NHT Hopes To Hit Nerve With Verve

BENICIA, CALIF. — NHT hopes to hit a nerve with its Verve home theater speaker system, which incorporates the brand's first speakers targeted to owners of flat-panel displays. They will ship in late March.

Verve also marks NHT's first use of "coaxially mounted" drivers, and represents "the first of a number of lifestyle approaches" to selling speakers, said managing director Chris Byrne. Dealers are less inclined to buy a company's series of speakers and more inclined to buy an application or solution, he said.

Verve's two three-way satellites feature shallow depths, narrow widths, curvy baffle, integrated speaker stands and wall-mount option. They and a powered subwoofer are in gloss black to match the color of the newest flat-panel TVs.

Verve three-way satellites consist of a 10.5-inch by 5.5-inch by 6.25-inch speaker suitable for surround channels and a larger 15.5-inch by 5.5-inch by 6.25-inch satellite. The larger model features coaxially mounted 0.75-inch tweeter and 3-inch midrange flanked by two 4-inch woofers. It can be used horizontally or vertically for front-channel use. The smaller Verve, designed for vertical use, features separate 0.75-inch tweeter, 3-inch midrange and one 4-inch woofer.

The acoustic-suspension subwoofer is only 14 inches by 24 inches by 6 inches, enabling it to fit against a wall, alongside a couch, or under a table. The enclosure packs in a 200-watt amp and two active 10-inch drivers to deliver bass down to 40Hz. It's matched to the satellites so needs no filter or phase controls, NHT said.

Verve speakers can be packaged by dealers in a variety of configurations, with a 2.1 system incorporating the larger satellites at a suggested $1,359 and the 5.1 system adding the two smaller satellites for the surround channels at $1,999. The 5.1 system packaged with NHT's amplifier and preamp/surround processor would cost $6,750.