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Older news - June, 2002
Update: Read the review of nOrh SM 6.9 at 6moons.
The nOrh website has now been up for four years. We opened our store in August but we put our loudspeakers up on line in June. We were quite surprised that we sold loudspeakers from the first week. I had no idea that anyone would buy a loudspeaker before listening to it. Actually, I knew that people do buy loudspeakers all the time without listening. Many people go in and buy based on a review, friends opinion or simply name recognition. What I didn't believe is that someone would buy from an unknown foreign company over the Internet without listening.
Fortunately, the first few people who had our loudspeakers were quite pleased and our sales took off. In fact, the sales over the Internet were so successful that we decided to close down our retail outlet and focus strictly on our direct sales.
It is always great getting letter from people who tell us how much they love their loudspeakers. What really made us happy was when professional reviewers started to review our loudspeakers and tell us how much they liked them. Absolute Sound favorably reviewed the nOrh 4.0 a couple of years ago. We have received many great reviews and just recently we won awards at our first United States show, the Midwest Audio Fest. It also gives me a big kick to find our loudspeakers on foreign language boards such as this Japanese site or this.
Several of our products have been professionally reviewed as the best in their class. The nOrh 9.0, has been called the best two-way bookshelf; in the world on TNT-Audio's website. The nOrh 4.0 has consistently been reviewed as one of the best home theater loudspeakers available. The nOrh 5.1 has received a perfect five starts in three years of reviews on Audioreview. A customer receiving a set of 5.1s last month wrote us:
I am very pleased with my purchase. I replaced 5 Paradigm speakers which were okay, just not spectacular, I am running them with a Denon receiver, a Hsu TN 1225 with the 250 watt amp and a Velodyne FSR1200. The sound stage is very wide and it pans seamlessly, I am sure that they will sound even better after I break them in. Thank you!
Every customer and ever publication that has reviewed the nOrh 3.0s say that there is simply nothing that can match them anywhere near the price. When we were at the Midwest Audiofest, we sold every pair of nOrh 3.0s we brought the first day of the show. We brought 20 pairs and probably could have sold three times that number.
As we start our fifth year, we want to thank all our previous customers. For those of you that have not decided to buy from us, we hope that the information on these pages is useful and we look forward to your first purchase from nOrh.
I read a lot of audio websites. Many of the readers love to brag about their audio systems. One of the common themes that you see on these websites is that the purchaser of the expensive audio systems has recently gotten a divorce or broke up with their girlfriend and is now free to exercise whatever bad decorating tastes they choose to set up their audio system. It no longer matters how big, ugly or expensive the system is.
There are some of us who intend to stay married. For us, getting audio systems into the house is not always easy. Particularly if it is the second, third or fourth system. I always say you can never have too many loudspeakers. My wife has never agreed with this sentiment. It was not until I started manufacturing my own loudspeakers that I could realize my dream of putting loudspeakers in virtually every room.
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Despite their low price, $350 per pair, the marble nOrh 3.0 will look elegant in any setting
The first Marble 3.0s shipped last month. The following is a report from one of our happy customers:
I just got a pair of marble 3.0s. Like everything else I've got from nOrh, they are 1st class. I will be using them for rears in HT. To be honest, I intend for them to be a home furnishing as much as an audio component. They are stunning to look at and proud to have them in my home. [...] I could tell you an amazing story in this regard, but it is not in keeping with this thread and as Winnie The Pooh says, "It is a long story, and even longer when I tell it".
They sound great! The marble 3.0s are taking over for a small pair of XXX speakers that seemed just fine, but there is no comparison. The range of sound and is a dramatic improvement. I used them last night for the first time in HT. There was a much greater presence than before. Until now I thought rear speakers in HT delivered very little. I learned my old speakers delivered very little.
Looking at the marble 3.0s, I fail to understand why so many restaurants, hotels and other business establishments use such tacky looking loudspeakers. I was at a higher class restaurant for Mother's day. They were playing jazz music on their system. The music was being played loud enough that it was more than just background music. Despite the fact that the place was expensively furnished, the sound system was a mini component and the speakers were cheap plastic cabinets that were just hung on the walls.
Any of our loudspeakers would look far more appropriate than these cheap plastic speakers. Any of our loudspeakers would sound better.
A customer who bought the Prism 3.0s for his father says:
I bought a pair for my father (a retired carpenter and expert woodworker) and he was extremely impressed by the workmanship and the sound. The grain on the teak is really beautiful. They look much better in person than on the website. I don't know how you can produce speakers this nice for so little $$$.
I was one of those people who purchased three pairs of 3.0's in Ohio (one prism and two drums)! The 3.0's sounded much better than a speaker with a three inch driver have a right to sound. They image well and have a really good, listenable natural sound. No tizzy highs or booming lows, just realistic great sounding music. They are perfect for a bedroom or office system, or to replace some of those nasty little plastic speakers commonly found in sub sat systems.
Before I came to Thailand, my wife refused to let me put speakers in the living room. I felt that it couldn't be a living room without music. How do you entertain and what do you do when you are sitting if you don't have music? My wife's solution was to carry a boom box into the room and put it on the floor. This was such a bad idea that I bought a suitcase audio system from Cambridge Audio Labs.
Every loudspeaker that I make now is designed to get past spousal objections. All of our loudspeakers are designed to look like quality works of handmade art rather than cheaply produced mass marketed junk.
