NHT SuperOne Speaker System Review

The NHT SuperOne is a compact two-way speaker system that, in the manufacturer’s words, “sets a new standard for compact performance” and “provides the clarity, balance, and seamless response usually found in only the most expensive loudspeakers.”

The SuperOne is an acoustic-suspension (sealed-enclosure) system with a 6-1/2-inch woofer and a fluid-cooled 1-inch soft-dome tweeter. Its drivers are magnetically shielded so that it can be placed close to a video monitor without distorting the picture.

The SuperOne is finished on all surfaces in high-gloss laminate. Our test sample was black, but it is also available in white. The removable black cloth grille is on a frame retained by rubber grommets that hold it about 3/8 inch out from the enclosure.

The woofer crosses over to the tweeter at 2.2 kHz, with slopes of 6 dB per octave (high-pass) and 12 dB per octave (low-pass). System frequency response is given as 57 Hz to 25 kHz ±3 dB and sensitivity as 86 dB sound-pressure level (SPL) at 1 meter with 2.83 volts input. The SuperOne is recommended for use with amplifiers rated to deliver between 25 and 150 watts, and its impedance rating is 8 ohms nominal, 6 ohms minimum.

The NHT SuperOne, which probably qualifies as a minispeaker, is compatible with a variety of placements. According to the manufacturer, its best performance will be realized when it is mounted on stands approximately 26 inches high and placed at least 12 inches from the wall behind the speakers and at least 30 inches from the side walls. We followed that suggestion, which is consistent with how we usually situate speakers for measurements and listening tests.

Since NHT included a pair of its own OneStand speaker stands ($100 a pair) with the speakers submitted for review, we used them during our tests of the SuperOne; they are attractive and sturdy, and it was easy to assemble them from their component parts. The instruction manual indicates that a OneBracket is also available for wall mounting ($90 a pair), and the rear of the SuperOne has threaded inserts for that purpose. The input terminals, recessed into the rear of the cabinet, are insulated binding posts that are compatible with single or dual banana plugs, wires, or spade lugs.

The averaged room response of the pair of NHT SuperOnes, measured about 12 feet from the left speaker and corrected for the high-frequency absorption of the room surfaces, was an excellent +3 dB from 60 Hz to 20 kHz. A ground-plane measurement (which minimizes room-boundary effects) essentially confirmed that measurement — and the manufacturer’s ratings — with a +3.5-dB variation from 55 Hz to 20 kHz. A quasi-anechoic MLS response measurement (valid only above 300 Hz) further reinforced our initial results, showing a variation of ±3.3 dB from 300 Hz to 20 kHz.

System impedance measured a minimum of 6 ohms at 20 Hz and 150 Hz, with a maximum of 26 ohms at the system’s bass resonance frequency of 80 Hz. There was a broad rise in the upper midrange, to 16.5 ohms at 1.5 kHz, and the impedance sloped off to about 8 ohms in the range of 8 to 20 kHz.

The SuperOne’s sensitivity measured 85 dB SPL at 1 meter with an input of 2.83 volts of pink noise. At that drive level, the measured distortion in the woofer’s range was a low 0.5 to 1 percent from 2 kHz to 1 kHz, rising to about 2 or 3 percent below 500 Hz and climbing more steeply below 100 Hz.

Since the NHT SuperOne is designed for both music listening and home-theater applications, we also measured the magnetic flux level surrounding it. The maximum flux at the surface of the speaker enclosure was only 1 gauss, and on most of the surface it was virtually unmeasurable (under 0.5 gauss). In practical terms, these speakers can be placed anywhere on or near a TV or video monitor without affecting the picture in any way (also verified by experiment).

Our measurements and listening tests both confirmed that the NHT SuperOne is a remarkable speaker even without considering its bargain-basement price and Lilliputian dimensions. It had an exceptionally wide and uniform frequency response throughout its operating range, although that unfortunately does not extend much into the lower bass. Offhand, I cannot recall any speaker we have tested with the MLS program in the past that covered the full range from 300 Hz to 20 kHz with a variation as low as +3.3 dB. Most were doing well to achieve a +5-dB response over that range (a tweeter resonance peak or a crossover dip has generally been the limiting factor).

Apart from measurements, how did the SuperOne sound? Most strikingly, perhaps, it sounded as if it wasn’t there at all! Unlike many other speakers, this one does not seem to have a special sweet spot or require a particular orientation for precise imaging. There was no need for a “toe-in” angle to give directional or spatial clues to a listener. Simply pointing the speakers straight into the listening area created a very believable stereo stage, which stayed pretty much in place when I moved about the room.

Although the SuperOne’s sound quality is very much “all there,” it might not satisfy a dyed-in-the-wool deep-bass freak. There are many good powered subwoofers on the market, however, including those from NHT, and adding one to a pair of these small speakers would give you a hard-to-beat combination. I tried such a combination and found it to be very potent, without sacrificing the outstanding imaging qualities of the NHT SuperOne. For most applications, though, this little giant does a superb job on its own.

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