Don't call it a comeback. NHT has been here for years -- they just haven't been producing any speakers lately. 

Now, the company says they will soon ship the Absolute Tower, a tall-boy version of the best-selling monitor, the Absolute Zero, which itself derives back to the classic SuperZero -- an audiophile legend from the previous millennium.

"Not only is the Absolute Tower our first product of the decade," commented Chris Byrne, NHT's co-founder and co-owner. "For us, it represents unfinished business, too."

Building on the Zero's two-way design, this tower unit makes the third a charm, featuring a three-way, four-driver acoustic suspension design that promises better dynamics and a nice, extended low frequency response. Other features include an in-room low-end response of 43Hz (down only about 6dB), an overall frequency response rated at 58Hz - 20kHz, and an impedance rated at 8 ohms average (4 ohms minimum). Sensitivity is 86dB, which means you'll want to pair it up with a relatively powerful receiver or power amp.

"The Super Zero and the Absolute Zero, which was the SZ's successor, are hands down our most successful products," Byrne says. "To this day, we still get tons of messages from end-users who say that the Zero models are their favorites."

Byrne also says the new product was based on customer requests, for an affordable tower loudspeaker.

Just how affordable is it? The Absolute Tower is expected to sell for $499.95 each. If you buy two or more, you can also score a free Absolute Center center-channel speaker for a limited time. You can also still buy the Absolute Zero which makes an excellent match for the tower in a multi-channel surround sound system.

Expect the NHT Absolute Tower to start selling on April 1 -- no fooling.

Where to Buy:

• NHTHifi.com (pre-order now for April delivery)
• NHT Absolute Zero Speaker on Amazon
• NHT Classic Absolute Center on Amazon