NHT 2.9 or B&W CDM9NT

I haven't heard the NHTs, but I own a pair of the CDM9NTs and I have been very happy with them. I listen mainly to classic jazz, rock, and classical in that order, with some country and R&B thrown in for good measure.

In my opinion, the CDM9s do a good job of presenting the music accurately without getting too bright or forward. They do equally well with recordings that feature plenty of horns (such as Coltrane's Blue Train) or those that feature piano and bass (Keith Jarrett's Live at the Blue Note). They also do well with large orchestral pieces (I just got Kleiber's recording of Beethoven's Fifth, and it sounds fantastic). They stay very composed as the volume increases and don't break up until you reach truly loud listening levels.

As for the bass issue, I went with the CDM9s rather than the CDM7s because they do a significantly better job with the bass. I run mine off a Denon AVR-4802 (would like to add a separate amp in the future, but this works fine right now). They are two months old and they keep getting better as they break in. No buyer's remorse here.

I have the 2.9's and 3.3's. I would like to point out that although I love my NHT's They are a very position dependent speaker. I don't know what kind of a room you have but they need a wall both behind and outside them, (i.e. a corner) for the bass to look at. And if you can do it, seperate them by 10 to 14' with nothing in between. Even just moving them inches can have an effect on the sonic dynamics of them. If your serious about the 2.9's, might I suggest you give one of the engineers at NHT a call. (number's on their web site) Their always more than happy to give you advice on how to meet your system goals. Truly they would know better than any advice you'll get here. And if the 2.9's may not work in your situation, they tell you that too.
As far as the B&W's, decent sound (not as power hungry) and you don't have to worry as much about placement. Hope that helps. It's all in the ear of the beholder.

For my CDM7NT's, I found a used B&K EX442 (200w/ch) to be an excellent match and very positively changed my opinion of the speakers. Un-harshed 'em. Paid less than $500, leaving room in the budget for other goodies. The current production version (I forget the model) is in the $1500 range, I think. If you like tube sound with ss convenience, try to give B&K a listen.

i work at a hifi store in the south and we sell both b&w and audio research. one of the sweetest, in fact, THE sweetest sound i have heard so far is not with b&w's nautilus series, but with a pair of cdm9nt's played through audio research equipment. in fact, the vt60 tube amp sounds absolutely fantastic on these b&w's!!! as for nht equipment, i am unable to make judgment; however, i think crutchfield sells them. all the music critiqued on the b&w's was brubeck jazz and tchaikovsky classical.

I would have to agree with jimmyrod also. I have upgraded all electronics but have kept my 2.9's. i currently own classe source components (preamp, cd player), new Odyssey Stratos monoblocks, with Transparent biwire speaker cables and straight wire balanced interconnects. The Classe and Odyssey equipment works great with these speakers. I do not have the treble bite anymore. Because of the power requirements, i went with the monoblocks. I had a new Mcintosh 6500 160 watt integrated amp before and they sounded great but the speakers needed more power. The monoblocks just opened up the sound even at low volumes. I have a 13'x13'x9' dedicated room for 2 channel listening. Placement is critical. I don't use NHT's method of placement. I actully fan the speakers out a little so the sound meets behind my head, not right at it. This positioning also points the woofers out into the room instead of them pointing right at the other speaker. Stereophile rated these as class 'B' a couple of years ago if that means anything.