# NHT Classic 3 price ?



## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

Hello, 
I can get the NHT Classic 3's the pair delivered for $598, brand new, Any thoughts or opinions really appreciated. I have 72 hourd to decide.
Thanks.


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## zieglj01 (Jun 20, 2011)

needspeed52 said:


> Hello,
> I can get the NHT Classic 3's the pair delivered for $598, brand new, Any thoughts or opinions really appreciated. I have 72 hourd to decide.
> Thanks.


A good deal, for a good speaker.
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/nht_classic_three.htm


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Jeff,
I am quite fond of NHT's. They do tend to be fairly inefficient so they do need some power to sound their best, but are solid Speakers. I would seriously check out PSB's at that pricepoint as well and they are much easier to drive.
Cheers,
JJ


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

Jungle Jack said:


> Jeff,
> I am quite fond of NHT's. They do tend to be fairly inefficient so they do need some power to sound their best, but are solid Speakers. I would seriously check out PSB's at that pricepoint as well and they are much easier to drive.
> Cheers,
> JJ


Jack thanks for the info, I have proper amps to drive them, but I have had my eye on some PSB's fo awile now and I think I will pursue that.
Jeff


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I know you have some stellar electronics amigo. Even with friends using monster Amplifiers, I have been surprised at how hard the amps have had to work. Granted this was with the 2.9 and 3.3 which are a good bit bigger Speakers, but every NHT I have listened to simply needs to be cranked to sound their best.
Cheers,
JJ


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> I know you have some stellar electronics amigo. Even with friends using monster Amplifiers, I have been surprised at how hard the amps have had to work. Granted this was with the 2.9 and 3.3 which are a good bit bigger Speakers, but every NHT I have listened to simply needs to be cranked to sound their best.
> Cheers,
> JJ


I hear you my friend, I like the PSB T6's very much and they are my other consideration, thanks again as always, I'll keep you posted.
Best regards, Jeff


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Please do. And look at Audiogon for used Synchrony 1's and Stratus Golds or Slivers as well. I adore the Stratus Line and they still sound marvelous 10 years later.
Cheers,
JJ


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## zieglj01 (Jun 20, 2011)

Also, take a look at the GT1 and GB1
http://www.saturdayaudio.com/picturepages/all_psb_specials.htm


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

Jungle Jack said:


> Please do. And look at Audiogon for used Synchrony 1's and Stratus Golds or Slivers as well. I adore the Stratus Line and they still sound marvelous 10 years later.
> Cheers,
> JJ


Jack, I almost bought the Stratus about ten years ago, a little out of reach but now in my twilight years they are more accessible.
Jeff


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
The Stratus Gold and Silver are fantastic. I have owned more Speakers than I can count and switching out my Gold, Stratus CC, Silver (Surrounds) for a Paradigm Studio 100 V2 (Main/Surrounds), Studio CC) Speaker Array was the one change that I often questioned. 

I had a chance to listen to a pair of Gold i's recently and they are still every bit a wonderful as I remember.
Provided they were well taken care of, I would not be slightly hesitant to procure a used Pair.
Cheers,
JJ


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> The Stratus Gold and Silver are fantastic. I have owned more Speakers than I can count and switching out my Gold, Stratus CC, Silver (Surrounds) for a Paradigm Studio 100 V2 (Main/Surrounds), Studio CC) Speaker Array was the one change that I often questioned.
> 
> I had a chance to listen to a pair of Gold i's recently and they are still every bit a wonderful as I remember.
> ...


Thanks my friend.
Cheers to you


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

So I guess you didn't buy them?

If I saw your post in time, I would have recommended you snatch them up. I really liked mine when I had them, but I sold them because I wanted to downgrade to slightly smaller speakers.

What I liked about them the most:

bass - superbly detailed. NHT makes these speakers sealed for a reason, the bass never sounds uncontrolled. 
imaging - as good as I've heard from almost any speaker. They were really 3 dimensional.
neutrality - they never sounded harsh or bloated.

If I didn't already have new speakers, I would buy another set again


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## benbo (Jul 27, 2010)

Needspeed52, if you decide to not buy them I would be interested. I own several pair NHTs and have found them to be hungry, but when feed right they can really sing. If possible send me a personal thread and I will take them if they are available Benbo


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

Even when the NHT C3 was $900, they still were excellent speakers for the price. But for $600 they are a bargain. When I compared them to Paradigm Studio 20, B&W CM1, PSB Imagine B, they clearly were competitive with all of those speakers. I think they do benefit from having a good amp, but they will sing when you do

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find them at this price?


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

warpdrive said:


> Even when the NHT C3 was $900, they still were excellent speakers for the price. But for $600 they are a bargain. When I compared them to Paradigm Studio 20, B&W CM1, PSB Imagine B, they clearly were competitive with all of those speakers. I think they do benefit from having a good amp, but they will sing when you do
> 
> If you don't mind me asking, where did you find them at this price?



Warp and Benbo:
Go to One Call and select the NHT C3 and then you will see an alert price, click on it and enter your price, I did for $299 and within hours they excepted my offer/ That's it . Hope this helps. I may get three for the front stage.
Jeff


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

needspeed52 said:


> Warp and Benbo:
> Go to One Call and select the NHT C3 and then you will see an alert price, click on it and enter your price, I did for $299 and within hours they excepted my offer/ That's it . Hope this helps. I may get three for the front stage.
> Jeff


great, thanks for the tip.


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## alphaiii (Nov 30, 2007)

needspeed52 said:


> Warp and Benbo:
> Go to One Call and select the NHT C3 and then you will see an alert price, click on it and enter your price, I did for $299 and within hours they excepted my offer/ That's it . Hope this helps. I may get three for the front stage.
> Jeff


Thanks for the info...

