Northridge Series NSP1 surround sound speaker system
Brent Butterworth
August 3, 2000 -- JBL's Northridge Series NSP1 comprises five speakers: four N24 satellite speakers and one N-Center center-channel speaker. Since I've already reviewed both individually on etown.com, I'll just revisit their basic features packages and discuss a couple of system matching issues to consider. The ratings here are just an average of those found in the two stand-alone reviews.
With the rated frequency response of the N24s going down only to 75 Hz, this isn't a full-range system. Thus, JBL recommends mating the NSP1 with its PSW-D110, PSW-D112 or PSW-D115 powered subwoofers. (Look for a review of the PSW-D110 on etown.com soon.)
N24 bookshelf/satellite speaker (four)
� two-way design
� 0.75-inch titanium tweeters
� 4-inch coated fiber cone woofer
� vented (bass-reflex) plastic cabinets
� first-order (6 dB/octave) crossover
� crossover point: 3 kHz
� rated frequency response: 75 Hz-20 kHz
� sensitivity: 86 dB
� four OmniMount-style mounting brackets included
� 9.5 x 6.25 x 4.75 inches (HWD)
� two-way design
� 0.75-inch titanium tweeters
� two 5-inch coated fiber cone woofers
� vented (bass-reflex) plastic cabinets
� first-order (6 dB/octave) crossover
� crossover point: 3.5 kHz
� sensitivity: 90 dB
� nominal impedance: 8 ohms
� rated frequency response: 75 Hz-20 kHz
� 6.5 x 20.5 x 8.5 inches (HWD); 9.25 pounds
It's nice that JBL included the mounts for the N24s, too. You may not need them in the front -- that would likely position your front left/right speakers behind the center, and that's no good. But you'll almost certainly use a couple of them for the rear-surround speakers.
Features Rating: 73
� five-way binding-post speaker terminals
That's all you need.
Connectivity Rating: 70
Look & Feel Rating: 84
Performance: I've already made detailed performance comments in my reviews of the N24 and N-Center. All I'll say here is that these speakers work together perfectly as an ensemble. The timbre matching is as good as any I've heard; that is, outside of systems that consist of five identical speakers.
The combined bass output of all five speakers might be enough for a small apartment with finicky neighbors, but almost everyone will want to add a subwoofer. An 8- or 10-inch model seems perfect for this system -- big enough to add a decent amount of low-end wallop, but small enough to mate well with the N24's small woofers.
Performance Rating: 85
Value: With so many direct-to-consumer speaker companies emerging, I'm not as blown away by the NSP1's value as I might have been six months ago. But there's no denying that this system gives you good sound quality and top-of-its-class look & feel for the price.
Value Rating: 86
The N-Center matches the sound of the N24 extremely well, better than Home Theater Direct's Level Three center matches the sound of its Level Three bookshelf. That excellent timbre matching lends coherence to the sound of the entire system, making movies seem more like I was hearing them in a real theater, not a home theater. As such, I highly recommend the NSP1 home cinema package to anyone looking to get into home theater without emptying his or her bank account in the process.
Overall Rating: 80
