17 May
Question by Phil McCracken: Which is a better speaker? Paradigm Atom or NHT absolute zero?
Whatever information you can share would be appreciated.
Best answer:
Answer by dude8370
Ok lucky you, It happens My family owns Both, well used to..at one point ill explain this later in the answer. OK…I myself own the Atom (v.3), and my dad has his set with paradigm 7semk3 speakers for the front, and used to have absolute zeros as the center and rear. Well i cranked the set of atoms and NHT’s with 2 different Onkyo amplifiers to set a benchmark, and I found that depending what kind of music you listen to or what movies you watch has a lot to do with it. In my opinion, the Paradigm Atom get best overall award because they delivered Excellent clarity with a “tight bass response” This is probably the better choice for home theater or rock/pop type music. Now to tell you the truth, if you listen to Classical music, then the NHT Absolute Zero is probably better. These NHT’s deliver clarity over bass, and provide detailed sound, but are power thirsty! 86db!.
I will tell you, my dad owned the Absolute zero for a week, why? because before he had them he had the NHT Super Zero, probably NHT’s best speaker ever made. It had the same performance (lack of bass) but it was MUCH more detailed, therefore he returned the absolute Zero’s and brought back the Super Zero’s.
The Paradigm Atom Is your best bet. it has a sensitivity of 90db, which is very efficient, excellent bass for a satellite speaker, thus eliminating the need for a subwoofer, and Great Clarity! You can’t go wrong with this speaker. i just love mine, and i listened to the new Atom V.5 at an Audio Store and they sounded even bettere than my V.3′s in terms of detail
So if I were you I wouldn’t take the NHT absolute Zero, but if you look around online for a good deal on NHT Super Zero’s and partner them with a high quality subwoofer, you have probably surpassed the Atom’s sound.
in a nutshell:
Paradigm Atom: Tight clear bass (not so boomy that you don’t know what your listening to) excellent multi-purpose speaker capable of playing anything clear and well
NHT Absolute Zero: Good only for classical music, especially the acoustic guitar.
NHT Super Zero: Same as Absolute Zero, but with much better detail than the Atom or Absolute Zero.
Pros of Atom: Multi-purpose use, tight bass (MSRP: $ 250 pair)
Cons of Atom: Max amp range of 80 watts, but i use a 100 watt. Its OK as long as you don’t crank the volume more than 80% which is REALLY loud.
Pros of NHT Absolute Zero: Excellent clarity and detail, Amp range of 100watts, but like I said its OK as long as you don’t go nuts like using a 300 watt for a 50 watt speaker. Max amp of 130 watt amp for the Atom and Absolute Zero.
Cons of NHT: Power Thirsty, Lack of bass requiring Subwoofer, MSRP of $ 460 for the Pair.
All in all i pick the Atom.
Good luck!!!!!!!
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Filed under: Absolute Zero



