Audio Video News

NHT is out of the woods. The very reputable speaker manufacturer has endured a long series of acquisitions since it was founded in 1986. Its latest owner finally sold the company to its employees and it will be known as NHT Audio LLC.

NHT was founded by Chris Byrne, who remains active in the company, and Ken Kantor, who designed its early speaker lines. It was first sold to a larger speaker manufacturer, International Jensen. Next it went to Recoton, then a big player in audio accessories. Then it spent time with the Rockford Group, primarily a car audio company, followed by Vinci Labs, a venture capital company. Last October the going got tough when Vinci laid off Byrne and most other longtime NHT employees.

Two months later negotiations began between Byrne and Vinci, culminating in an announcement last week in both our sister publication Stereophile and TWICE. The other new owners are John Johnsen, former sales and marketing VP, and Jim Pyle, described by TWICE as "a former owner of two logistics businesses and no relation to the founders of Pyle car audio." According to Byrne, "NHT will be owned by us and eventually, all employees will have a share." And it will remain based in Benicia, California where it has been since its inception.

Despite all the changes in ownership, NHT has turned a profit for its various owners since 1990, so it is likely to be around for a long time. Its product lines have included conventional, PC, and self-powered digital speakers. See company website and our reviews.