Need Advice on NEAR HT speaker set

Tripper,

"NEAR...make rocks" and "flinty Yankees", LOL.

Actually, my first set of SuperZeros was purchased in 1995, and the SuperOnes rounded out the 5.1 system in 1998, so I guess my speaker line up is sort of middle to late stone age NHT, heheh.

They were still in California in those days. To be honest, I have not heard any of their newer speakers, but a local NHT dealer told me they thought the lower former "Super" line was improved on, but that the higher line [formerly 3.3, 2.9, VT, etc.] had taken a step back. I also still have an original SW3P/SA3 powered subwoofer.

Thanks for the compliment on my 2 channel rig. It's funny because it's changed since I posted it two years ago, but a few weekes ago returned to almost the same configuration as shown in my virtual system. I'm one of those back sliding former SET owners, happy with solid state again. Heresy!!

Doesn't NHT also make outdoor speakers that look like the plastic encased XU versions of their old Super line?

Redshoe, are there any other speaker lines you've considered for your HT?

I had a pair of NEAR 50Me II's and loved them at the time. It's my understanding that Bogen was only interested in the NEAR models with commercial application and made the decision to nix the rest of the NEAR line.

Gunbei--Who falls and who advances here? NEAR was a great outfit based in New England. I trust flinty Yankees! But the business model was re-evaluated [my guess] after the sale to Bogen and today they make rocks. Really! Ugh.

Now NHT is also NE-based and look at them now. A great company advancing the design and manufacture of great speakers. Think they listened to their customers? You think they look at mag reviews? Only their hairdressers know for sure.

BTW, very nice rig you have there.

We had a pair for demo in our showroom many years ago. That pair, and all the theater demos I heard at CES had a metallic metal ring to the top end. Unless you hear the system and like it, I would stay away from these.

Is that why NEAR kind of disappeared! About ten years ago I was considering them for a small HT system that I eventually built around NHT SuperZeroes and SuperOnes. Since then, I hadn't heard much about NEAR.

Not so. Martin Dewulf from Bound for Sound reviewed and loved the NEAR 50s. They featured a few novel ideas on driver design. I owned two pairs of 50s and liked them a lot. Crisp and clear--ideal for HT. After Bogen bought NEAR, they veered toward outdoor spkrs, a disappointment in my view.

You may be able to get some archival info from them.

http://www.lashen.com/vendors/bogen/N-E-A-R_speakers.asp

You need to hear these, or any, before you buy! Preferably in a demo that's setup well/correctly. That way you can hear what they do. Also, even if someone had good experiences with the speakers, you need to know whether they work in your setup/application or not! Lot's to know about acoustics vs. speaker setup, etc.
My past experience with NEAR's however were less than stellar personally. Basically, you'll not likely find any audio mag or professional reviewers who own them from my experience. Good luck