One of our most successful new products has been the Prism 3.0. The Prism 3.0 is a shielded loudspeaker that is very easy to place in a bookshelf or on a TV. The Prism 3.0 is made of real kiln dried Teak. Most loudspeakers are made from pressed wood, plastic, paper, MDF or other inexpensive materials. The Prism 3.0's cabinets are all teak. Teak is a very dense wood and it has a lower resonance than MDF. If you rap your knuckles on a MDF cabinet, it will make a high frequency knock sound. If you rap your knuckles on teak, the sound will be a deeper knock sound.
Teak is also a material that will last for a very long time. Teak doesn't rot and can be exposed to water. Teak is used extensively on yachts and expensive outside furniture. Until now, teak was simply too expensive to be used for loudspeakers.
Many customers wrote us and asked if we could make a larger
teak loudspeaker than the Prism 3.0. The fact is, we had a larger Prism, the
5.2. The Prism 5.2 has received consistently high customer praise. The Prism
5.2 was made from MDF covered with 3mm of teak veneer. We have now decided to
make the 5.2s from real teak. While teak is far more expensive than MDF, we
are going to introduce the Prism 5.2 TEAK at the same price--$500.00 per pair.
Our factory manager Pan, Introducing the nOrh Prism 5.2 TEAK
Beautiful from any angle, the nOrh Prism 5.2 TEAK sets the standard for low-cost floor standing loudspeakers. Shown in hand oiled natural finish.
Imagine being able to get a high quality A/V system for under
$1,500.00. An inexpensive 5.1 A/V receiver, inexpensive DVD, pair of 5.2 and
3 Prism 3.0 could cost as little as $1,000 complete. The sound will be better
than many systems costing far more money and the nOrh loudspeakers are beautiful
enough that you won't want to hide them. We are going to introduce a special.
You can buy a pair of Prism 5.2s and three Prism 3.0s for only $750.00. Shipping
is included. You can easily find a reasonably priced budget A/V receiver for
$200 and there are now several brands of DVDs that cost less than $100.00. Of
course, the better electronics you use with the Prism 5.2s, the better they
will sound. Even so, the sound of a budget system will sound better than the
plastic 5.1 systems you buy in department and electronic specialty stores.
nOrh TEAK video set for $750.00
Please note that many of the cheap plastic systems claim to have a subwoofer. In fact, most of these systems provide loudspeakers that don't produce below 250 Hz and provide a single mid range (usually 5 ½ inch) to fill in the difference. Each Prism 3.0 will go down to 65 Hz -3dB. The nOrh Prism 5.2s will go down to 48 Hz -3dB. You will have much fuller sound and even deeper bass than you will get from the cheap plastic systems.
Of course, you can just as easily build a great system with our drum series. The nOrh 4.0s continues to be our best seller.
The
nOrh 4.0 Ceramic continues to be our most popular loudspeaker. Probably the
best looking and best sounding
loudspeaker in the world at $400.00 per pair
The nOrh 4.0 is ideal for small two way systems, center channels, rear channels and for systems in large rooms that are supplemented with subwoofers. The ceramic 4.0s have been reviewed in TNT-Audio, Cheap Home Theater and Good Sound. All of these publications and customers have raved about the ceramic 4.0s holographic ability to recreate the soundstage perfectly. The nOrh 4.0 ceramic plays loud, is detailed, images well and look great. The ceramic 4.0 is available in a variety of colors. We still have some specials on light blue ceramic 4.0s.
When nOrh Loudspeaker started, many people thought that we were trying to create speakers that simply stood out or were different. In the four years we have been operating, we are seeing more and more companies creating different shapes and using new materials. The simple answer we can give to the question of why the funny shapes is because they sound better.
Most loudspeakers are boxed shape. There are four major reasons for this. The first is that you have no waste of construction material when you make boxes. If you start cutting out different patterns or designs, you wind up wasting material. The second reason is that it is easier to cut straight lines than other shapes. Third, a box has more volume than other shapes for a given amount of material. Finally, boxes are easier to pack and ship.
The problem with boxes is that all sides are parallel. The energy from the driver reflects back and forth from all sides. When the woofer moves in, it creates a wave that comes directly back to the woofer. This means that the harder the woofer works, the more energy it creates to fight the action of the woofer.
The second problem from box shaped speakers is that standing waves are created. Standing waves are called standing waves because they don't do any work. They occur when sounds that are 180 degrees from one another meet and cancel each other out.
Most loudspeakers today are ported. Ported loudspeakers can extend the bass response for a given size cabinet and can increase the efficiency of the loudspeaker. At the resonate frequency of the cabinet, 50% of the sound is coming from the woofer and 50% is coming from the port. If standing waves occur in the cabinet, then these can pass through the port and reduce the amount of bass energy that the loudspeaker can produce.
We believe that the inverted horn design that we created is the most efficient use of energy for the port we have ever encountered. This is one of the reasons that listeners are amazed at the bass response they hear from out loudspeakers.
It should be pointed out that while many loudspeaker companies use rolled paper (ala toilet paper or paper towel rolls), nOrh forms their ports with marble, synthetic marble and ceramics. We integrate the port into our designs and make sure that they do not create their own noise.
The Prism design was created so that we could have a product that didn't require a stand and could be put against a wall. The Prism design has is simple but elegant. In every direction, the angle is less than 45 degrees. Instead of reflecting sound against the driver or against another surface, the waves are compressed in every direction.
The port is on the bottom so that the floor and port are coupled. This allows the Prisms to be easily placed in a room. The Prism design allows us to create larger cabinets.
The marble 3.0 is a new shape. The shape is a column shape. There is a parallel surface between the bottom and the top. We believe this is less a problem than having a reflected surface to the back of the driver. This shape allows to create larger internal volumes in smaller packages than we can with either the Prism or Drum. It is easier to execute this shape in marble than the Prism.
