News - January 2003

I am sure that most of you will be happy to see 2002 come to an end. I am certain that like most years, 2002 had its ups and downs. For me, I look forward to 2003 and I am sure it will be better year than that last. 2002 was a very challenging year for nOrh. A few years ago, most people could count on bonuses, raises and stock options. Buying a pair of $3,000 or more expensive loudspeakers was not that big of a deal. Last year, many very well known audio companies went out of business. It is always sad to see companies that do a good job and provide good products and services fail.

As for nOrh, we worked very hard. We released more new product in 2002 than any other year in our nearly five year history. Most of the products we released were focused at offering high quality but at lower prices. Building expensive products is actually easier than building lower priced ones. No person who is interested in quality likes to compromise on sound or beauty. If we want to produce products that offer high quality but at lower prices, we have to be more clever about how we design them.

The nOrh 3.0 was released in late 2002. The nOrh 3.0 has had 100% customer satisfaction. Everyone has written that the nOrh 3.0 has exceeded their expectation. The nOrh 3.0 is only $150.00 per pair for the drum version and $199.95 for the Teak Prism. We have a marble version for $350.00 USD. There is not a better sounding loudspeaker for the money. There is not a better looking loudspeaker for the money. Many recording studios are now using the nOrh 3.0s. I am told that even radio stations are using the 3.0s for remote broadcasts. I am told that the 3.0s are much better suited for digital music than older monitor loudspeakers. The nOrh 3.0 is also less expensive.

As soon as we released the 3.0s, we started getting letters from people telling us they wanted to know what sort of amplifier they should buy to work with the 3.0s. The problem is that low-priced amplifiers don't get everything out the 3.0s that the 3.0s have to offer and expensive amplifiers seem to be overkill for loudspeakers that cost so little.

When I first designed the 3.0s, I thought of them as a way to upgrade the horrible loudspeakers that come with most mini component systems or a way to upgrade the sound used with multi-media computer systems. Many customers wrote and said that the 3.0s were simply deserving of better.

We decided to work on a low-cost integrated amplifier. I have stated many times that I have no preference over solid state or tubes from a sonic standpoint. I believe that both can sound very good or can sound very bad.

The market has lots of low-cost solid state integrated amplifiers and receivers. Most of these sound harsh and lifeless. If we happened to build one that actually sounded good, I think it would be hard for us to stand out. We decided to do something radical. We decided to build a high-end sounding single ended tube integrated and sell it for $399.95.

The SE 9 turned out to be a huge hit. Not only has the SE 9 sold well in the United States. The SE 9 has become a hit in Japan as well. I regard the Japanese are some of the most knowledgeable people for high-end sound. The Japanese are great contributors to Jazz and classical music. Japanese folk music is one of the most beautiful forms of music in the world. To win praise in Japan is a source of pride not only to me but for our Thai craftsmen who work very hard to make our products so beautiful.

Recently, a customer posted a photo of the SE 9 on harmonic discord. The photo captures the beauty of the SE 9 better than any of the photos I have posted before.

"Just wanted to let you know we hooked up the SE 9 to a pair of nOrh ceramic 4s & the sound was absolutely incredible, especially playing jazz. My Thai business partner who is a jazz aficionado was over the moon. It is a beautiful piece of equipment, looks great, and sounds just amazing!"

"I received the SE 9 yesterday, and it is indeed a beautiful amplifier, and a heavy one at that."

I have been listening to the new SE 9 for two days now. I have heard a bigger difference replacing my Jolida 502b with the SE 9 than I did replacing my cheap Audio Alchemy CD player with the nOrh CD-1. I intend to write a review of it on Harmonic Discord soon. The short story is that it sounds great.

"Your speedy shipping is great, and frankly amazing. I don't get things I order that fast from companies here in the states. Great Job!"

While the nOrh 3.0s and the SE 9 make up a very high quality sound system that is both affordable and beautiful, we got requests from customers to build something that was even better. Customers wanted something that played very loud and something that sounded very full. We worked for several months and came up with a new design we call the Pyramid.

The Pyramid turns out to be one of the loudspeakers I am most proud of. I do not believe any loudspeaker for this money sounds better. I also believe it is a very beautiful loudspeaker. The Pyramid is one of the best loudspeakers for both single ended amplifiers and for home theater.

