There have been some (generally) favorable reviews recently about the NHT Xd speaker system, which utilizes an outboard digital crossover with DSP correction software, and Class D switching amps. However, reviews have been tempered by reports of some background amplifier/speaker hiss and some shut-down glitches. Nonetheless, my curiousity has really been piqued about this system, but there is no local (Tampa, FL) dealer to demo them. Has anybody heard/purchased the Xd system? How do they sound in the REAL world?
sleepysurf,
The NHT Xd sounds very nice and is a good value for the money.
However, it is not a "giant killer" as some have claimed. I think the review that Kalman Rubinson did in Stereophile last year of the
NHT Xd was very fair.
Our audio society had a demonstration of the NHT Xd hosted by one of our members. He lives in the same town as NHT's Vice-President
of Engineering, Jack Hidley. Jack Hidley and his colleague Jay Dogherty were kind enough to bring an NHT Xd and set it up beside our
host's resident stereo system; Wilson X-2 Alexandrias driven by Lamm ML2.1 monoblocks.
The NHT Xds were by far outclassed by the Wilson / Lamm system; but no shame there.
This Wilson / Lamm system is eerily realistic in its presentation - it sounds "real". The NHT Xds, by comparison, sounded like a
reproduction; a good reproduction, but a reproduction nonetheless.
With critical listening, I was able to identify some of the aspects of the Xd that tipped me off to the fact that it was a reproduction.
For example, the rendition of a cymbal crash. When a cymbal is struck, one first hears the "click" of the drumstick hitting the
cymbal, then the "ring" as the cymbal starts to vibrate, but the waves haven't reached the outer edge of the cymbal. Finally, there's
the "ssshhh" - the shimmer as the cymbal vibrates in a very complex fashion, as all the waves reflected from the cymbal's outer edge
criss-cross the cymbal producing a very complex vibrational pattern.
The resident X-2 / Lamm system reproduced the "click" / "ring" / "ssshh" microdynamics of the cymbal crashes faithfully. On the Xd,
the cymbals just went "ssshhh". One might expect that from a device that is using the digital processing the Xd is. In an attempt to
even out the frequency response, the Xd's DEQX processor is evidently sacrificing some of the temporal fidelity.
At a recent hearing of the NHT Xd in an audio store, I also found that the sonic images were somewhat "overblown" The sound of the
female vocalist seemed to emanate from a circular area about 3 feet in diameter. When played on my own ribbon dipole system, the
sonic image is of a more realistic scale.
Whether the NHT Xd is the right speaker for you is dependent on your ears and your checkbook. If you want good value in a consumer
level product; then the NHT Xd is good value. If you are an ardent audiophile that is only happy with the best possible sound reproduction,
and you have the financial means to indulge yourself; then you can do better than the NHT Xd.
Dr. Gregory Greenman
Physicist