This month, we are pleased to announce a new audio website. The nOrh SM 6.9s are reviewed in the first issue. The website is www.6moons.com . You can see the SM 6.9s in one of their reference systems here.
The SM 6.9s have received very high praise from all owners as
well as TNT-Audio
and Soundstage.
The SM 6.9s have been consistently reviewed as having incredible detail, amazing
power handling, tremendous dynamic range and amazing bass. We tell customers
that they will not need a subwoofer if they properly power the SM 6.9s. The
bass is powerful and authoritative. The SM 6.9s are available in black, white,
green, blue, red, and pink. We don't believe that you can buy a better loudspeaker
under $1,000. 00. For a very high-end audio video system, you can get a pair
of SM 6.9s and add three ceramic 4.0s or three SM 5.1s.
SM 6.9s shown in black
Of all the loudspeakers we make, the one I am most proud of is the nOrh 9.0. Many customers ask us about a nOrh 10. They have been patiently waiting for two years as we try to build something better than the 9.0. Believe me, we have been trying. The fact is, the 9.0 remains such a breakthrough loudspeaker that it isn't going to be easy to top. Every month, we amaze more and more people with just how good the nOrh 9.0s are. The top-of-the-line 9.0 is genuine marble. As difficult as it is to believe, the loudspeaker is carved from solid rock. The wire is made from hand braided silver. We use the best crossover components and the world renowned Revelator drivers from Scanspeak. The nOrh 9.0 has consistently garnered accolades from customers and reviewers. I was told by a Mitsubishi engineer out of Japan that our loudspeaker was put on their wall of great designs;. This is an honor bestowed privately among engineers showing their personal appreciation for good design ideas. TNT-Audio called the nOrh 9.0s the best two-way bookshelf loudspeaker in the world.
One customer posted on: http://www.audiosurvey.com/cgi-local/mailorder.pl?action=findcomm&name=norh
Outstanding speakers and a great company to deal with. The nOrh 9.0 are the best two way speaker I have ever listened to or owned. I worked in the audio business for over 23 year. I will live with these speaker for a long time. The quality of the drivers and components are some of the very best you can buy.
Another customer posted on http://www.chesky.com/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=17&Topic=19 :
Alternatively, in the purely dynamic speaker range, what I've done in my small apartment living room (far too small for any ribbon/electrostat) is buy a pair of speakers from nOrh, in black marble, which are absolutely stunning visually and damn good for dynamic drivers aurally. I have the 9.0's, and I'm very pleased. They are definitely worth at least a look, and if you dig the style, they're quite a nice sounding speaker.
This month, we received a letter from a recording engineer in Perth, Australia. Most audiophiles can compare one loudspeaker against another. Recording engineers have an opportunity to compare loudspeakers against the live event. I was very pleased to read Alphonso Soosay's review that he sent us:
Alphonso Soosay Reviews nOrh Marble 9.0
n0rh Marble 9.0 is out of this world creation. The results and benefits are amazing. Extraordinary sonic performance beyond anything I have ever heard. Truly an art handcrafted symphony of perfection! This speaker systems coloration artifacts are low, the mix of sharpness and air is almost ideal in any room. This is one of the most appealing and informative loudspeakers I have heard. Lifelike realism; its dynamics and spaciousness is an asset with all kinds of music. It is even more remarkable when it comes to Movies & Live Concert soundtracks on DTS DVD.
If you are in the market looking for accurate speakers and willing to spend those little extra dollars, then you are privileged to listen to genuine precise sounds. Audio is a multifaceted acoustic waveform, transformed into electrical / electronic signals at the time of recording. It is these original frequency response that we need to hear on playback in our Hi-Fi & Home Theater systems. With this in mind, I must say that this precisely engineered art handcrafted marble 9.0 which is 5 cm thick represents the ultimate incorporation of the best that n0rh has to offer in a speaker system. It is unquestionably a skilled & creative innovation with realistic sensation.
This excellent performance that nOrh proudly has brought to me today through a friend Kannan, is an experience I will for all time remember. Design of a Thai native musical instrument, used as a new technology speaker design system. It is a fantastic combination by itself. A creative innovation, that captures the attention of all my visitors. As an audio recording engineer, I must say that, ultimate superiority depends on its combination of Audio speaker component, its joint-less Bodywork & the Crossover itself. The 9.0 consist of the best combination as far as I know, because they are overwhelming for any Hi-fi or home theater enthusiast.
The finest recordings, encoded on the most advance home storage device (DVD, DAT or CD) & played back even through a top grade high current amplifier, will sound unnatural, meaning, lacking of accuracy & poor imaging, if the audio system is hooked up to a poor quality speaker system.Speakers when put in motion, they always keep on tweeting & woofing, and they shake the very air you breathe into an integrated ocean of waves that shatter on dark shores deep inside our brains, enabling a human being to hear the most beautiful things of all sounds.
The Sounds in Music:
Sometime in early March 2002 when I first received and fired up my marble 9.0, I was disappointed. There was no sound on the right speaker completely and also no Bass on the left speaker. So I had to take off the Bass speakers and found out that the (+ & -) Connections to the speakers were detached. I linked them back, then put the Bass speaker in its position and it was all functioning well. It took a good ten minutes with an Allen Wrench to fix the connection problem. As for this problem, I think we can blame it on the rough freight handling.
I noticed, the 9.0 did require a good running-in period. Because, the high, mid & lows frequencies were not in balance, clarity did not sound right and the dynamic range was not really happening.