For single ended tube amplifiers, the Pyramids are very easy to drive. They are 94 dB sensitive. We achieve this sensitivity by using four of the small drivers we use in the nOrh 3.0. This gives us more sensitivity, lower distortion and better power handling. We position the drivers so that they create an omni directional sound field. Since the 1950s, audio engineers have stated that the best loudspeaker would be one with an infinitely small sphere radiating sounds in all directions. Science has not yet been able to produce such a device.

The high sensitivity achieved by the the Pyramid is 94 dB. This is efficient enough to play loudly with even very small amplifiers.

Most home theater setups have a problem. That problem is the position of the rear speakers in relation to the listener(s) and the position of the center speaker in relation to listener(s). In order to get the left and right loudspeakers properly positioned, it is necessary that the user be approximately the same distance away from the speakers as the speakers are away from each other. In other words, if the speakers are eight feet apart, the listener should be eight feet back. Sometimes, you can toe in the speakers towards the listener to allow the listener to sit closer to the speakers. Doing this makes it more difficult for listeners that are not directly in the center to enjoy good imaging.

Suppose the room is 12 feet long and 10 feet wide. The front speakers are 8 feet apart from one another. Therefore the listener is eight feet back from the speakers. For stereo imaging, this is correct. If we want to do home theater, we now have to add two more speaker for the rear. We only have four feet behind the listener. If we put the speakers eight feet apart, the sound will not be properly focused. We could put the speakers only four feet apart but that would look awkward and it would only work for one listener.

The Pyramids can fix this problem because no matter where you sit in relation to the speaker, the sound is the same. This also works for center. Suppose you have four or five people watching a movie. Only one person can sit in the center. The rest of the listeners will be to the left or right of center. With the Pyramid in the center, each person hears exactly the same thing. The Pyramid can be hung upside down or it can be mounted on a wall--pointing to the audience. For more information and pictures, please see the pyramid page.

Last month we began to ship our upgraded single-ended tube amplifier, the SE 18. The SE 18 has twice the power of the SE 9 (18 watts). The SE 18 also features an integrated active preamp and an integrated tube phono preamplifier. The SE 18 is an astonishingly good looking and great sounding integrated amplifier. The sound is unlike any amplifiers I have heard in its price range.

One of the reasons I like tube amplifiers is that they look cool. At night, they give off a glow that is very cool. Here is a photo I took of the SE 9 where you can see the illumination of the tubes.

Our strategy to focus on offering more value and to work hard to introduce products that were more affordable paid off. This year, we had to move to a much larger factory. I never thought that we would need a factory this large. The new factory is a wonderful place for our people to work. It is located right on the river so that the people working have a great view.

We also introduced our Teak Loudspeakers this year. Teakwood is one of the finest woods in the world. It is very dense, doesn't rot, can withstand all types of weather and if properly cured, it doesn't crack. Teak is also amazingly beautiful. Teak is now strictly controlled. Each tree that is cut down is numbered and even the boards have serial numbers. It costs us $75.00 for one small board of teakwood. We use $150.00 worth of teakwood to make just one pair of real teakwood 5.2s.

Look at the pictures below. Can you name a loudspeaker at $500 per pair that is more beautiful? Most loudspeakers in this price range are made from chipboard and covered with PVC. Not only are nOrh real Teak loudspeakers beautiful, we also use very high quality components. The nOrh 5.2 uses Vifa drivers and high quality crossovers to achieve sound that simply isn't expected at this price. The 5.2 are small but they play very loud and sound like much larger loudspeakers. The Prism design means there are no parallel surfaces. This results in music that is more dynamic and lifelike than the typical box loudspeaker. The real Teak 5.2s port to the bottom of the speaker. This provides a predictable impedance to the airflow from the port and helps improve the bass response. It also enables the 5.2s to be placed almost anywhere in the room.

Teak 5.2s waiting for drivers

Completed Teak 5.2 (Enlarge)

SE 9 with black 5.2 (Enlarge)

We have introduced a real teak center speaker, the 4.1. The 4.1 uses the same drivers but is in a smaller cabinet that can be angled up or down so that it can be placed above or below a TV. The real teak 4.1 is also shielded. The 4.1 looks like a a piece of sculptured wood. The real teak 4.1 sounds fantastic and looks very expensive. We sell the real teak 4.1 for only $275.00 each. The 4.1 can also be hung upside down from the ceiling.

