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Older news - April, 2004
I am very pleased to inform you now my stereo set is completed with the ACA-2b, I don't believe the effect this preamp has on my system. The combination of Norh 9.0 marble, Le Amp 1 and the tube department ACA-2b with the CD1 is magnificent!! I Remember once you described Le Amp as a tube amp on steroids, well you were quite right. There is a clear tube sound now and I hear instruments behind me which I never heard with my NAD preamp. Audiophiles who come here to listen are impressed by the looks and sound and they just smile when I tell them how much the whole system costs... I started with this system more than 3 years ago and every time I upgrade I ask myself: Is it possible to have a better sound? Yes every time it gets better and better.
-- Bas Janssen
I went to CeBIT in Hannover, Germany during March. This took up most of the month so I am getting started on the newsletter very late. CeBIT is one of the largest computers shows in the world. This year, 500,000 people attended. What was astonishing to me was how many plasma screens I saw. The largest I saw there was a 76 inch screen from Samsung.
The show had many indications that what I have been writing for many years is happening. Computers, audio and video are merging together. I can not say that we have all the pieces quite yet but we are getting there. Most of the audio/video solutions are based on the same computer platform that I wrote about many months ago -- VIA.
Next month, I will write an article about setting up a home multi media system using a PC. I will write about some very exiciting software that turns a PC into a complete audio/videos system and I will write about some additional hardware you might want to consider.
In the end, there are multiple reasons to use a computer. For me, the main reason is to have less hardware. A PC can take the place of a line doubler/quadrupaler, multi-channel processor, DVD player, CD Player, Juke Box, media streamer, FM tuner, TV tuner and remote controlled preamp.
Yuths at CeBIT holing the new VIA NanoITX motherboard
There are many reasons to expect a lot from Norah Jones other than the fact that her name is very similar to nOrh. This magnificent artist won 8 Grammy awards with her debut album, Come Away with Me. I bought Come Away with Me and I bought her DVD performance, Live in New Orleans. When I got the DVD, I was initially quite excited. I expected to write a review on this webpage. For some reasons, I was bored by the time the DVD was over. The performance was a bit low key and her performance just didn't get me hooked.
As for Come Away with Me, it is a very nice CD. I remember when I first listened to it, I thought what a bright future Norah Jones has. It was easy to tell that she was quite talented but Come Away with Me was not a CD that displayed Norah Jones full potential. The CD was smooth and breezy. Feels Like Home is quite a departure from Come Away with Me. The first song is titled Sunrise. In Sunrise, Norah's voice sounds angelic as she sings the words "whoooooo"? Listening to Sunrise, Norah had my complete and undivided attention. As a very good black friend of mine would say "Sing it girl".
By the second round of whooooo, I was getting goose pimples. I was now detecting a certain bluesy sound. This album displayed an edgy side to Norah and I liked it. The next song is "What am I to You". In this song, Norah lets go even more but the song seems to be the sort of song that could be more bluesy, more country or more rock. Norah gives us a hit of all these styles but doesn't commit to any. I think that Norah's reserved presentation of this song is actually a tribute to her musical genius. So many artists would go overboard but Norah Jones stays focused and her reserved presentation allows us to mentally expand on her presentation.
Those Sweet Words is a nice breezy song that is once again more edgy than anything in Come Away with Me. Here, her piano playing gives a hint of blues while her voice is just a bit country. The next song Carnival Town starts to sound as if Norah is running out of steam and the album is starting to go just a bit bland. However, she takes the song into a very interesting direction. She starts out with a breezy presentation that fools us because the song takes on a bluesy/country quality and as she sings lonely, we can hear a hit of the sort of music one might have heard in western movies. The pace picks up with In the Morning. In the Morning shows Norah letting her emotions come forward and once again we hear a hint of blues. The song becomes more and more bluesy and we hear that Norah's voice is actually quite strong and powerful.
As we hit song number six, Be Here to Love Me, I realize that I am listening to one of the strongest CDs I have heard in a long time. Be Here Love Me clearly has a country flavor to it. It is a Country Song mixed with a bit of blues. This is a great song and presentation is magnificent.
By song number 7, Creepin' In, we have an unrestrained country song. What do you know, Dolly Parton's voice rises above Norah's and Dolly gives this song a complete country brand. What is amazing is that I now realize that Norah has been setting us up with this song. We have had two songs that were morphing from blues to country. We go from pure blues and we add country until Norah has gone completely country.
Before song 8 comes on, I believe I understand how Norah is thinking so I know that the next song can't be country. She has explored that musical genre and she will present something else. Song 8 is called Toes. As I listen, I am not sure exactly where she is taking me. It isn't blues. It sounds almost spiritual. I realize I will have to wait until the next song to see where Norah's musical journey is headed. The next song is Humble Me. As I listen to the words, I realize that I was right. Norah is sucking us into an introspective mood with spiritual overtones. The questions she asks are simple but profound. What do you say when it all goes away? This song's spiritualizes about how none of us have the answers to the simple questions in life. It is our ignorance of these simple answers that make us humble.
Above Ground combines rock and blues and once again shows us that Norah can be edgy and bluesy and this leads us into a more joyful sounding The Long Way Home. In the song The Long Way Home, Norah tells us in her own words that we need to enjoy the journey and not focus on the destination.
The Prettiest Thing is one of the best songs on the track. The song is melodic and the presentation is emotional. The Prettiest Thing and I am Dreaming Again are sung in a hauntingly low voice. I am amazed at the way she plays the piano after singing I am Dreaming again as the piano playing sounds dreamy and there is a faint chorus of voices singing in a way that is dreamy.
The final song on the CD is Don't Miss You at All. I have listened to Norah enough to know that if the songs says I Don't Miss You at All, then the song is going to betray the truth which is that she will be singing how much she does miss someone. If we listen to the words, compare it to the music, we see that Norah is saying one thing but communicating something different.
I have never spent so much time writing about any other album. This is not an album to put on for Sunday Brunch. This is a CD that demands to be listened to. There are many messages being communicated at once. Norah communicates with her works her music and her voice. The amazing thing is that she can be communicating three different things at the same time. The words are communicating one message but the music is telling us something different. What we learn is that it is Norah's voice that can not tell a lie. She might write words the communicate one thing but her voice will always tell us the truth.
Norah Jones has given us an amazing CD. Some people will certainly prefer the more straight forward presentation of Come Away with Me. I believe that Come Away with Me was simply an introduction to an artist who was by far one of the most gifted artists communicating in the English language. Feels Like Home is one of the best CDs I have bought in a long time. The CD has a logo that says it is protected from computer copying. I have no idea what problems this might cause people who want to play this CD in their iPod or MP3 player.
Please look at our last months newsletter to read about our new showroom and some exciting products. If the time permits, I will put up updates within the month.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Barnes
nOrh Loudspeaker Company, Ltd.