One-week later, after all the burning-in sessions; everyday with white & pink noise & pumping acoustic music instruments, for six hours a day at 90 dB. Vocal clarity was the most obvious area of improvement, with male voices gaining extra definition that made diction more precise.
On the Third week, I noticed Strings benefited extremely, soaring at full orchestral output without any proposal of tizzies. Orchestra sounded with accuracy, I could hear the separation of different strings part & the timber of woodwinds, Brass section sounded very well defined. It portrays the performers as three-dimensional images with a definite feel.
On the Fourth week, dynamic range was magnificently enhanced with greater headroom that allows orchestrated classical music to breathe. Also high, mids & lows frequencies were more balanced with better details. The dispersion was wider, clean, smooth & open. Now, I could hear the softer musical instruments in the music mix much better.
On the Fifth week. Using some highly modulated Movie soundtracks CDs (digital) with heavy Bass. I noticed that, the 9.0 seem to have eliminated all secret code of dynamic restrictions. It had the ability to play music accurately & cleanly at high volume, regardless of the complexity or intensity of the recorded signal. The impact was in actual fact a high-end type.
At this stage I felt that the 9.0s were almost ready for action, so I tried out a couple of CDs, DATs & DVDs with full range Sound effects, DVD THX; Test disc, Vocals & Film sound excerpts. It took only the first few of these to make it clear that this Marble nOrh 9.0 was something unusual in its price range. Every bit of dialogue from whispers to shouts sounded natural, male voices with deep-voice were outstandingly well reproduced. Sounds very natural.
A common weakness with most of today's market audiophile speakers for home theater systems is dialogue intelligibility.
The 9.0 was outstanding, it had truly a fantastic imaging, amazing clarity & better inner details, the accuracy was real, which will not be heard on most other brands in that price range, It presented beautiful smoothness within overall frequency, also a fantastic vocal & dialogue intelligibility. Best of all, dynamic range was magnificently enhanced after the fourth week of burning-in & in use.
On Hi-fi, (Direct mode) it produced a very balanced stereo image with negligible harmonic distortion. The Dynamic range was overwhelming again; vocal performance was remarkably natural with low coloration. I noticed that male voices had extra definition which made diction more precise, it gave the music a quality of vitality and excitement, well balanced and fatigue free.
On Dolby Digital, The dialogue & vocals had extraordinary degree of realism.With Music & Sound effects it delivered a vibrant and forward sound, that is so required in (DVD) Dolby Digital movie viewing. I could not believe, what my brain was hearing after so many years of listening to different brand of speakers. This Marble 9.0 really digs into the music area and it brings out to light all the elements of composed sounds, and into a wave of musical context.
The 9.0s play a great role in recreating that realistic sensation and carry that demand for new recording technologies. This I hear, with smoothness and accuracy.
My analysis of reproduced sound quality in a system's ability is to raise Goose bumps, and the nOrh 9.0's did it extremely well. What-a-feeling. The 9.0's are free from coloration as any other brands I have ever heard in my home. White & Pink noise test revealed no rumbles, colorations & no noticeable sizzles.
There was no hum or hiss audible with my ears right up against L & R speakers. Like most box speakers do at 90dB SPL & above, these nOrh 9.0 speakers did not seem to compress crescendos at all. This made gunshots, glass-shatters, explosions, earthquake & all SFXs harrowingly realistic. The bright side was that the better the recording (DDD), the more realistic it sounded. Also, it was equally responsive to quite sounds like rustling leaves, dripping water, clinking jewelry and rustling paper like in the movies, now this effects are available in your own home when watching a DVD movie.
The 9.0's did not stagger at all on demanding volume & material I had tested with. Even with DVD, & THX listening levels, which peak around 95-db to 105-dB SPL. Which is about as loud as I can stand, there was no overloading. I can explain this; it was effortlessly smooth & clean. This is the best I have heard from my home theater sound system, because everything comes alive. Dialogue, Vocals & every musical instrument sounded so much like the real world. Meaning the depth & clarity is nothing like I have ever heard before. It is absolute hard to believe for its size and price.
Last night I re-watched the movie Gladiator; on DVD and sat back in amazement. I could not believe that it sounded better in my home theater, than my local cinema. I could hear & feel everything the movie director intended for me to hear. Again, What a feeling. DTs music & Movie soundtracks are out of this world with this nOrh Marble 9.0s. The sweet spot is huge, no more rushing for the center seat in the house. From the low bass to the smooth high frequencies it doesn't miss a rage. Friends of mine, who had heard them in my home, were totally amazed. I highly recommend them to you. For use of either, watching movies with Dolby Digital home theater or just listening to Hi-fi music on CD.
Summing up:
The imaging on 9.0s were spot on to an extend that I could point my finger to where the musician & singers were standing, and sense of detail were accurate.
Clarity was excellent with both diction and vocal intonation. Bass on the 9.0s is unusually clean, deep, more realistic, well controlled and powerful. I have never heard Bass in my home so clearly defined and so deeply reproduced. With Orchestral music it reproduced a supremely natural tone with communicative feel. Acoustic guitars reproduced a spot on delicacy. I could hear every change on finger pressure and extra damping. This is obvious to any music lover; you don't need to be a musician to hear this.
nOrh marble 9.0s produced a realistically natural sound that matched all types of music without favor or preference. On Live recordings it displayed a responsive and wide stereo aspect with thrilling recovery of the acoustics of the room itself. Good studio recordings portrayed the performers as three-dimensional images with a definite feel.
