The speakers, which are sold as a pair, each use a 6.5-inch high-compliance, polypropylene, mica-filled woofer and 1-inch PEI dome tweeter. The drivers are optimized for high rigidity but low mass, giving them high sensitivity (87 dB with 2.83V at 1 meter), another way of saying they're easily driven by modest amplifiers. Their acoustic-suspension cabinets are sealed to prevent undue resonance or tubby, tuneless bass, which often results from low-cost ported designs.

With a nominal impedance of 6 ohms, the speakers will work nicely with amplifiers up to 40 watts per channel, nominal, or 130 watts, peak power. They boast a frequency response of 55 to 40,000 Hz (+/-3 dB), giving you reasonably full bass for their size and unusually extended high-frequency response for your most demanding digital media.

The speakers are magnetically shielded, so you can place them on or near a TV or video monitor without fear of picture degradation from their magnetic fields. Five-way binding posts simplify connection with several different terminations of speaker cable (including banana plugs), and the NS-AW350s even come with two lengths of cable to get you started.

While you wouldn't want to leave the speakers exposed on, say, the deck of a boat, they are water resistant and designed to withstand light wind and rain--a benefit of their sealed enclosures and rugged metal grilles. The speakers come with mounting bases and brackets.

What's in the Box
Two speakers, two lengths of speaker cable, speaker bases, mounting brackets, a warranty card, and a user's manual.