NHT C Series C-3 Premium Home Theater 3-Way Bookshelf Speaker - Clean, Hi-Res Audio | Sealed Box | Aluminum Drivers | Single Unit, High Gloss Black

I purchased a pair of the NHT C-3 bookshelf speakers at the remarkable price of $536, plus sales tax, and this might be the best value I've ever encountered in new equipment. The fit & finish is terrific, easily competitive with much more expensive speakers, and the cosmetic change from the rounded top & bottom of the earlier Classic Three makes for a simpler, more-refined appearance. The finish is prone to acquiring fingerprints, so you'll want to wear cotton gloves to remove the speakers from their packing. Sonically, the C-3 has all of the attributes you'd expect in a high-quality standmount, with excellent stereo imaging and soundstage presentation, but this system also has a remarkable continuity that - especially in a larger room - makes the transition from one driver to the next nearly seamless in this 3-way design, with the overall effect more closely suggesting a flat panel-type loudspeaker than a small-box dynamic. The sealed acoustic suspension design also permits the 6.5" woofer of the C-3 to perform well into the lower frequencies found in most unamplified music recorded with limited processing; this comes at a decrease in system efficiency, but makes for a speaker that is commendably balanced throughout its range. If there's a limitation, it's in the maximum spl that the speaker can attain - it's not going to blast you out of the room - which is not much of a sacrifice to make in favor of the natural response and musicality provided by the C-3 under normal listening conditions. The C-3 will play reasonably loudly, but put these speakers safely away for parties, and drag out some garage sale Cerwin Vega boxes for rocking the house. Note: this evaluation is based upon the C-3 speakers in a fairly large room - 23'x18' with a 16' ceiling, where the music has a chance to breathe a little bit, and from a listening position far enough back as to allow for 2nd and 3rd reflections. The speakers were also driven by a 200 watt/channel McIntosh integrated amplifier, a very stable power source for this low impedance (4 ohm, minimum) load. Although the Mac might be a much more expensive design than what one might normally expect to be connected to sub-$1000 speakers, it demonstrates the truly fine performance that can be had with the C-3, and that utilizing higher end equipment with these speakers would not be money wasted. A Google search will show the NHT C-3 review from Home Theater HiFi, which provides an excellent summation with measurements & specs. To sum up, these are very attractive speakers with an enjoyable, natural musical presentation that's in line with much more expensive designs; the C-3 could be one of the best hi-fi bargains around!

The fit and finish are great. They are solid and fairly heavy speakers for their size. The lacquer black paint is really nice. I had the speakers paired with a Denon PMA-1600ne and a Marantz PM7000n integrated amplifier. I felt the bass was very tight. Not a lot of bass since the speaker is sealed but the bass was solid and fairly natural sounding. Definitely not lacking and in no way boomy or bloated. I also felt the midrange was very clean and natural sounding. Those were the pluses. I felt the treble was too bright. For me. Some reviewers say it is clear. It is clear but maybe too clear. You hear everything in the highs. For me, listening to the speakers became fatiguing. I had my amps set to flat response but I ended up having to turn down the treble into the negative numbers for me to listen to them. Lastly, they are not the most sensitive speakers so if you buy them, you really need to have an amplifier with a lot of power. They like power. The Denon had plenty but the Marantz was adequate. You will definitely notice that you have to turn up your amp's volume more than with other speakers. If you have a built in room correction on your amp or receiver I think you should let it calibrate your room with these speakers. Maybe it can adjust it so it tames the treble. So, in summary, I think the fit and finish, paint, bass and midrange were really pleasing, but the treble was just too bright sounding for me.

Note I paid $268 each new. These are nicely detailed speakers that sound wonderful. They are intended for audiophile oriented listeners (which is actually a very wide variety of people but I am saying these are not for everyone). They are for the listener who wants very realistic sounding gear, think of what instruments actually sound like in real life - the good and bad of that. These are NOT warm sounding, they are also not cool sounding unless the recording is itself poor. They are very neutral to the source and very flat in frequency response. They do not have boosted bass. As well, since they have a sealed cabinet the bass never suffers from port chuffing & I love that because I can not stand port chuffing. The bass very fast and detailed and perhaps slightly lightweight for some listeners, you may want a subwoofer to fill in the lows. (I did not find I need one in my room.) The mids are natural sounding and really all vocals shine. The treble is fast and detailed and very smooth for a "detail" oriented speaker. (no listener fatigue) It also has that grip on electronic music, cymbal crashes, electric guitars and such that I have found you need a metal based tweeter to bring to life. (again these are not warm or euphonic, if you want warm there are many other speakers out there - try the polk lsim703 currently on clearance for 450 a pair online down from 1500) They are fairly dynamic speakers, for example in a direct comparison they are noticeably more dynamic than my JBL 306 MKII studio monitors Give them at least 10+ hours of high volume play time to break them in a bit, they will soften up a bit sound a slightly more coherent and less "metalic". I really like these speakers. I currently have at home/ and recently have owned the following speakers in a similar price range (Polk LSIM703, Focal studio monitors, JBL 306 MKII, wharfedale denton, infinity r162, ELAC UB5, several Boston acoustics speakers m25, a25, KEF q100, KEF q150, several DIY designs, JBL LSR308, & more) I am just trying give the idea that I have other systems to compare with. These are really, really good speakers for the money ($268 each for the C-3 when on sale) I like many different speakers, I don't really have a true favorite - however I'd likely take these over everything I just listed.

The reason I chose to buy the NHT c-3 speaker was after reading various reviews and opinions these might have the sound characteristics I like and would work well in the small 10ft square room I would be using then in. I’m happy to say that I made a good choice with these speakers and they sound great powered by my 150 watt rms into 4ohm integrated amplifier. The build quality for a this budget bookshelf speaker is way better than I expected at this price point, pleasingly solid with a flawless finish. The Sound To me the treble midrange sounds smooth with plenty of detail that’s non fatigue for long listening sessions. Being a sealed design with no port, the bass is tight and controlled and can go quite low but does not sound overblown, this makes placement in a small area less of an issue. Overall I really enjoy listening to my music with these speakers and that this keeps me listening longer, which is what it’s all about.

This speaker sound good, it’s great in music and beyond my expectation in many ways.

I bought this thinking it will be a set of speakers but unfortunately it came in one. Possible to just buy another one?