Equipment used with the nOrh marble 9.0sOn Quality, It is absolutely clean, no harshness or boominess, beautiful mid tones on musical instruments. No honkiness, or edginess to the overall vocals & Lots of drive. This, I believe is because of the full bandwidth & low harmonic distortion. This means this 9.0s can produce very low frequencies, they don't make noise that they aren't supposed to. It produced tuneful upper Bass & seamless integration between upper Bass & Midrange.
On Accuracy, It has the ability to reproduce sounds accurately, meaning, a Acoustic Piano really sounded like a Acoustic Piano on all octaves, also with other musical instruments like Violin, Clarinet, Saxophone, Timpani, & Acoustic drum solo really sounded as if a drummer was in front of me performing. Sounds of nature were distinguished very clearly with good harmonic content. With only a few minutes of listening to very well recorded performances of acoustic music will confirm this.
With Stage Depth, it sounds like a meter has been added to my room's dimension.
On Soundstage, It delivered very good stereo imaging, meaning it was insightful & involving. Imaging was great, because I could hear & feel the illusion of musical instrument placement in the concert hall. Full-size orchestral works have a level of dept. & accuracy that only the best loudspeaker can manage.
On Ambiance, The acoustics of a live concert like Steely Dan;, Eagles;, Bee Gees;, Earth Wind & Fire; & Santana; and many more on DVD gave me a feeling as if I was more or less watching the concert live with foot tapping & head nodding delivery. It also highlighted the purity of mid band, with lead singers voice sounding seductively velvety and expressive in a live situation.
I am particularly impressed by the overall performance at all levels with different types of music used, ECT, Jazz, Classical, Country, Rock & Top-40 Pops. Its dynamic range was magnificently enhanced in the most recent test.
In comparison with similarly priced speakers, the nOrh 9.0s are definitely inexpensive compared to overall quality. This is the most excellent high-end American designed & hand made in Thailand product I have heard.
One thing cannot be denied, if you are looking for accuracy, because this 9.0s has got it spot on. There may be some equals in this price range, but that depends on your definition of accuracy. My brains tell me that 9.0s are worth every cent I paid for.
The 9.0s, although they are not nearfield designed monitors, I have tested them at the Paramount recording studio & I have to say that they are also ideal for recording & mixing music in medium sized control rooms, because any flaws in the original material were enthusiastically exposed. Also, after 6 hours of listening periods, I did not sense fatigue at all. In fact, the marble 9.0s have become my reference speakers for pleasure listening, recording, mixing & reviewing playback equipment. It is very difficult to find this kind of combinations in a product. It also works well in various rooms tested.
The 9.0s also provided a great way to make sure that I did capture high quality sounds, from the very basic tracks on to the multi-track recorder, whether It was fine tuning the position of a studio condenser microphone for the acoustic piano, modifying a electric guitar sounds, synthesizer sound, or cleaning up a sample SFX. Final Mix was a real pleasure because the ultra low distortion means that I could concentrate on the sound for extended periods of time without feeling fatigue. This is because; I believe the 9.0s deliver both the inner dynamics and overall power envelope without compression or distortion. It is worth paying extra for this top of the range model. Because it has a realistically natural sound also matches all types of music without favor or preference.
The nOrh 9.0 sounds as the very latest high-end state of the Art technology, It's Marble handcraft expertise ensures that you get absolute genuineness from every audio source you want to relax to. This is the ultimate speaker with a new international reference standard. It is the hallmark of high-end quality with beauty.
If you are willing to spend a good sort of your money on Speakers, then you must hear this nOrh Marble 9.0 version. I know, you will appreciate how well your money has been spent. This is without doubt that the 9.0s are the best sounding medium sized speakers, in terms of overall sound quality, clarity, purity, accuracy and musicality performances I have ever heard, It looks like, Its soft dome looking tweeter contributes to the natural tonal smoothness of this speaker. This marble 9.0s produces a very good and clean bass extension and this is something a lot of users seem to want more these days. As an ex drummer, I was often left unimpressed with the sound of acoustic drums, through so many speakers through the years of listening. The presentation of my new Marble 9.0 is accurate & engrossing, separation of the various drum source of a drum solo was faultless. I am doubtful, if there are any speakers system on the market that will show this kind of combination in quality, and price.
Thoroughly recommended, because this is one of those rare products that I have problems criticizing for its overall quality and performance.
The nearest competition I have heard in recent times is the B&W 801 series & the new JBL 4315B, these speaker systems although they are of high-end type, they, are also much more expensive. Try placing the nOrh marble 9.0s up against some very high-end type of speakers, and you will see what I mean.
But mind your back, though the Marble 9.0 weigh about 35 kg each.
Alphonso Soosay, Audio Recording Engineer, Perth, Australia.
From another new customer, Phil Wong:
"I love my Marble 9.0's! I love Norh and it's employees"
From time to time, we have guest come and visit us at our office. We don't really have a show room but we do have a system set up in our office and we do welcome visitors coming to Thailand to come and listen to our systems and meet with us. This month, Rocco Malagoli, a violinist from Italy came to visit us. He brought with him a violin and guitar maker. Mr. Malagoli brought with him several CDs, mostly classical.
It is worth noting that designing a loudspeaker isn't simply about engineering. Designing a loudspeaker is about getting the sound right. You can do many tests on a loudspeaker but the final test is how the loudspeaker sounds. To my ears, the nOrh 9.0 is the best sounding two-way loudspeaker I have ever heard. Getting a letter from Alphonso Soosay, a recording engineering telling me he agreed with me made me quite happy. However, here I was standing next to a violinist and a violin maker. Whatever these gentlemen had to say, I would have to agree with them.