For $299 each... I'll have to put these on my short list with the Aperion Verus Grand Bookshelf...

I wish the C3 wasn't so inefficient... Anyone think I'd have an issue driving them with a Denon AVR-991 (assuming I get this AVR soon) in a 13x17x7.5 room?


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

alphaiii said:


> Thanks for the info...
> 
> For $299 each... I'll have to put these on my short list with the Aperion Verus Grand Bookshelf...
> 
> I wish the C3 wasn't so inefficient... Anyone think I'd have an issue driving them with a Denon AVR-991 (assuming I get this AVR soon) in a 13x17x7.5 room?


That size room? No problem. It's not like the C3 is *that* inefficient. [email protected] is pretty normal for a small standmount speaker. I am using less efficient speakers in a larger room and it's no problem at all. The C3 are pretty easy to drive.


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

warpdrive said:


> That size room? No problem. It's not like the C3 is *that* inefficient. [email protected] is pretty normal for a small standmount speaker. I am using less efficient speakers in a larger room and it's no problem at all. The C3 are pretty easy to drive.


Warp, Do you think the C3's are really that good, I was thinking of using three up front for LCR, I have outboard amplification for the front three and receiver for the other channels. I won't have any problems driving them. There are other speakers in this price range that I am considering, ie: Ascend 340SE's up front, I am really struggling to decide, I think you reviewed the C3's somewhere before, that's why I'm asking your advice on the C3's. My room is 14' X 26' X 8' and I have my rig setup on the long wall which opens up to another small room, so there is no left wall but I can compensate for that, they will be crossed over to an Epik Legend sub. Thanks my friend, look forward to your reply.
Jeff


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## alphaiii (Nov 30, 2007)

warpdrive said:


> That size room? No problem. It's not like the C3 is *that* inefficient. [email protected] is pretty normal for a small standmount speaker. I am using less efficient speakers in a larger room and it's no problem at all. The C3 are pretty easy to drive.


Well, they're rated at 87dB yes, but according to Stereophile, they measured around 83dB.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/nht-classic-three-loudspeaker-measurements

But good to know, in the real world, they aren't terribly difficult to drive.


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

alphaiii said:


> Well, they're rated at 87dB yes, but according to Stereophile, they measured around 83dB.
> http://www.stereophile.com/content/nht-classic-three-loudspeaker-measurements
> 
> But good to know, in the real world, they aren't terribly difficult to drive.


Ah I see. They were fine in my room. I even tried them out and had them hooked up to a Nuforce Icon and they actually played loud enough to fill a 18x14 room. The Nuforce was turned up to 3'o clock and on the verge of massive distortion, but it was still listenable and more than loud enough.


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

needspeed52 said:


> Warp, Do you think the C3's are really that good, I was thinking of using three up front for LCR, I have outboard amplification for the front three and receiver for the other channels. I won't have any problems driving them. There are other speakers in this price range that I am considering, ie: Ascend 340SE's up front, I am really struggling to decide, I think you reviewed the C3's somewhere before, that's why I'm asking your advice on the C3's. My room is 14' X 26' X 8' and I have my rig setup on the long wall which opens up to another small room, so there is no left wall but I can compensate for that, they will be crossed over to an Epik Legend sub. Thanks my friend, look forward to your reply.
> Jeff


Yes I think they are excellent speakers, they are technically excellent, and have no glaring faults (which is more than I could say for a lot of others) of any sort. They are a do-it-all well type of speaker

*I* would buy them again if I had a need for them. 

I haven't heard the Ascends with any length of time so I'm not one to judge those. I think the NHT would be comparable to the Sierra 1. The S1 has a softer more polite sound which makes it great for music listening


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

warpdrive said:


> Yes I think they are excellent speakers, they are technically excellent, and have no glaring faults (which is more than I could say for a lot of others) of any sort. They are a do-it-all well type of speaker
> 
> *I* would buy them again if I had a need for them.
> 
> I haven't heard the Ascends with any length of time so I'm not one to judge those. I think the NHT would be comparable to the Sierra 1. The S1 has a softer more polite sound which makes it great for music listening


Thanks Warp for the reply, I just received another price quote for three C3's and I must say I don't think I can pass it up, well under $900.
Jeff


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

nice! 

At that price, even if you want to resell them, you won't lose anything if at all


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

warpdrive said:


> nice!
> 
> At that price, even if you want to resell them, you won't lose anything if at all


I hear you my friend.


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## doubois (Jul 26, 2010)

I have some threes as well, and really, really like them alot. They worked just fine off my denon 3808, but got even better when i got a nad 272. The nad is a 2ch 150w power amp and really gave these speakers a much more organic and liquid sound. Very revealing. The only bad thing i could say is that sometimes with the denon once in awhile they would become a little metallic sounding, this no longer happens with the nad. They have a great bottom end but ive paired them with the classic u2 subs and once set up this is an amazing combo, ive never had such seamless integration of sub/sat before. I live in canada and am a fan of many of our speakers here (paradigm, psb, totem, etc.) but took a chance on these and couldnt be happier. 

The other bonus with these is they sound big! Ive a/b'd them a few times with a friend who has paradigm studio 100's and they put up a good fight. With the u2 subs they actually out played them.. Now when he coupled his 100's with his servo 15, it was game over at that point. I love paradigms mid range in their studio series and would give it the nod for sure over the nht, but what the threes do that the studios couldnt as well is replicate the human voice. Obviously i know the voices are in the mids, but whatever nht does with certain songs you can really sense, almost see how close the singer is to the mic. Its pretty amazing. Either way im lucky i get goosebumps almost everytime im listening to them and that to me tells me i dont need to upgrade anytime soon and if i do ill make sure i have a pair of these lying around.


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