My father's initial reaction to the speakers was one of disappointment. That's right, disappointment. "They seem sort of shrill, don't they?" he said to me. I just waited. After less than a minute, he turned back and changed his tune, "You know, I think I'm just hearing highs I've never heard before."

You know Dad, I think you're right.

Right out of the box I was impressed with the NTIW26's. Sure, the comparison to the JBLs wasn't fair as just the pair of NTIW26s cost almost as much as the entire JBL 5.1 system, but I was trying to compare to my vast (after doing this job as long as I have, I think I can say "vast" without stretching the truth too much) experience with speakers. They had an open and airy sound and were deep and rich. I initially played with the cut and boost switch but ended up leaving them at zero since a) my father couldn't tell the difference and b) he was going to run Audyssey and I figured I'd let that do the boosting and cutting. I also played with the tweeter alignment a bit but not as much as I will on future visits. I basically did very little physical calibration other than setting levels and orienting the tweeters.

DTS-CD: Diana Krall - Love Scenes
This is the first CD I thought to play, mostly because of the phantom center. Diana Krall's voice on this album is clearly anchored in the center though you don't need a center channel to experience it. I've often used this album in two channel reviews without feeling like I was unduly hamstringing the speakers. The NTs kept up very well with the content of the album especially with the midrange and upper bass. The JBL sub (before it died) was woefully inadequate and I was glad to bump the crossover down to 60Hz on the Denon minimizing its load. At no time did I think that the NTs were in anyway dropping the ball in the bass department. I'd suggest that the 55Hz lower end spec might even be a little conservative. Again, remember, in-wall speaker performance can vary highly based on room size, shape, and speaker placement. Your results may be different than mine.

I'd have liked to have heard a more unified center experience with the NTs, however. It wasn't as if the imaging was bad - far from it. But I've heard more solid imaging in the past. With some additional tweaking of the tweeter alignment, this may tighten up a bit. The placement of the display (which I pushed as far back as I could) might have been deflecting a little of the sound, messing up the imaging slightly. I hope to eventually convince my parents to wall mount the display as well. Of course, after having to spend hours/days/months convincing my Mom that they "needed" a 58" plasma, her first comment was, "Huh, I thought it'd be bigger." If it was a lighter, instead of pushing back speakers like she used to, she very well may have been pulling out the TV. Wall mounting may or may not be an option here.

DTS-DVD: The Blue Man Group - The Complex
One thing I always loathed about the JBL speakers was how horribly noticeable the rear speakers were. You always knew they were there and always knew when they were playing. It was annoying. Not once with those speakers did the surrounds blend into the background. This was especially irksome with movie soundtracks where, instead of being enveloped by the music, you were instead sort of blasted from three sides (front, left-rear, and right-rear). I can honestly say that the NTIW25s are probably too much speaker for surrounds. They are obviously every bit the speaker that the 26s are and meshed very well with their slightly larger brethren. The rear imaging was finally diffuse and unified creating the full surround effect that I've never before experienced in that room.

The Blue Man Group is known for its low bass, interesting and unusual sounds, and immersive nature. NTIW26s and 25s worked in concert to really draw you into the music, letting you lose yourself in the high quality mix. It's a very good possibility that my using this album for the review is what killed the sub and if that's the case, what a way for a sub to go. If I was a sub, I'd want to die playing Piano Smasher too.

Xbox 360: Rock Band 2
I brought my Xbox 360 and my copy (and instruments) of Rock Band 2 thinking I was doing it for the kids. It turned out that my parents liked playing it just as much as the kids. The NTs presented the music and fan noise as if you really were in a rock band. Of course, with the kids we had it set in "No Fail" mode but when only the adults were playing, you could really get into the music and mood. By this time the sub was dead so I set the speakers to Large and kept the volume reasonable. Even without a sub, I never once thought I was missing out. There were plenty of times when I had completely forgotten that the sub was dead until I started watching a movie and wondered where the bass was. The fact that these speakers are weather resistant is almost a shame. While they may be cost effective enough for installation in a bathroom or outdoors, I'd be a crime to do so. As quality speakers go, I can't believe how good these are for the price.

Conclusion

As reviews go, this isn't my most rigorous. The fact is that once you leave your own room where you are familiar with the acoustics and limitations, you're really unsure of what is the speaker and what is the room. Plus, I couldn't exactly measure them as I would with most speakers since I didn't have my heavily treated AV Rant podcast room to do it in. At $300 a pair for the NTIW26s and $230 a pair for the NTIW25s, these speakers are a remarkable value. Quality components, easy to mount, lots of tuning options… the list of benefits goes on. Sonically, they at least met and in many ways exceeded my expectations. Bass was admirable for a bookshelf much less an in-wall. The highs and mids were well realized and very lifelike. The NT speakers definitely live up to the tSc motto - Quality Loudspeakers at Half the Price.

The real test, however, was how my parents feel about them. Before we even had them all the way installed, my mother was enamored. She loved the clean look and the space-saving attributes of the in-walls. My father appreciated that he was getting much better sound than he had ever experienced before. After I left, I sent them a list of movies to watch that would show off their new speakers. Later that night I got a call from them saying they had just finished watching Spiderman 2 (the "Horror Hospital" scene is a reference for surround sound). Their reaction? "Wow." Wow, indeed.

tSc NTIW26 In-wall Speakers

$149.97/each

tSc NTIW25 In-wall Speakers

$114.97/each

The Speaker Company

100 Corporate Drive
Mahwah, NJ 07430

www.thespeakercompany.com

About tSc
We offer quality speakers and speaker systems at discount prices. From towers, satellite speakers, in-walls, bookshelves and surround systems as well as headphones and iPod Docking stations The Speaker Company offers a full line of speakers & accessories.