Mr. Malagoli listened for well over an hour. In the end, he said the 9.0s were wonderful and that they captured the sounds of strings without being harsh, yet captured the subtle differences required for accuracy. I really felt quite proud. I didn't design the Scanspeak drivers. I didn't make the cabinets myself. I didn't put the speakers together. However, Mr. Soosay and Mr. Malagoli both confirmed that what I did do was to accurately evaluate the nOrh 9.0s. It is terribly hard to be objective about ones own creation. I felt very proud to have two experts validate my own tastes.
There is a lot of subjectivity in audio. Despite this objectivity, there are some people who are more qualified to be subjective. For me, I believe that having been validated by a violinist, a violin maker and a recording engineer in one month is enough to give me a big head for all of June.
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Rocco Malagoli (in pink shirt) and friend visit nOrh Loudspeaker
A customer's nOrh 9.0s, Multiamps and nOrh Subwoofers
We recently have taken two actions to make the nOrh 9.0s more affordable. The marble nOrhs remain a bargain at $3,000 per pair. We have recently introduced the synthetic marble version of the 9.0s. Sonically, the synthetic version is identical to the marble. It does however cost $1,000 less. For me, I would want the real marble. On the other hand, I would put the Synthetic Marble 9.0s up against any $2,000 loudspeaker. I don't believe that any loudspeaker in its range can sound more detailed, holographic or produce nearly the bass that the SM 9.0s can produce.
We also recently released the mini 9.0s. The mini 9.0s use the Scanspeak 9700 instead of the Scanspeak 99000 tweeter. The two tweeters are electrically the same but the 9700 has a different faceplate. The mini 9.0 uses a smaller synthetic marble cabinet. The bass response for the mini 9.0 is astonishing for its size. At the Midwest Audiofest, most people asked us where the subwoofer was. We have put a graph on our website showing that the mini 9.0s have a -3 dB at 45 Hz. The "in-room" performance should be better.
The mini 9.0 is quite a speaker for $1,500 per pair. It is a great main speaker but it can also be used for rear for the nOrh 9.0s or for center if shielded isn't required. A review of the mini 9.0 can be found on www.harmonicdiscord.com as follows:
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White Mini 9.0
Let me start by saying I've been a proud nOrh owner (and "supporter") since 2000, when I purchased my first set of nOrh loudspeakers, the 5.1 Wood, a 4.0 Wood center channel, and a pair of 4.0 Wood for surrounds. When I first received that set of nOrh's, I had fairly recently purchased a set of Definitive Technology speakers (can't remember the exact models, but I know I spent over $2000 on the five channels). I had heard about this company nOrh through audioreview.com in January of 2000, and curiosity got the better of me so I decided to order the 5.1 Wood video package. I was willing to take the chance on an $850 investment, even if I hadn't heard them before, plus, I wasn't completely happy with my Definitives. Well all I'll say is that within 10 minutes of hooking up the nOrh's, my decision was made to keep them and sell the Definitives. And price had nothing to do with it (even though the nOrh's were less than half the price). Truth is, even if the nOrh's cost more I would have kept them. They sounded THAT much better.
Now on to why you're here...the new nOrh Mini 9.0. I've now had them for over a month and I feel I've given them ample break-in time (though probably not complete), and more importantly, ample "listen" time. During this review, also keep in mind that I am not nearly as technical when it comes to audio as most of the people on this board seem to be. I just know "what sounds good". Also keep in mind that I use my setup primarily for home theater (though I've actually found myself listening to more music in this setup since the upgrade - more on that later).
Audio Components:(I actually added an amp two days after I got the Mini's, but I'll explain that in my review.)
Out of the box:
I guess I should mention, I purchased THREE Mini 9.0s, with my intention to
use one as a center channel. I am keeping the Wood 4.0 as surrounds (for now).
When taking them out of the box, the first thing I noticed was how heavy these
suckers are. Man, if I wasn't TOLD they were SYNTHETIC marble, I would have
totally thought they were the real thing. I've seen a pair of real marble 7.0s
in person, and I certainly couldn't tell the difference (at least based on my
visual memory of them). Michael was also kind enough to let me custom order
the leather baffles for them, which to me adds such a level of class. Very much
worth the extra $20 per speaker he charged me.
Initial Thoughts:
Once I took them out of the box, I brought them down to my "theater"
(a room in my basement - about 16' x 12'). I unhooked the 3 front woods (out
with the old) and replaced them with the 3 mini's (in with the new). Speaker
cable remained the same - Analysis Plus Oval 9. After re-calibrating everything
with my SPL meter and Avia disc, it was time for the real test...listen to them.
I decided to start out with one of my favorite more "recent" CDs -
Spock's Beard 'V'. As soon as the the opening cello of 'At The End Of The Day'
started, I knew I was quite pleased. I guess I didn't really know what true
soundstage and imaging was until I heard these speakers. I went on to listen
to the rest of the CD, and in the end felt that there was definite improvement,
but perhaps I was "somewhat" disappointed. I decided to run that CD
for that entire day, in hopes to at least speed up the break in a bit. So the
next day, I was ready to try a DVD movie (this was, after all, my main reason
for the purchase). The logical choice was 'Saving Private Ryan' DTs I watched
the opening beach scene and it really felt/sounded like there was water flowing
through my basement. The nOrh/SVS combination is a match made in heaven.
