NHT Introduces Reference Home Theatre Speaker System
NHT has introduced what it says is a true dual-use home theatre system. The new system, designated VT-3 Home Theater Reference System, is a 6-component, 5-speaker ensemble designed to provide superb performance in home theatre and music listening situations. Bill Bush, NHTís Director of Engineering, notes ""these two common applications have very different imaging requirements and are very difficult to combine into one single, high-performance loudspeaker system. NHT carefully evaluates these requirements and developed what we believe to be an elegant and cost-effective solution."" The Nature Of Compromise Since the introduction of stereo, high fidelity speaker system have carried the burden of locating and fixing musicians in the listening space. To that end, engineers have striven to create precisely imaging loudspeakers and gone to great lengths to design speakers which create a vivid and real soundstage as well as reproduced exactly the tonal qualities and frequencies of the original signal. According to NHT, ""conversely, in a home theatre application, speakers are asked to augment images and a reality provided by the visual cues on the screen. The desired sound is not necessarily a recreation of reality, but often an enhancement of it. And frequently the sound is nothing ever heard in the real world. In home theatre, the idea is to expand the environment, not to create an imaginary soundstage with pinpoint accuracy. ""Thus, the dilemma that causes compromise. A great home theatre speaker system will diffuse the sound, emphasize mid-bass, and blur the soundstage. Thatís outstanding for home theatre, but it sacrifices the accuracy and imaging required of a superb high fidelity music speaker system. An excellent high fidelity music system will define the soundstage, image with pinpoint accuracy, and reproduce the frequency and timbre of music and the instruments that produce it. ""Recognizing the dilemma caused by the very different effects desired, speaker designers had a choice ñ they could favor music or home theatre, but they couldnít create a speaker that excelled in both applications. ""Until now."" NHTís VT-3 ñ Reference Home Theater Speaker System Recognizing the different requirements for critical music listening and home theatre applications in 1993, NHT developed the Audio/Video switch and introduces it on its VT-2 home theatre A/V speaker. The switch essentially changed the radiation and dispersion pattern of the speaker. The 5-speaker VT-3 system uses a pair of VT-3 towers, a VC-3 center channel speaker, and a pair of VR-3ís ñ mirror-image surrounds. The sixth element of the system, the VT-3 Controller, allows the system to easily switch from superbly imaging, flawlessly accurate high fidelity music speakers, to spacious, dramatic home theatre speakers. The pair of VT-3 towers is the core of the system. Each is a 4-way speaker system designed to provide superb music reproduction, and delivery flat frequency response, low distortion, extended bass, and precise imaging. Incorporating a total of 8 drivers, each 48-inch-high VT-3 tower utilizes two front-firing, 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter; and a pair of side-loaded 10-inch subwoofers. The cabinet is well-braced, laminated inside and out to reduce resonance levels, and finished in handsome Italian black laminate. The dual 10-inch subwoofers are contained in their own interior acoustic suspension enclosure within the V-3 tower. In Audio mode, subwoofer response is flat and tightly controlled for precise, accurate music reproduction. In Video mode, subwoofer output is boosted relative to the entire system and a 35 Hz high-pass filter is engaged. This allows the system to play at higher volume with less distortion. Another Video mode feature controls the amount of bass boost by a continuously variable adjustment, which can be set to deliver a boost from 0 to 7.5 dB. This enables the user to set the bass boost for movies independent from bass provided in Audio mode for music. Each pair of subs is powered by a built-in Sunfireô 500-watt mono amplifier utilizing patented Tracking Down Converter technology. This compact, efficient design allows the amps to deliver high power without requiring external heat sinks and features class AB output stages for improving damping. The front-firing quartet of drivers provides pinpoint imaging and an exceptionally flat frequency response. Two 6-1/2-inch drivers deliver vital lower mid-range frequencies, while a single 5-1/4-inch driver supplies upper midrange. A 1-inch, fluid-cooled aluminum dome tweeter with a neodymium magnet furnishes the higher frequencies. All crossover points are placed out of the critical female vocal range. Activate in Video mode only, the VT-3ís pair of rear-firing drivers ñ a 5-1/4-inch mid-range and 1-inch soft-dome tweeter ñ are ambient drivers operating at reduced level relative to the output of other tower drivers. They provide enough early reflections to soften the image created by the front-firing drivers without changing the tonal balance. If desired, they can be de-activated even in Video mode. The VC-3 center channel and VR-3 mirror-image surround sound speakers each utilize four drivers identical to the front-firing quartet of the VT-3 tower. The use of identical drivers maintains frequency response, tonal balance, and seamless sound quality across the entire system. All speakers in the VT-3 Home Theatre Reference System utilize acoustic suspension design, feature gold-plated 5-way binding posts, and Italian black satin laminate finish. They also utilize newly designed, minimally diffractive grilles which mount to machined metal pegs protruding from the cabinet. This grille designed assures the same tonal quality with the grilles on or off. The VT-3 towers use stabilizer bars and spikes to couple the cabinets to the floor. Completing the VT-3 ensemble ñ and making the ""dual use"" solution work ñ is the VT-3 System Controller. The easy-to-use component-size Controller is a connection point and a communication center for the system. It can be placed in an equipment stack and its most commonly used feature can also be operated via an IR remote control keypad. The Controller communicates with the VT-3 towers via a shielded, 8-pin mini-DIN cable. In one direction, the cable supplies DC power from the towers to the controller, separating the associated power supply and amplifier noise form the sensitive line-level signal. In the other direction, the cable sends low frequency audio information from the Controller to the towers and controls switching of the ambient drivers in Video mode. A 20-foot cable is supplied and additional 20-foot extensions are available. The IR remote control keypad permits listening position switching and adjustment of the Video Bass Contour, Low Bass EQ, Audio/Video Mode, and Ambient Drive Bypass ñ which silences the towerís rear-firing drivers even in Video mode. Driver Bypass ñ which silences the towersí rear ñ firing drivers even in Video mode. NHTís VT-3 Home Theater Reference System is truly the first speaker ensemble designed for high-quality, high fidelity music listening and high-impact home theatre performance. The new VT-3 Home Theater Reference System from NHT has a suggested retail price of $9,000. Individual suggested retail price are: $6300/pair for the VT-3 tower including the System Controller unit with remote control, $900/each for the VC-3 center channel, and $1800/pair for the mirror image VR-3 rear channel speaker.