SuperZero 2.0 - Our Amazing Mini Monitor

Just got home from a drive to Benicia, picked up the first publicly released SuperZero 2.0's from Chris and Dave. Could not wait to hear them at home!I never did hear the original SuperZero but last week did hear the original Zero (same cabinets) and I own a pair of Absolute Zeros, so comparisons with the latter were irresistable.Opening the box I note that while they are not as deep as the Absolute Zeros they are only about 1/2" narrower and likley an inch shorter. They may be a tad larger than the original SuperZero cabinets.Hooking them up, I listened to them with an old NHT SW2 sub driven by an SA-2 subwoofer amp. The SuperZero 2.0's are driven by an OnixMelody SPII integrated amp with the original tubes (will sound better after tube rolling the preamp tubes). At 38 watts/channel not sure this is ideal but probably fine for my normal listening levels. Source is a Craigslist acquired Marantz CC4000 OSE ($20!). Speaker cable is Home Depot 14 ga "speaker wire", interconnects are ancient top of the line Monster Cable.Playing Tracy Chapman "Telling Stories", Fine Young Cannibals "The Raw and the Cooked" and Earl Klugh "Finger Paintings, I am loving these little gems. Swapping cables between the Absolute Zerosand the SuperZero 2.0's I notice the absolute Zeros throw a bigger sound stage and perhaps warmer sound. Swapping back to the SuperZero's though, the sound is "cleaner" and better detailed, probably more neutral. Note toothat the SuperZeros are fresh out the box with 20 minutes on them, the Absolute Zeros have 6 months and beaucoup hours, so if you believe in "burn-in" these SuperZeros will only sound better with use. Note too that you will likely never want to use these without a subwoofer!Being curious, I would love to compare these with the original SuperZero, then swap the "new crossover" into the originals after that.However they may stack up with the originals, these SuperZero 2.0's are a steal! They remain in my second 2-channel system and my Absolute Zeros will migrate to become rear surrounds in my forthcoming AV system (with Classic 3's). $99 each, hell plastic "high end" PC speakers cost that much!

OK... little boxes that sound like big boxes... The SuperZero 2.0 are awesome. We installed a pair for a client that just did not have room for much more... and the SuperZero's delivered. Although small an accurate bass was persent (however a sub woofer is advised) but never the less the bass was more than adquite for our application. The mids and highs were traditional NHT... The client was impressed... and so were we!... The 2.0's are a great value for a small speaker at the price... I highly recomend them for movies or music. It's NHT man... come on... join the family!

What more can I say about the Original super zero, I have a pair, and till today they still blow away most speakers I've heard. I'm not saying any speaker that costs $200-$400, but high end speakers costing as much as $2,000! I must admit it was a little sad to see these legendary speakers become discountinued, but that all changed! Intorducing the new Super Zero 2.0!!!! I had the privelge to listen to these puppies, and that familiar sound I am used to was alive once again! Now these speakers imaged almost exactly as the original, and were as detailed, but they did have one edge over the originals, and that would be the distortion at higher volumes. More than likely this has to do with the crossover change from 2KHz to 3.2KHz. These speakers are failry ineffieienct (86db) and will require a good, clean, powerful power source. I listened to a pair with a Rotel RB-1572 Amp delievering 100 watts @ 8ohms, and RSP-1570 processor. I also tested them with an onkyo tx-sr708 receiver, and it did very well with both, but the rotel gave it sort of a more "clarity," but my point is a more budget amp, did just fine to power these puppies. I did test these side by side with other speakers like the Paradigm Atoms, and B&W 601 series II speakers and the NHT won hands down for better detial, especially when listening to the acoustic guitar such as on Metallica's "Nothing else Matters." Of course for the best sound, a subwoofer would be needed. I did listen to these with the new Super 8 subwoofer at a crossover of 105Hz, and it filled all of those bass notes very nicely. This subwoofer is not a wimpy one my any means. It provides a deep tight bass to the Super Zero 2.0s very harmonically. Outiside the cabinet remains unchanged, the size is the same, the weight is about the same, and fairly heavy for a small speaker (a sign of quality!), and the beautiful black finish still marks it's trademark. The grill is more rounded than the original witht he new white logo, but I found listening to them without provides a better listening experience. The tweeter remains the same, but the woofer is a newer type of paper material. Lets not forget the best part of these.....$198 a pair!!!!!!!!! and if you buy his system with the super 8 (which I highly recommend), you only pay $499!!!!! yes, $499 dollars for a system that sounds like it should cost $5000!!! Also don't forget the size of these little (but muscluar speakers) are very wife friendly for those worried about space. All in all, NHT actually did put a little more "oomph" into the oiginal Super zero imporving its detial at higher volumes (IMO). These speakers will forever remain one of the most legendary speakers I've heard, not just looking at sound to price ratio, but some of the best speakers i've ever heard, Period, and I dare someone to make me a better speaker for $99 a speaker.

My first Real Speaker was the original Zero, I remember getting them for Christmas, and hooking them up to an old boom box with removable speakers, they sounded awesome, I heard stuff in Aerosmith's Toys in the attic that I had never heard before, over time I upgraded and moved to super zeros and a better receiver, then added your SW1V ?passive Sub with Dual 6" (which is still in use in my kitchen, it sits on top of my fridge where you can't see it, and gives me good bass for my distributed audio. Glad to see the you guys brought back the quintessential Bookshelf /satellite speaker,The SuperZero 2.0's Rock! What else can you get for $100 that will give you so much satisfaction?!

