Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
Sound comparisons are challenging as the 920 has so many more facilities and is a very nice preamp/dac as well as headphone amp. There are also the complications of multiple filter characteristics and the crossfeed facilities.
So comparing like for like and not looking at the facilities that the 920 has that the 9XX doesn't, I say the 920 sounds a shade classier and more complete in its presentation. Bass notes are tighter and more controlled with the 920, and perhaps just a few subjective Hz deeper. Notes down low seem to stop and start a shade quicker helping underline the tempo of music. This isn't a boost, more an added degree of control.
Midrange is very similar between the two units, the 920 being just a shade more lucid, easy flowing and sweet in a more analog kind of way. Not syrupy. Not euphonic. Just a hair more realistic with very slightly more presence and air. More relaxed but with an improvement in detail and shading.
Highs are again similar. Although I'm sure they measure the same, the 920 feels a bit more extended with a tiny bit more sparkle and openness. Surprisingly an instrument as simple as a triangle, well recorded, reveals this quite strikingly.
So without writing a book, the 920 sounds to me more neutral, more complete, and more realistic than its less well specified sibling. In many ways it is similar to an amplifier with stiffer and stronger power supply. Throw in all of the other features and the 920 is a great value.