Nubert nuPro SP-200 HiFi/Multimedia active speakers review – sound doping for the ears instead of graphics card for the eyes

1 - Daten, Unboxing und Funktionalität 2 - Unboxing, Korpus und Chassis 3 - Verstärkerkonzept, Konnektivität und Bedienung 4 - Teardown: Platinen und Komponentenanalyse 5 - Sound-Test, Zusammenfassung und Fazit

Stereo playback and sound correction

And now we will start exactly where it sometimes hurts: with the hearing test. If you miss my usual measurement curves, I can reassure you, because everything is in the green zone. I intentionally test the playback WITHOUT an additional subwoofer. So the boxes have to help themselves alone. Which brings us to the basic setting I use. If you want to listen to low levels with significantly more bass, you should leave the loudness function activated. I did without it for my rating and also set the tone correction to the middle between “neutral” and bathtub.

Some bass and treble boost are therefore always active. However, you should not overdo it with this correction, because otherwise the level stability will be negatively affected and the trebles might pull on your nerves a bit. There are supposed to be listeners who like exactly that, especially with rather bad streams or MP3 files, but it’s not mine. But let’s finally get down to business…

Bass reproduction

Test the lowest bass in the subcontraoctave (16.4 Hz to 32.7 Hz) with a recording of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor (19 and 25 Hz) and Tchaikovsky’s Festival Overture 1812 (10 Hz and 12.5 Hz). The same applies to the lower ranges of the contraoctave (32.7 to 65.4 Hz). The large bass drum (kick drum), which is a popular accompaniment in underground music and is usually tuned to around 55 to 60 Hz, will then round out this assessment.

The speakers fail at the subcontraoctave, but you have to listen more closely below about 35 Hz, because most sources don’t offer such low signals at all. The contraoctave, on the other hand, is very well positioned and from about 40 Hz (almost) everything is already fully there. Sonically, everything is pleasantly deep, almost raven black, and still really crisp like freshly plucked lettuce. Nothing hums, whimpers or scrapes – the bass is just there, which is exactly how it should be. However, due to the somewhat lower output power, you should forego all sound improvements for party sound reinforcement. The soft clipping comes into play rather abruptly and the onset of pumping then doesn’t sound as good, including the distortions, because then suddenly the mids are missing as well.

The upper bass up to 150 Hz, which also contains the Great Octave (65.4 to 130.8 Hz), accommodates the fundamental speech frequency of the male voice and is very decisive for the lifelike reproduction of male vocals.

This range sounds very similar to the much more expensive X-series models and remains absolutely clean. And you are not accompanied by dripping grease eyes in the upper bass, which are usually supposed to feign volume. The nuPro SP-200s don’t even need that. The male vocals are pleasantly full and rich, but still surprisingly dry, and the instruments are not distorted either. There’s nothing analytical about that yet, but it’s still reasonably dry. For the cozy fireplace scene after work, everything can be boosted a bit, even at lower levels using the loudness function.

Overall, the resolution is well above average and lets orchestral pieces, rock, pop and jazz of all stripes perform excellently in any situation. However, the installation location should be chosen thoughtfully if you want to avoid annoying modes, but then that’s not up to the speakers. This also includes giving the bass reflex tubes at the back enough air to breathe. It should be around 20 cm, or even more. If necessary, plugs (or the famous sock) will also help to avoid a boom.

Midrange

The lower mids (also the fundamental range) are at about 150 to 400 Hz. Together with the already mentioned upper bass, this range plays a very important role for the subjectively perceived warmth or fullness of the sound image. The basic speech frequency of female voices can be found in this range.

Here, too, there is no reason for criticism; on the contrary, the nuPro SP-200s are almost too honest. Because they mercilessly expose every weakness of the respective players, if you haven’t messed it up with the sound correction. There is no scratching or crumpling, and everything remains as dry as dust as before. Female vocals can shine amazingly well and get to the point without any problems. The timbre of the voices and recorded instruments is almost neutral, but never cold or too analytical.

The further course upwards is also free of any criticism. The precision is really good and makes the system a good all-rounder for work and entertainment in equal measure, whether multimedia or gaming. You can hardly notice a difference here, whereby the sound always remains balanced and rather warm. In any case, the resolution is more than adequate for the price.

The upper mids between 400 Hz to about two KHz include a mark at one KHz that is still considered the reference for many measurements. Unfortunately, this is often noticed in cheaper devices as the manufacturers often try to overemphasize this frequency. This area does not play an insignificant role in gaming either, and a balanced reproduction does not insignificantly contribute to a good spatial resolution.

