Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Axioms vs. NHT for Home Theater - any thoughts?

Hi,

I'm Jeff in North Carolina. I'm going to build a home thaeater system in a room I call the "great room". It is 18x20 feet with 17 foot ceilings. I know its not an ideal home theater arrangement ... but hey... its what I have.

I've been looking at NHT T5/T6 solutions. They are M5/M6 speakers sitting on top of B5/B6 Subs. I would also use the M5/M6 as center channel and maybe the same for the surrounds. I'm looking at 5.1 configuration with an AV receiver with 100 watts for each channel. I haven't bought that yet either.

So I run accross this Axiom stuff out here in Cyber space. Price looks good. Just wondering if anyone else looked at the NHT solutions and might give guidance.

Thanks for the help!

Jeff

I would say it depends on your receiver. The NHT's tend to require a little more juice than the Axioms. Tonally, they are very, very, close. The full range T5 and T6s certainly offer more adjustablity than the Axioms (with the X1 crossover), but your room is a large enough size that it shouldn't be an issue. The NHT offers an identical center to the left and rights: I was not thrilled with the VP150 center. I found it had serious tonal changes as you moved off-axis, changes I do not hear with the M5. BTW, in your size room the T5/M5 should be plenty.

I listened to NHT before purchasing my Axioms. Though I liked the NHT's, the Axioms were far clearer, and had tighter cleaner bass. If I were you, I'd try and find a local Axiom owner who'll let you hear his/her setup. I think it'll be an eye opening experience.

BTW...tonygeno's VP150 problem seems to be the exception, rather than the rule. Most VP150 owners have been very happy with theirs. ????

What's your budget for speakers and sub? Will this setup double as your music listening setup? If so, what do you tend to listen to mostly?

Carolina,

As long as you aren't a Carolina fan, you would be more than welcome to come and listen to my Axiom;s before you purchase if you would like. Send me a PM regarding your location and we will see if we can setup a listening opportunity for you.

Thanks for the advice. My budget is 5-6K for the 5.1 system. This is with an AV receiver. I mostly listen to classic rock. Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Bily Joel. The likes her classical stuff too. The room will double as music room as well as general TV and movies.

Tony,

Thanks....you seem to know the NHT's quite well. I was thinking the T5s L/R with the M5 center and the new L5 (M5 for surround) in the back. THe local NHT guy carries Marantz (SR 7400 $800, SR8400 $1350)and NAD receivers.

I also looked at a Rotel RSX-1067 and RSX-1056 tonight. The 1056 is about $1400 and seems nice.

This particular store carries B&W and Vandersteens. I was quite impressed with the Vandersteens.

Feel free to impart wisdom on me...as it says by my name...I'm a newbit to this. I would be looking at the larger Axioms M60/M80s if I went this route. I guess I fid it hard to believe they can be as good at their price level.

Carolina? I went to Grad School at NC State!

if 5-6k is your budget, you could get the m60's and a vp150, which is what i just ordered, that will cost you about 2400$, and you could do like me if you wanted and get an outlaw amp/pre-amp.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/


a buddy of mine is a huge audiophile, and has all NHT speakers.. i told him about the axiom's that i was getting and he thinks that i will enjoy them very much... btw, my buddy has a 15-20k$ set up.. he is running 5 Adcom mono blocks, and he was thinking about getting the outlaw product, because it is a very good product, and would reduce space at his house, but he decided not to.. not because of the quality of the product, but for other reasons.


You should check out the outlaw products you might like what you see, they are like axiom, and internet only company. If you can wait, I will write up a review on my impressions of the system that I bought, and you can see what I have to say if you like.


Good luck with your decision, I researched for about 3 weeks, before I decided on axiom, I also looked at the NHT speakers… but decided on axiom…


Hope this helps, and doesn’t confuse you.

Hi Jeff,

I know it is hard to take things on faith. I was skeptical too.

I don't know the NHT line well, and if you are that committed to them, probably nothing any of us can say will change your mind. But this IS the Axiom board, so you should expect positive Axiom testimonials here. You can read hundreds of them if you take the time.

I listened to lots of speakers before "the big upgrade". I had been listening to a really nice Polk sub/sat system (that I moved to the bedroom). I considered (and auditioned in stores) Boston, Polk, Klipsch, Mirage, and lots of others.

I am absolutely thrilled with my M60's and QS8's. They are fabulous speakers. I doubt I will be inclined to replace them for many, many years. They far outperform anything I heard near their price range. I like them more all the time.

Maybe you can get an audition. Maybe you will take a leap of faith. Or maybe, if you buy the NHT without ever hearing the Axioms, you'll always wonder "what if?".

The lesser of two evils I suppose.