Beautifully handcrafted real teak 4.1

You can own a complete video set of real teak

We have found some of our original Prism 5.2 cabinets and we will offer them at $400.00 USD per pair shipped. the Prism 5.2 is rated at 87dB sensitivity. The -3dB point is 48 Hz. This is a great loudspeaker for small areas. These are floor standing loudspeakers so they do not need a stand. For $400.00 per pair, most companies offer cheap drivers, poor sound and ugly boxes. This is a very limited opportunity to buy a beautiful pair of loudspeakers.

You can put together a very nice video system using all teak loudspeakers. The cost is less than $1000.00 for a complete set. Most loudspeakers in this price range are made from chip board covered with PVC or plastic. They use cheap drivers, cheap crossovers, cheap wire and cheap connectors. The nOrh real teak loudspeakers use Vifa drivers and high quality parts throughout. The real teak video set will last for many years and will always look beautiful.

We will ship the Prism 6.1 for only $500.00. This is a very limited time offer. There is no reason to buy a cheap looking, poor sounding box speaker when you can own a very elegant work of art from nOrh.

We have extended our sale of wood 5.1 loudspeakers. The 5.1s have received a perfect score on Audioreview for three years straight. Some people say that the 5.1s are the perfect A/V loudspeaker. The 5.1s have a -3dB point of 48 Hz and a sensitivity of 87dB. I personally use the 5.1s for my center loudspeaker in my main system and rear speakers in my second A/V system. These are beautiful loudspeakers and we have them specially priced at $400.00 per pair shipped. This is a limited offer. When they are gone, they are gone. This is new stock.

Michael, my 5.1 speakers arrived yesterday and caused quite a stir in the office. They are simply beautiful and everyone that saw them asked many, many, questions. I am not an audiophile and I purchased these for my main front speakers for my home theater system. I was only able to listen to them for a few minutes yesterday and they do sound wonderful. At times while listening to some light jazz the sound seemed to surround me and the perception of knowing the speakers were in front of me disappeared. I can't wait to get home this evening to listen to them and experiment with placement etc.

UPS delayed delivery by a day because of a "mechanical failure". Judging by the condition of one of the boxes I assume it was a plane crash. Initially I was very concerned because there was a large, ragged hole in the side of the box that you could easily place both fist in at the same time. You could clearly see the bubble wrapped speaker inside. Fortunately the excellent packaging job you do protected the speaker and no external damage was noticed when I unpacked the speaker. Congratulations on a fine product.

Our Best

If our lower priced products are so good, imagine how good our best loudspeakers are. Our very best loudspeaker has been called the best two-way bookshelf in the world on TNT-Audio. Our best loudspeaker is the Marble nOrh 9.0. Only a limited number of people will ever own this speaker. The reason is that it is carved out stone. The nOrh 9.0 is designed to last. The grill is made from powder coated galvanized steel. The baffle is covered with real leather. The cabinet is carved from solid marble.

Special Offer (limited time)

We had an overwhelming demand for Mini 9.0s while we were clearing overstock created by a canceled dealer order. In fact, we sold through eight pairs of mini 9.0 in one day. We have decided to make another special offer. This time, we will sell the mini 9.0 in kit form. For $500.00 USD, we will ship the cabinets, crossovers, legs, wires and connectors for the mini 9.0 directly to your house. You simply add the drivers. Our DIY page has a list of dealers selling the appropriate drivers.

nOrh Loudspeaker has a smaller version of the nOrh 9.0 we call the mini 9.0. The mini 9.0 is made from synthetic marble instead of real marble. It is smaller. The mini 9.0s uses the same woofer but uses the Scanspeak 9700 tweeter instead of the more expensive Revelator. The sound is very similar to the larger 9.0s but for half the price. The mini 9.0s sell for $1,500 per pair while the nOrh 9.0s sell for $3,000 per pair. For Christmas, we will ship free marble stands worth $500 per pair with every pair of nOrh 7.0s and nOrh 9.0s.