When It All Went To Hell (well, temporarily at least):
As I continued to watch 'Saving Private Ryan', eventually a "low"
explosion happened (in the movie, not in my basement), and all of a sudden all
5 of my speakers' audio dropped out for several seconds. When things calmed
down, audio was back...but then another explosion...and the same thing. I wasn't
listening that loud - maybe 25 dB below reference. I rewound back to first explosion,
and even turned the volume down some...still dropped out. I rewound again, and
turned the volume down WAY low...this time, no audio dropout. The next thing
I tried was 'The Haunting' sample on the DTs demo disc. Again, at a mid-level
listening level, I was getting the same audio dropouts whenever an extremely
"low" sound occurred. So next I tried the Spock's Beard CD again.
No audio dropouts at all. Then I tried disconnecting all speaker cables, re-splicing
them, and even took off the banana plugs, to use just the bare wire. I popped
in 'Saving Private Ryan' again with the same results. Luckily, that very day
I was actually headed to pick up my new 5-channel amp, so I decided to not try
anything else until I had that hooked up.
Now THAT'S More Like It:
So two days after I received my nOrh Mini 9.0s, I was supposed to pick up my
Sherbourn 5/1500a amp (it just kind of worked out that way). So I brought it
home and hooked the 80 pound monster up right away. When I first turned everything
on after hooking up the amp, I noticed a difference IMMEDIATELY, even though
I was actually standing BEHIND the speakers in the corner of my room. So right
away I went over to the sweet spot, and just continued to listen to what was
playing, which was The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are. I was surprised at how
well the Mini's handled the pipe organs in the opening track. I was so shocked
(and skeptical) about how great everything sounded, that I was convinced it
was that I had added the Sherbourn amp. So the next logical step was to hook
up my 5.1s to the amp and see how it sounded. And that is what I did. Don't
get me wrong, the 5.1s sounded great being powered by the Sherbourn, but compared
to what I had just heard from the Mini's, something was obviously missing. So
I hooked the Mini's back up, and haven't looked back since. With the Mini's,
I don't know any other way to describe it other than to say everything just
sounds so much more "clear". The soundstage, the voices...unbelievable.
When playing the 'Saving Private Ryan' DVD (this time with the amp), I could
swear Tom Hanks was in my basement. And yes, the problem with the audio cutting
out was completely eliminated. I haven't bothered to look into this any further
since it's worked fine ever since I hooked up the amp, but I can only guess
that the Mini 9.0s are extremely low in sensitivity, so you better have something
with some serious stones to power them. I could be wrong on that, but I can't
think of any other logical explanation.
Conclusion:
I'd have to say my one and only complaint about the Mini 9.0 is that man, they
are unforgiving. And I always thought the 5.1s were, but that 9700 tweeter does
not leave any details to the imagination. Whenever I play a poor quality source,
I'm made aware of how poor the quality of that source really is.
With the 5.1/4.0 combo, I always preferred to listen to music in the SR-8000's special 5-Channel mode, but now with these Mini 9.0s, I find myself re-discovering music in 2-channel mode. They actually seem to fill the room better in 2-channel mode, which is amazing.
I should also mention that the greatness of the Mini 9.0s didn't truly surface until I hooked them up to the Sherbourn amp. Before hooking up the amp, I did notice an improvement over the 5.1s, but the improvement wasn't as obvious. Maybe it was just my Marantz SR-8000 receiver, but based on my experiences I would definitely be prepared to power these drums with separate amplification.
I know a lot of people are probably wondering which is better - the Mini 9.0, or the 7.0, and while I have heard the 7.0 before, I'd hate to pick which one is better, because I heard the 7.0s in a completely different environment than the one my Mini's are set up in. If you put a gun to my head, I would say the Mini's with a quality sub sound better than the 7.0s with a quality sub, especially if you play a lot of movies. In fact, the nOrh Mini 9.0 is probably the best speaker I have ever heard.
Scott H
Le Amp continues to garner praises. Le Amp was designed to be better than any amplifier in its price range. There are almost no great amplifiers under $1000 per stereo pair. The under $1,000 per pair is dominated by amplifiers that can not accurately be described as high-end. High-end amplifiers are accurate. They preserve the signal integrity without adding or subtracting anything. High end amplifiers should never sound harsh. They should be detailed, dynamic, powerful and fast. They should have rhythm and pacing. Some amplifiers are powerful but harsh. Some are smooth but slow and can't keep pace with the music.
Once you have an accurate, fast, detailed, dynamic, powerful and smooth amplifier, you have entered the world of high-end. The problem has been that the entry price has been too expensive for most people. Once we get to the point where an amplifier is high-end, subtle improvements can cost thousands of dollars to achieve. There are amplifiers that cost tens of thousands of dollars. If these amplifiers didn't offer improvements over amplifiers costing a few thousand dollars, nobody would buy them.
Few people can afford to buy an amplifier that costs as much as an automobile. The majority of us have to determine how much money we need to spend to make ourselves happy. I we buy something that pleases us for a short time and we soon want to upgrade, that is not a good purchase. A good purchase should be something we want to keep for years.
Le Amp is absolutely high-end and it is probably the least expensive amplifier that can claim to be high-end. We would welcome to put Le Amp against any other similarly priced amplifier. Le Amp is built not only to sound great but it is also built to provide years of trouble free service. Le Amp is available in black or silver.
The price per amplifier is $295.00 We are currently running a special where two amplifiers are $495.00 and $250 for each amplifier.
Le Amp in Black
TNT-Audio stated:
Le Amp is a powerful, monobloc amplifier with excellent sound output quality. While rated at a minimum of 100 watts, peaks can be substantially higher without any strain on the amplifier. The power supply of Le Amp allows it to do what most, very expensive amplifiers easily accomplish and what competitively priced amplifiers usually can't: that is, to provide sufficient headroom for any kind of music. Along with this huge power reservoir, Le Amp provides quality of sound that is hard to match for less than three or four times the price of a stereo pair of Le Amps.
