NHT SB2 - Manual (Page 2)

also may add "boom." Placing them farther away tends
to decrease bass output, but can give tighter imaging.
Room furnishings also play an important role. Soft
furnishings (sofas, carpets and curtains) absorb
midrange and high frequencies, potentially dulling the
sound, while hard surfaces and emptier rooms brighten it.
Experimenting with the effects of different placements in
your own listening/viewing room is the key to finding the
sound you like best.
Placement Tips
Ideally, you'll usually get the best sound when your
speakers are:
• 1.5 times as far away from you as from each other
• L and R speakers are equidistant from the listener
• both at the same height (tweeters close to ear level)
Note: the SB2 is not designed to be oriented on it’s side.
Once you've placed them, finish by moving them around
so that they're:
• Near the front edge of shelves and cabinets
• Greater than 1 foot from back walls, 2½ feet from side
walls, if on stands
• Pointing inward a bit toward your ears
Taking these steps -- all shown in Figure 1 -- will give you
the smoothest response, and put you right in the center
of the stereo image at its most well-defined point.
For five-channel music and home theater systems, use
the same basic setup -- all shown in Figure 2 -- and when
possible, set up the system so that:
• The center speaker is right above or below the TV
• The rear speakers are in an equilateral triangle with the
listening position, the speakers at least 5 feet apart
• The rear speakers are at the same height or slightly
higher than the fronts
• Thank you for your purchase of the NHT SB2
Super Bookshelf loudspeaker.
Like all NHT loudspeakers, the SB2's development has
been guided by the study of human hearing, its design
rigorously tested, and its components optimized to deliv-
er clean, clear musical sound.
Since the quality of your speakers is one of the most
important factors in maximizing the sound you'll get from
your music and home theater system, we're sure that
you'll find your purchase of the SB2 a good investment,
and invite your comments.
If you find your experience with SB2 speakers as
satisfying as we believe you will, and wish to expand into
a larger surround system, you'll find specifications for
their sonically matched companions, the SC1 center
channel SW10 subwoofer, and SB1 stereo speakers --
which may be used as less expensive rear speakers --
on the back of this manual.
Background
The Model SB2, a new generation of speaker based on
NHT's critically acclaimed SuperOne, offers not only the
detailed midrange clarity for which its predecessor was
known, but incorporates significant performance
improvements, as well. Its acoustic suspension design
offers deeper bass response, which is better suited to
digital surround audio, and its proprietary neodymium
magnet tweeter can be placed far closer to the woofer,
improving sonic coherence and overall frequency
response. Attached to the rear of the tweeter is a
massive heat sink, which both improves power handling
and strengthens the cabinet to minimize resonance. The
result of these design enhancements is a compact
system that reproduces recorded music with superb
frequency response and remarkable accuracy.
Please take a few minutes to read through this owner's
manual before setting up your speakers; this information
will help you get the most out of them. Also, please keep
the SB2's packaging to use in case, you move or
transport them.
If you have questions at any time during setup or use,
feel free to call your NHT dealer or our Toll-Free
Customer Hotline at 1-800-NHT-9993.
Placement
The SB2's compact size of allows them to be used in
virtually any (indoor only) placement: on shelves, on
cabinets, on speaker stands, or mounted on walls (see
Placement Accessories, below).
Please remember that small changes in speaker position
can have a significant effect on sound: moving speakers
nearer to walls or corners will increase bass output, but
Fig. 1