Tokyo Electro Acoustic Company had some interesting plans with NXT when digital recordings came along

The inexpensive set shown in the illustration above can reproduce music well if the signal to it is not distorted and the electro-acoustic transducer in the subwoofer is aimed directly at the listener at the height of the speakers. This is largely due to the NXT speakers used in this set. Wikipedia mentions the disadvantages of these speakers: Low directivity and slow fading may lessen stereophonic sound impression. Still, listening from an off-center position gives some imaging of phantom sources as the other speaker can be heard with its full spectrum, but with extra delay due to the listeners local position.This opinion can be caused by many factors, and the source is very important here, i.e. what was recorded and finally saved, most likely while listening to other loudspeakers. It is also unknown under what conditions this description was born and what it was like in the original before it was adopted in the Wikipedia entry.

In the 1970s, many musicians worked at home with a TEAC A-3340 tape recorder. One of them, out of sentimental impulse, bought two such NXT systems to listen to quadraphonic tapes. He has four-channel tapes that were sold decades ago and may still be available at a high price today. He also has his own four-channel copies, which he once copied from quadraphonic records. Playing records was irritating for him because of the booming bass. This was most likely due to acoustic feedback, which didn't occur with tapes. With the new equipment, the bass again irritated him, even though he was playing back recordings from tapes.

A simple Yamaha A 320 amplifier provided a better solution. Two flat-panel NTX speakers were connected to it. Installation was child's play. The front channels of the A-3340 tape recorder were connected to the TD-X300i set, and the rear channels to the A-320 amplifier. The subwoofer and front NTX speakers were at the same level, and the rear speakers were more or less the same. The musician was pleasantly surprised. Another interesting connection was to use a second X300i in the front, but only its subwoofer. The signal from the headphone output of one set was fed to the input of the other. Both subwoofers were placed vertically, with the drivers at the same level as the NTX. The musician summarized this acrobatic feat: the bass was exaggerated, but not muddled. Turning on a soldering iron and opening the sets' enclosures could have produced even more interesting results. The A-320 might even have been superfluous. Low-cost resistors can make the bass even more reliably reproduced and the music more satisfying.

 

The configuration with 4 NXTs and one subwoofer worked very well when playing music from a 4-channel tape which was copied from the SQ record "The Dark Side Of The Moon". Not everyone might think so, because the Pink Floyd album is so well-known that many people remember how it sounded with their playback equipment, so they may have their own opinion. "Stereo Quadraphonic" is a matrix 4-channel quadraphonic sound system for vinyl LP records. It was introduced by CBS Records (known in the United States and Canada as Columbia Records) in 1971.  The SQ encoding is based on the work by Peter Scheiber and further developed by Benjamin Bauer. His basic formula used 90 degree phase shift circuitry to enable enhanced 4-2-4 matrix systems to be developed

On well-calibrated equipment, playing a 5.1 remix of a quadraphonic recording released on SACD is undoubtedly an experience. The remix's quality is undeniably guaranteed by James K.A. Guthrie (born 14 November 1953 in London) is a British sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with the band Pink Floyd, having served as a producer and engineer for the band since 1978. Equally important is, of course, Alan Presons, about whom it is mentioned: his real ongoing claim to fame was his engineering work on Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) which earned him his first Grammy nomination. The remix was certainly not a simple commission for them, but a personal testament to the possibilities of newer technologies. The 30th-anniversary edition won four Surround Music Awards in 2003,and sold more than 800,000 copies.

Unique configurations was made for the SiestaTime Club with a stage sound system and Digital Audio Broadcasting. In the Sierakowski Manor House from 1714, people sitting in deckchairs on the sand in the garden of an artistic café could listen to world music presented in a radio program that has been broadcast in Poland for over 30 years. When it rained, the PA with subwoofer och satellites has to be moved indoors, where it looks unattractive. A TEAC set with NXT and DAB would have been a much better solution. There were a few models available, like the MC-DX40DAB. Now, SiestaTime Club can stream at 256kbps, and while TEAC doesn't offer an option for this with NXT speakers, a model with just an FM radio, like the TD-X300i,  can be connected analogue to a PC and optimally configured to minimize clippings after 32-bit float/192kHz D/A conversion.

 

In Soud Korea Genelec presents its speakers with the unique ability to optimally calibrate them in a 5.1 setting. This is particularly important because the Korean chaebol is the initiator of competition for Dolby Atmos. More A historic launch for Eclipsa Audio in Las Vegas will change a lot. However, there are many indications that the NXT loudspeakres and subwoofer offer better options in terms of surround sound, and the newer offering with the Immersive Audio Model & Format, which has been shortened to Eclipsa Audio, may be adapted to this more efficiently.

 

The NXT is a broadband solution, so the unique Genelec features are unnecessary. Windows has had a built-in calibration system for years, which also supports 5.1, and will work well with a subwoofer and 5 pcs NXT, but purchasing those isn't easy. Microsoft is one of many members of the Alliance for Open Media, which is responsible for the development of the IAMF.

 

Steve Harris looks at the legacy of NXT’s flatpanel speaker, which once promised to revolutionise audio replay. Did you realise the technology is now more widely available than ever before? 

Quad has been part of the NXT group since 1996, and back in 1957 it offered an electrostatic loudspeaker that allowed people to enjoy spatial sound from mono recordings. 

An interesting solution, and at a relatively low price, may be also the Samsung Music Frame HW-LS60D/ZF. The manufacturer has offered this rather unusual speaker in the wireless speaker category. It also suggests purchasing two, one for the left and one for the right, but the front and rear option may be more appealing. It just needs the right software. The one that is already has a wide range of possibilities, but it can be even better in terms of sound quality. 

Samsung unveiled its new line of wireless speakers at the beginning of 2026 in Las Vegas, but the five don't seem very practical for home use. Nevertheless, it confirms that the perception of how we listen to music at home is changing. The 2 Music Studio 5 speakers shown in the image above, together with a subwoofer connected to them and recordings saved with Eclipsa Audio technology, will provide a wonderful experience

This Korean chaebol has also owned the legendary American brand for several years, now widely associated with wireless speakers worldwide. Expect new solutions in this lineup as well. 

It's no surprise that the prestigious Danish brand B&O has an interesting lineup of wireless speakers. They've implemented their latest solution, Mozart, which focuses on extensive upgrade options. Less well-known is that in 2017, Bang & Olufsen entered into close partnerships with two Korean giants: in August with LG, and in May through Harman with Samsung. 

 drawing by Per Oscar Dahlberg

Benjamin's psychoacoustic lab  is constantly testing and implementing possibilities for optimal music playback using new technical solutions with the computing potential of computers and open structures. PC4uMusicis the main project and this blog is just a notebook focused on technical possibilities, not the beauty of words.

 
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