Because I'm moving abroad for a couple of years, I needed a small speaker kit to take with me in place of my $2300 pair of electrostats. Thought I'd put the 'stats in storage while I'm gone. WRONG. Once I got the Super Stereo set up, I quickly realized that this kit was a keeper. Sold the 'stats this morning, and, much as I loved them, I know I'm not going to miss them. As Corey Greenberg put it in his Stereophile review of the original Super Zero in 1994, "the SuperZeros aren't merely great for the money, they're great PERIOD." The soundstage is wide and impressively deep. Instruments and vocals are precisely positioned and have lots of space around them. Whereas my 'stats tended toward an up-front and larger-than-life presentation, the Super Stereo draws a deeper stage on which the various voices and instruments are presented with realistic size for their apparent distances. Detail and transparency are terrific. Not quite 'stat-level, but as good as any non-'stat speaker I've heard. Treble is sweeter and less brittle than on my 'stats. The midrange is very neutral, and the sub provides deep and nuanced bass. Well-recorded vocals and acoustic instruments are delightfully natural and "present". I've always liked electrostats for their transparency, detail, and reach-out-and-touch-it imaging. The Super Stereo has many of these strengths, plus the advantage of unfussy positioning. And, it can go toe-to-toe with exotics costing five times as much. AMAZING.

Not just great for the money - great, period. I've owned Polks, Missions, Spicas, and Martin Logans, and I prefer my $500 NHT Super Stereo to all of them. Put 'em on good stands, feed 'em through heavy gauge wire from a clean 50-Watt amp, put them and yourself a couple feet from the walls, toe 'em in, and enjoy multikilobucks' worth of sound quality.

I installed a set of these in a "budget" home theater setup that really should have had much larger speakers for the size of the room. But they still had the effortless transparent sound I expect from NHT products. The customer now can't stand his upstairs Bose surround system and wants me to replace it with NHT.

I recently purchased a pair of these with a Super 8 sub. Right out of the box they sound great. Can't wait until they are broken in. You can pay more but you will not get much better. I've been there and done that. Learn from my mistakes and save your cash. Great job NHT!

Thats the date of manufacture of my 5 Super Zero 1.0's that I have had for the last15 years. I just upgraded my system powering them with a Pioneer VSX-50. Still rocking after all these years. I'm sure the 2.0's are just as amazing as the 1.0. NHT is awesome. Last speakers you will ever have to buy!!!

Pros: Unbelievable reproduction for a $99 speaker. Cons: Rather heavy for standard wall mounts. Bass lacking, get a sub. Bottom line: if you are looking for a speaker/system for any purpose, buy these and a quality receiver/amp (read: marantz/harmon-kardon not onkyo/sony - I use the Marantz NR1602). The Super Zero 2 is one of those too-good-to-be-true-but-actually-is kind of things. I use 5 of these along with the NHT Super 8 sub for 5.1 surround. The results are beyond words. For the first week, I didn't even watch movies or TV, all my spare time was spent listening to all my old music in --stereo 2.1-- as if through new ears. When I started watching my blu-rays again, the result was the same: astounding audio reproduction. The kind that, when you close your eyes, you can actually see the piano/guitar/singer straight in front of you, even though all that's really there is your coffee table. The kind that makes you feel like you're in the middle of the stadium in front row seats. You can hear the depth and openness of the arena, and can tell whether or not the mic is filtered. The only downside to these speakers is the size, too heavy to use with standard wall mounts. But then again, if you're buying this speaker, you're probably not concerned so much as to how well it will work with cheap plastic mounts. These speakers sound like they should cost 10-30 times the amount they do.

Mr. Johnsen, Imagine my delight at learning that I had won a pair of NHT SuperZeros 2.0 speakers. Imagine my horror after listening to them. Now I want to replace all 14 pairs of speakers of various brands I have throughout the house with NHT speakers! I think you learned your marketing skills from drug dealers..."Here have a free taste. If you want more you know where to come to get it."

i'm not an audiophile but i did my research and as far as i know there is nothing close to these speakers. buy them now, you won't regret it.

I am using 5 for my surround sound in a 13x14x9 room. Powered by a 50 watt/channel HK AVR. These beautiful (they really are) little speakers put out incredible, detailed sound. Very nice sound stage, precise imaging with a nice neutral midrange and more bass than I was led believe. Once I added a sub crossed over at 100hz they got even better. Nothing better than having all identical speakers for when the soundtrack pans around the room or for multi-channel music. I use the center laid over on its side with no problems at all. $500 for a complete set is an incredible deal. Looks and performance cannot be beat at this price. They are a steal. I still can't believe a $100 speaker can be finished so nice and still sound so great. You'd think something would have to give at that price. Not so! Grab some, get a sub and be amazed.

I have the original 1994 SuperZeros and can't say enough good things about them. I remember my first demo of them: I was in home audio/theatre store listening to "Stanley Clarke and Friends Live at the Greek" and asked "are there surround speakers hooked up?" The guys chuckled and said, "no." It felt like I was sitting a few rows back from the stage, Stanley and co jamming and the crowd all around me. In home, these little guys didn't disappoint either. Stereo imaging is startling with just two NHT SuperZeros. You feel like you can reach out and touch the source of the sound, and often think there are things going on beside or behind you, without any kind of surround speakers hooked up. Audio is wonderfully clear - and by clear I don't mean "artificially high pitched" - I mean "transparent" - the NHT SuperZeros get out of the way and let music or dialogue flow exactly as they were recorded with no obvious spikes in frequency response anywhere in their range, at least not enough for my ears to notice. I used to have an NHT SW2P powered subwoofer and it filled in the missing bass with the SuperZeros. I've since switched to another, very musical (read: not artificially boomy, very clean bass) sub. Dialed in properly, you just don't notice the sub - the SuperZeros "appear" to be the source of the entire sound. Hear what you've been missing and give the SuperZeros a listen.