with my 1.6's and they match really well. A very musical sub with nice tight bass.

[KLJTech]

Well the Classic Threes arrived on Friday, at first I though they were a tad rolled off on the top end. After burning them in a bit over the weekend I've come to the conclusion that its more likely that I had just become accustomed to slightly brighter sounding Nautilus tweeter of the B&W's. I still love my B&W's yet these NHT's have some special gifts of their own.

The NHT Classic Threes (sealed box) do require more juice to come alive than do the ported B&W's (CDM 1NT's) but when they do, they sound great and image even better than I had expected. I do wish they sounded a bit fuller at low volumes on their own but this can be fixed by simply by turning on the sub.

The only other speakers that I've had in my office that could project such a wide and DEEP soundstage as the NHT Classic Threes have been Magnepan's. This is kinda funny because the ONLY other speaker that I've been considering (after placing my order for the C3's) is the Maggie MMG which I think would work well in my small office.

I haven't used a sub with the Threes yet as I want to hear how they sound on their own. I do have two subs on hand, both sealed box designs that provide tight bass...the Velodyne DD-12 and the Velodyne Optimum 10 (the 10 is what I'll use in my office).

Thus far, I'm pretty impressed with the NHT's...I have them sitting atop Target HR 70 stands with the speakers backs only 1.5' or so out from the wall and they still image like crazy. Male and female voices sound spooky real and acoustic music sounds incredible through the NHT's. Bass is tight and goes a tad deeper than I had expected.

Right now I have the speakers firing straight ahead (no toe in) and around 6' apart and they project a VERY realistic center image with the soundstage running wall to wall (and beyond) and sounding as if it goes 10' or so behind the speakers. These .75" tweeters must have great dispersion as I hear no hole in the middle even when I sit extremely close between them.

I'd like to run them for a few days more to see if that makes any more improvements in their sound but so far I'm pretty impressed. I'd still like to hear the MMG's in this room...I didn't realize that latest version of the MMG used the Quasi-Ribbon tweeter (maybe the MMG always has and I just never paid attention to this smaller model Maggie) which I bet makes for a great sounding speaker.

[blackraven]

Every Magnepan speaker from the 1.7's down use a quasi ribbon speaker. Glad to hear you like the NHT's. I have always liked them. The Classic 2's are not far off in sound form the 3's and are a nice speaker.