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NHT Regaining Momentum

Benicia,
Calif. – Speaker supplier

NHT

, which last
year adopted a web-only business model that combines B to C and B to B
marketing, is rebuilding sales, running 30 percent ahead of last year, and expects
20 percent gains in 2011, co-owner Chris Byrne told TWICE.

In
part, the company is simply regaining ground lost after the company went “quiet”
for several months last year to remake its business model, which

launched

in June 2009, said Byrne, one of three NHT owners and one of the company’s
original co-founders in 1986. But the increase also partly reflects a rebuilt
dealer base of about 250 dealers, mostly installers but also independent and
on-line retailers. About 50 of them signed up at the recent CEDIA Expo.

Additional
gains are coming from the addition last year of complementary brands to the
company’s web site. Those products, including AudioQuest cables and Sanus
stands, are sold only to consumers, not to dealers, and the brands’ suppliers
fulfill consumers’ orders.

Earlier
this year, NHT added select Sherwood Newcastle receivers to the site, and the
company is considering the addition of two more electronics lines, Byrne said.
Other brands sold on the site are Omnimount and HRT USB-powered DACs.

 New NHT products will also contribute to
growth, he said. The company plans late October availability of four new
speakers that, along with a new tower introduced earlier this, mark the
company’s first product introductions in about three years.

 These and other NHT speakers are sold under a web-only
B to B and B to C sales strategy. Although NHT sells direct to consumers via
its web site, the company also sells indirectly to consumers through installers
and through on-line and brick-and-mortar retailers who are not required to
stock NHT inventory. When an account sells an NHT product to a consumer, NHT will
ship the product directly to the consumer who purchased it. Installers, who
represent a majority of NHT’s accounts, can also opt to take delivery at their
place of business before they begin an install.

 Only a handful of on-line and brick-and-mortar
retailers carry NHT inventory, Byrne noted.

The
company’s percentage of sales to dealers is running at about 70 percent.

The
business model appeals to dealers, he said, because “dealers don’t have to
invest in inventory.” The model also appeals to installers who are used to
purchasing product only when it’s ready to be installed. Installs are also accustomed
to purchasing products via credit card, he noted.

 The appeal is also great for NHT, Byrne said. “You
double your profits when you sell direct.” And because no reps or distributors
are used, retail prices can be lowered while maintaining dealer margins, he
said.

 Business is also simpler. A supplier doesn’t
have to chase after accounts receivable, “and there’s no transshipping,” Byrne
said. “We have the cleanest line ever.”

  The business model will also help keep
specialty-A/V brands alive, he contended, because the number of specialty retailers
with storefronts has dwindled over the past decade as more specialists shut
down their retail stores to focus on custom installation. “Brick-and-mortar is
not coming back,” he contended.

 Although it might seem unlikely that consumers
would buy speakers without first listening to them, Byrne said consumers have
gotten used to on-line speaker purchases over the years and turn to legitimate
reviewers and user reviews to give them the confidence to buy. A 30-day
no-questions-asked return policy also helps ease consumers’ concerns about
buying without hearing, he said.

  To promote to consumers, NHT turns to
search-engine optimization, links on related web sites, and social-network
sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

  These methods will be applied to NHT’s four
latest products, which consist of a resurrected and updated compact Super Zero
mini monitor, a powered subwoofer tailored for use with the new Super Zero, and
two new high-output powered sub, which are promoted as offering significant
performance upgrades over their predecessors in cabinets that are 30 percent
smaller.

  All three of the acoustic-suspension
[sealed-box] subs are the brand’s first wireless subwoofers, thanks to USB
ports that accept optional wireless adapters due in the first quarter.

 The two high-output subs are the cube-shaped
$499 B10

d

and $699 B12

d

,
which replace five-year-old rectangular models at the same price points. The
B10

d

packs a forward-firing 10-inch
driver in a 12.6-inch cube with 300-watt Class D amplifier. The B12

d

features 12-inch driver, 500-watt Class
D amp in a 14-inch cube. Both models feature DSP to automatically control crossovers,
phase, boundary compensation, movie-music EQ, and amp current to deliver full
power at all system impedances.

 “The new B-10d and B-12d outperform the
old models in every aspect” despite their smaller cabinets, said NHT
partner John Johnsen, thanks largely to more efficient Class D technology and a
DSP system that dynamically controls subwoofer performance.

 As a result of the efficiency gain provided by
the use of Class D amplifiers and DSP, NHT was able to use a sealed-box design
instead of the predecessor subs’ vented designs, which are less accurate but
are more efficient and can thus be driven by lower power amps, Johnsen said.

 The two subs feature LFE and line-level
inputs, intended for connection to the subwoofer outputs and pre amp outputs of
A/V receivers. The B-10

d,

however,
adds speaker-level inputs and speaker-level outputs for use with the many
stereo receivers that lack subwoofer outputs, Johnsen said.

 For the new Super Zero 2.0, NHT developed the $349
Super 8 subwoofer, also with speaker-level ins and outs and a crossover
designed for use with the new two-way mini monitor.

The
acoustic suspension Super Zero 2.0, which resurrects one of the company’s first
products, retails for $99 each, less than the $115 launch price of the original
in 1993, Johnsen said.

 The Super Zero
2.0 features 4.5-inch woofer that delivers 100Hz+ bass. Its tweeter is crossed
over at about 1,000Hz lower than the original model’s tweeter and now uses a second-order
high-pass filter to lower distortion and improve the dispersion pattern and
phase response with the woofer at their crossover point

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