NHT ST4, SB3, SB1, SC1, and SW10 loudspeakers. (Equipment).

Manufacturer: NHT, 527 Stone Road, Benicia, CA 94510; 800/NHT-9993 Price: ST4 floor-standing tower, $1,000/pr; SB3 bookshelf system, $600/pr; SB1 bookshelf system, $300/pr, SC1 center-channel, $300; SW10 powered subwoofer, $500 Source: Manufacturer loan

OK, let's face it, this is a substantial number of loudspeaker systems for anybody to be reviewing at one time. In the past, I have reviewed multi-unit arrays from Polk, Atlantic Technology, and Velodyne, but this time things have almost gotten out of hand. Still, duty calls.

Once I got the group unboxed, I had to marvel at the appearance of the systems, because they had the glossiest black finish this side of the Velodyne HGS subwoofer line. I suppose that a number of other systems these days also have super-shiny finishes, but the ones on these NHTs were still head-turning to a very pleasant degree. In, addition, the satellites have smoothly rounded cabinet edges that give the impression they were carved out of individual pieces of very dense material.

Beyond shiny, the overall visual impression is one of great attention to detail on the part of the people who built these systems. The drivers are very cleanly mounted on the front panels (the woofer/mids are held in place with T-15 4mm socket head cap) and the backs of the enclosures are as slick as the sides and tops. The bookshelf models were even finished on their bottoms. (A good idea, since they can also be hung on the wall, with the bottoms visible.) Even when examining them closely, one gets the impression that these are speakers, particularly the ST4 floor-standing units, that look more expensive than their list prices dictate.

Here is a rundown of the sizes, shapes, weights, driver configurations, and general specifications of these speakers:

The ST4 is 38 x 8 x 12 inches (h/w/d) and weighs 47.5 pounds. The top third of the enclosure has a one-inch, aluminum-dome tweeter (with a neodymium magnet structure) mounted under a 6.5-inch midrange. At the bottom of the column, there is an 8-inch, side-mounted woofer. The woofer system is a reflex design, with a flared port on the back. The mid-woofer and tweeter at the top are acoustically separated from the woofer section, and the sub-enclosure itself is a sealed design. Crossover points are at 135 Hz and 2.6 kHz, and the input sensitivity is 86 dB (1 meter/2.83 volts). The rated impedance is 8 ohms, nominal. The tweeter and midrange are video shielded, but the woofer down at the bottom is not. (It is unlikely that it needs to be.) Two pairs of normally strapped-together connectors on the back allow for biamping.

The cabinets can be tippy if placed on thick carpeting (meaning they are at risk of being pushed over if you have small children), so NHT provides "stabilizer bars" that attach to the bottom and extend outward on either side like outriggers. They can be fitted with either spikes or rubber pads. I have no children, so I just stuck the rubber pads on the bottoms of the cabinets (over the screw holes for the outriggers) and plopped the systems down on my carpet. I think this looks more elegant than with the stabilizers installed.