so am still tweaking the system, but just added in the 3.3's and am tweaking their position. i have them nearly flush against the back wall, and like how they sound, but will try pulling them out into the room some, although the listening position would have to get pushed back and might need an overhaul of the room furniture arrangements.
the nht's definitely need more power to really sing and am looking at mccormack, aragon, acurus, and marantz monoblocks as my next upgrade as well as biwiring them. also will be adding room treatments to the walls next as well.
Just a suggestion, you already have a Sunfire pre, have you ever taken a look at the Sunfire Cinema Grand amplifiers, great clean power, almost no heat, and can be had at reasonable prices. I have a Sunfire Cinema Grand 5X200 and the power is endless, they also conform to OHMS law of doubling the power as impedance halves, the hallmark of all great amplifiers. I ran an Acurus 200 Five, or the 200X5 and the Sunfire is just clearly a nicer amplifier. Great looking set up, what is the center speaker sitting on?
System edited: just added the Parasound HCA2200 amp to the system and am loving it. first time i've had a separate power amp and the biggest difference i've noticed is listening at low levels, how much fuller the sound stays. sure i can crank it, but for very light listening, the sound is so much clearer.
Thanks glen, i've actually just added the parasound hca-2200II onto my search as well and am leaning more towards aragon than bryston as i've heard/read quite a few others echoing your suggestion of a warm amp. really looks like i am between the 2200 and the aragon 4004mkII (or the 8008 if i can find one in the same range).
Nice system indeed. The 3.3's are awesome sounding speakers. They have so much of the speed and clarity of planars with the added low end. Really a great speaker, the AC-2 center is second to none, at anywhere near the cost. To make them sing you will need a strong amp. You may want to consider one with a little warmth to it, as the NHT's can be very revealing and thusly fatiqueing of sterile sounding gear. At least that was my history with my NHT 2.9's. Happy listening and viewing.
Yeah I like them up against the wall as they are now, am just trying to find the sweet spot with the distance between them. I've read the same thing about the brystons and have added my search to include the 3B and 4B. Thanks!
If I recall, the 3.3s were designed to work against the rear wall. I love those speakers. Really dynamic and articulate. Bryston works well with NHT too.
