edcrash1,

I read your post with great interest and I thought long and hard about writing this. Maybe now is a good time to relate a tale "from the Dark Side."

First let me comment on the NHT Evolution series of loudspeakers. I have heard them on more than one occasion and, in my opinion, they are really good in all respects. You have made a fine choice.

Now for the story:

A while back at my "day job" at Atlantic Technology we were contacted by the group responsible for designating all of the components for Oliver Stone's state of the art home theater. We were told that the integrators had evaluated a lot of speakers and had decided that an Atlantic Technology THX system was their number one choice. They also said that a major magazine was doing a story on the installation and that it would receive a great amount of attention.

As you might imagine, we were quite flattered and pretty excited about the potential magazine artcle. We were then informed that we were expected to provide the speakers at no charge. The people responsible for designating the components claimed that the great publicity surrounding the installation would be payment enough. After explaining to them that we provide nothing free (except to a charity for auction), we chose to take a pass on this "opportunity".

Companies like Atlantic and Outlaw get approached all the time with offers of placement, especially for home improvement or technology TV shows often shown on cable. They too want free goods and the answer is always no.

As for Outlaw, we have sold a number of our products to high profile customers. For example, over the last two years we have sold about forty model 990's to one of the world's most famous video game software developers. There is a good chance that some of you might be listening to 5.1 games mixed on an Outlaw pre amp. We don't talk about this company and neither do they talk about us.

So what is the point behind all of this? Be skeptical of any third party endorsements. The best way to find out what's right for you is to evaluate the components (or speakers) in your own home, where it counts the most. That's why so many reputable on-line companies offer a 30-day, money back, home trial guarantee.


Peter Tribeman