When comparing Le Amp to similarly priced amplifiers, such as the Creek A43, Le Amp is clearly superior in terms of both rated power and the headroom provided by its huge power supply. Le Amp also has cleaner, stronger, and better controlled bass. While the Creek provides very good mid- and high frequency performance, it is matched, if not bettered by Le Amp in this regard. In addition, the A43 costs about $150 more than a stereo pair of Le Amps.
If you want a better amplifier, you are going to have to pay more money. If you spend the same or less for a different amplifier, the chances are, it won't sound as good as Le Amp. We are expecting another review in www.6moons.com soon.
Like most everyone else, I have gone out and bought a record or CD based on one song that I liked. I would put the record on the turntable or the CD in the player and find that there was only one song worth listening to. I don't think it was always the case. When I was young, I remember listening to albums and knowing the order of the songs. For me, this began with the Beatles. Prior to listening to the Beatles, I only played stacked 45 rpm records. Working part time jobs as a child, I bought every Beatles album and would wait patiently for the next. With few exceptions, every song on most Beatles albums were enjoyable. At least up until theWhite album came out. While the White Album did have very good music, I can't say that I enjoyed all the tracks. Nearly 40 years later, many of the Beatles albums can be enjoyed from beginning to end. My personal favorite is Rubber Soul.
When I was younger, the English versions and US versions of the Beatles albums were different. The US versions would put less song on an album and then create extra albums. The Rubber Soul that I listened to when I was young is not the same as I listen to now. None-the-less, I believe that Rubber Soul is the one Beatles album that must be part of any serious music listener's collection.
When I was very young, I had very strange tastes in music. I can remember that when I was 12, I bought the Rolling Stones' Between the Buttons, The Beatles' Sergeant Peppers and Magical Mystery Tour, and the Mother's of Invention's Absolutely Free. I believe that if I had to choose which of these albums I would sit down and listen to today, I would pick Sergeant Peppers.
During this period, there was so much going on and artists seemed to be over achievers. It didn't matter if it was Carly Simon, Carol King, Ambrosia, or Niel Diamond. Entertainers were compelled to put their best into every song. For years, no matter what I bought, whether it was Led Zeppelin, Jimmi Hendrix, the Byrds, Cream, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Three Dog Night, Steppenwolf, Iron Butterfly, or the Guess Who. Even the groups that were manufactured by the music industry, such as the Monkees or Moby Grape, were able to deliver consistently entertaining music.
Last month, I wrote a short article critical of the music industry in general. The industry didn't just become rotten. It has been rotten since the days it took away the rights of talented black artists and pawned off their music without credit to the original artists. Countless talent was lost because the industry refused to credit the people who deserved it. For those interested, two groups worth looking into are Bad Finger and the Turtles. Both groups were quite talented but both groups were destroyed because young and talented artists trusted the wrong people to manage them. One might wonder what wonderful music might exist today if artists controlled their own careers instead of turning their future over to the wrong managers.
Here's an interesting article on a similar matter.
If it were completely up to the music industry, we would have Disco again. Disco was great for the industry. They hired session musicians to play generic formula music. The era created very few stars. The Bee Gees were already stars long before disco. Donna Summers has been held up as one of the actually talented stars of the Disco Era. I don't think that most people could name many more. The industry had the formula that they wanted.
Fortunately, Disco was challenged. As with all storms, eventually the sun does come out. For the disco era, the two groups that I remember breaking through the disco fog were The Clash and The Knack. The Clash was the most important group to come on the scene and probably ushered in the 1980s. Equally important was the Knack. The Knack had very few hits but the one song, My Sharona, was able to pierce right through the bland music of its era. I remember buying the first Knack album, based only on My Sharona. As an album, it was weak. I don't remember playing any of the songs other than My Sharona...but My Sharona was good enough to warrant buying the album.
After 20 years, the song My Sharona sounds fresh and ahead of its time. A few years later, a song called Tainted Love by Soft Cell came out. Both My Sharona and Tainted Love seem fresh to me today.
Yesterday, I bought a DVD by the Knack. Given that these guys have to be my age (except the drummer who has to be much younger), they looked very well preserved. The DVD was done as a fantasy TV show. It was done as if it were a TV show from some era gone by. The Knack played pretty much uninterrupted for the entire hour. As I watched and listened I realized these guys are really great musicians. The group sounded very together and moved from one song to another with great finesse. The problem I had was that the words to most of the songs seemed adolescent. No matter how well preserved the members appeared to be, they looked too old to be mouthing the words coming from their mouths.
Finally, the group played the one song that they were best known for My Sharona. After hearing that song, all was forgiven. I had paid about $14.95 for the DVD and the album would have cost me about $18.95. The sound coming from the DVD was superb throughout.
For those of you who have ever enjoyed Blues Music or especially for those who haven't, I strongly recommend that you look for the DVD Blues Masters. Blues Masters is a 1966 Canadian TV broadcast that assembled the best blues artists from North America. The sound is mono and the picture is black and white. Nonetheless, this is a DVD well worth its price.
This month, I have highlighted only some of our products and only referenced a few of the many reviews we receive. We encourage you to look at the previous months newsletters and to browse through our various pages. We thank everyone for coming by the website for the past four years. We look forward to serving you in the future.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Barnes
President
nOrh Loudspeaker Company, Ltd.