The stage and the subjectively perceived quality of the spatial resolution are also on a very high level and absolutely appropriate for the price. A large orchestra seems (from a purely subjective point of view) very wide in width, very well staggered in depth, and precisely enough positioned in total, which makes it very easy to locate individual instruments very clearly and unambiguously at the most varied overall levels. If the speakers are very close together, the base widening creates a good option to reproduce more spatially without distorting the orientation and sound. The spatial center recedes a bit more into the background, but you can’t cheat the acoustics either. Only themselves.

Speech reproduction also does not suffer any losses in this area, no matter how many different sources were mixed. The suitability on the desktop is underlined by the very good spatial reproduction in games with excellent audio material, but you also get along very well with the speakers in the deep room. The sweet spot is pleasantly wide. The tuning of the active crossover is well chosen and so you have quite a balanced sound image on very many positions despite the two-way separation.

Tweeter range

Between two and about 3.5 KHz, the human ear is most sensitive, especially since this range of lower treble is responsible for the good overtone reproduction of the human voice. This frequency range is crucial for the recognition of a voice or an instrument; in this context, one also speaks of the respective timbre.

The reproduction is very honest, almost too neutral, and sits seamlessly on top of the very well modeled mids. The speech intelligibility as well as the quality of the vocals during recognition is convincing and even works in the near field. It is also good that the active crossover has been tuned in such a way that there is no audible overemphasis or any level drops, neither here nor in the further frequency course. The transition between the two chassis is, as already described, pleasantly smooth and above all one thing: not or only barely perceptible.

However, the nuPro SP-200’s own compactness gets in the way a bit during the transition if you overdo it with the level (which is very easy to do on the desktop) and your ears are glued directly to the speakers. I really would have liked the domes to sit a tiny bit higher so that intermodulation products wouldn’t occur when you align your ears close to the monitor in the near field and the level is well above normal. But let’s be honest, hardly anyone does that anyway, and the control panel would also be in the way.

The mid-range treble (3.5 to six KHz) is decisive for the success or failure of speech reproduction as a whole, because the S and sibilants fall into this range. The upper treble then reaches up to about ten KHz to transition into the super treble.

Highs and super-highs are well modeled out, even if the speakers overemphasize a bit the higher it goes. However, sibilants and breath sounds are not overdone and you can live with them in the sume. The Beyer peak sends its friendly regards here. However, despite the presence, it never sounds really spiky or even metallic, but it still remains natural. String instruments, completely independent of level, are also not washed forward or even away, but sit exactly where they belong according to the plan. That deserves respect. Chamber music or large orchestra in the Finale Furioso, it doesn’t matter – it all fits like a glove.

Summary and conclusion

It is due 845 euros for the pair of boxes at Nubert direct sales. If you want to let the very deep bass play along, you should perhaps think about a suitable subwoofer to relieve the load. The nuSub XW-700 for 495 euros should be enough, but seriously, do you really need it? The nuPro SP-200 are rooms up to 25 m² a good choice, because they alone and without subwoofer are quite sufficient for many purposes and you could even have a party once. In addition, a subwoofer increases the price considerably, even though it is certainly not a completely useless investment in the long run. However, if you generally struggle with the space for a subwoofer and its optimal placement in the room, the nuPro SP-200 will do just fine without it.

In terms of sound (and price, of course), the nuPro is in a completely different league than the nuBox A-125, but that’s the way it should be. And the extra charge is worth it in any case. The difference to the nuPro X-3000 RC is actually much smaller in terms of sound than the price difference would actually suggest. If you can still manage medium levels and don’t need the app, the nuPro SP-200 is a very good alternative because it’s much cheaper. I would not go so far as to say that the nuPro SP-200 would cannibalize the X-3000 RC, but some who would have grudgingly grabbed a shelf higher up, is now already sufficiently served here, because he does not need more. Everything done right.

The conclusion is therefore also positive, because whether desktop or free in the living room on stands – with the nuPro SP-200 you do not go wrong if you do not want to turn the big wheel right away. Far above mediocrity and yet not out of touch. Swabian down-to-earthness meets Scottish frugality and a touch of English noblesse. Of course, the whole thing is not cheap, but considering the performance, it is quite affordable. And why not skip a graphics card generation and rather invest in several genres of listening pleasure instead? The nuPro SP-200s are quasi RTX On for the ears, even without DLSS as a power amplifier for the weaklings among the pixel pushers. Here, the sound is still honest and mining doesn’t play a role anyway.

The test sample was provided by the manufacturer without obligation and preconditions. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. Furthermore, there are no advertising contracts or other liabilities with the manufacturer.