I have seen these and heard them too. They are not that bad looking. I guess a modernistic style (post modern?) would be an accurate statement.
They did not sound bad at all. It is a matched set and the one thing I was told it does present a "non-standard" ohm load to an amplifier. I think it was 5ohms but I am guessing on that one. Overall they were not bad sounding but since I am so used to ML's they sounded "box-like" to my ears. The NHT did cover most of the frequency range but I personally felt it lacked a little at the extremes.
Actually meant for outdoor/garden use where form follows function. Sold a similar speaker from Rock Acoustics and they didn't sound too bad but more importantly they blended in to the surroundings perfectly.