The Panda PC

As most people who read our newsletter every month know, my background is computers. I have had many people question me why a person with a computer background would think they are qualified to design loudspeakers. The truth is, without computers, I wouldn't even attempt to design them. At nOrh, we simulate everything before we build. We use CAD packages to draw our speakers before we ever cut a piece of wood. We use software packages to do simulations for our crossovers and we use software to help us calculate how a given driver will perform in our cabinet.

Using computers allows us to do a design very quickly and more important it makes sure we get it right. Once we build our loudspeakers, we use computers to test the frequency response and use the computer to help us calculate what modifications to make.

I read on various websites how some loudspeaker companies will write "The xxx loudspeaker is the result of years of painful trial and error". I think these people should learn to use a computer and they wouldn't have to make so many mistakes. Without computers, we could never have built so many new products this year.

Almost two years ago, I started another company called NorhTec. NorhTec and nOrh Loudspeaker are separate companies but we will be cooperating. One of the projects we are cooperating on is the Panda PC. The Panda PC is one of the most exciting multimedia projects ever. The Panda PC uses the new VT1616 codec from VIA. The VT1616 has 6 channel outputs with 18-bit resolution and can support full 5.1 surround sound. The VT1616 uses DUALMAX(TM) a VIA Audio technology that delivers 5.1 surround sound audio on headphones and two speakers setups, which is especially important to gamers. 5.1 channel sound can be simulated in headphone and 2 speaker environments by a process called down-mixing. Traditional inboard audio codecs require a software solution to create this same effect. This unit down-mixes through a unique hardware process that achieves noticeably clearer and richer sound quality. The Panda PC has a S/N ratio of 108 db for CDs.

Another important feature of the VT1616 is that the codec and amplifier are separate. This results in much less noise and better audio performance than other computer based sound systems.

While the Panda PC incorporates the best sound inboard sound technology, this would be useless in most typical computers. Most computers have multiple fans. They have a fan for the VGA card, a fan for the processor, a fan for the power supply and a fan for the case. NorhTec has spent a year developing custom technology to create a computer that does not need a fan.

The power supply provides up to 200 watts of power at 85% efficiency. It can work off of AC or DC. That makes the Panda PC the first computer that can be plugged into a house or operate directly from a car's 12 volt electrical system. This also opens up the possibility of using the Panda with solar power.

The processor is passively cooled with our own custom designed heat sink. The power supply integrates a thermostat that will make sure that the inside case temperature is inside the operational range of the processor. If for some reason, the temperature exceeds safe levels, a large quiet fan will come to extract the hot air from the case. Under most circumstances, this should never be a problem.

While most new computer consume up to 300 watts, the Panda PC gets by on only 20 watts of power. To achieve this, we use 2.5 inch hard disks and slimline CD/DVD ROMs.

The Panda PC also features integrated MPEG II. This means the DVDs will play silky smooth. The Panda PC has a video output so it can be hooked directly to a compatible TV. The Panda PC also features a SPDIF digital output so it can be used with external processors--such as AC3 or DTS decoders. The integrated six channel sound system will work with most DVD software to provide decoding without the need of external processors.

For two channel applications or headphones, the VT1616 will provide the ability to recreate realistic 3D sound with only two or four loudspeakers. The Panda PC can work with XGA compatible projectors, TVs and Plasma Screens to provide very high resolution DVD playback. The Panda PC also includes a DVD/CDRW combo drive. It is possible to not only play DVDs, you can burn your own CDs as well. The Panda PC features USB 2.0 and firewire. The Panda PC also has 266 Mhz DDR memory. The large rubber feet serve to isolate the Panda PC from vibrations and protects the case from bumps.

We believe the Panda PC is the best multimedia computer on the market. The Panda PC will ship in February. We will be showing it the week of 8 January in Las Vegas at CES. The price for the Panda PC with 256 mb RAM and 40 GB of hard disk is $595.00. Considering that the Panda PC is a high quality CD player, DVD player, line quadrupeler and TV, this is an amazing low price to pay for such a high quality package.

non-Teak Prism 5.2	$400 pair (shipping included)
Wood 5.1	$400 pair (shipping included)
mini 9.0 kit	$500 (shipping included) just add drivers

Don't forget - add $7.00 to your order for Songs of Bangkok. You will not be disappointed.

Happy New Year to all existing and future nOrh customers

Our Best

Special Offer (limited time)

The Panda PC