Gary,
Welcome to the forum. When I was auditioning speakers I really liked the NHT speakers alot. I listened to a few models, I can't remember which ones they were, but they ranged from $500/pr to $900/pr (I think they were ST2 and ST4's). I also listened to some Cantons that were much more expensive (reduced to $2500/pair) and was completely unimpressed with them. Especially for the money I thought the sound was very dull (at least to my ears). Ultimately after doing much research on line I decided to give the Axioms a whirl. After trying the Axiom M22's and M3's and M60's I finally kept the 60's, and IMO their sound is substantially better than either the NHT's or the Cantons. Very clean, detailed, with excellent sound stage and imaging. Good luck with your search !
