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Older news - September, 2004
Last month was quite a busy month for me personally. I was in Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. I was there working on partnerships for NorhTec. NorhTec is a company I founded with many of the same people who founded nOrh. NorhTec manufactures small, energy efficient and fanless computers. Many of the projects that NorhTec is involved with involve audio. I am hoping that some day, we will find a project that will integrate both products from nOrh and NorhTec. About two years ago, nOrh designed and tested some products for computers This included a high quality sounding speaker system and a preamp for computers.
Photo of sign welcoming visitors to China on left and photo of Hong Kong on right
NorhTec MicroClient
Above is a preview of a product that NorhTec is offering to customers but has yet to post on its website. NorhTec has contracts for over 5,000 of these devices already. Basically, the MicroClient is a small x86 based PC. There MicroClient can be custom configured in the following ways:
The MicroClient is small, consumes only 4 watts of power. The MicroClient is an ideal dedicated computer for applications such as advertising, point of sale, thin clients, POS, security, and firewall gateways. The MicroClient can be configured to boot from a network or can be booted from solid state disk or a standard 2.5 inch hard disk. The case of the MicroClient acts like a large heatsink to keep the processor operating very cool. The motherboard is an industrial grade motherboard.
Ultimately, my hope is that with a small/low-cost computer such as the MicroClient pictured above, nOrh and NorhTec can work together on multimedia systems such as wireless streaming audio or video or low-cost structured housing applications. The MicroClient is often less expensive than traditional computing solutions. The MicroClient is highly reliable and operates under environmental conditions that most other computers simply can not tolerate.
The MicroClients are now shipping to select customers
With the MicroClient, you could wirelessly stream music or video throughout your home. You could access your computer based jukebox from any room in your house. The MicroClient would be ideal for putting a jukebox in your car or setting up any dedicated computer application where space, costs, and power are a consideration.
When I was in the Army many years ago, there were three things that every soldier serving in Asia bought. These were, a good stereo, a nice watch and a great camera. I never saw a 35 mm SLR camera until I joined the Army but in the Army, everyone had a nice Canon, Olympus or Nikon SLR. I still have some very old cameras, including my old Yashica twin lens reflex camera.
I have always been amazed to see people go on expensive vacations taking very cheap cameras. I have been in Hawaii and watched people use 110 cameras to snap their shots. Here in Bangkok, I see people stand at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha using a disposable camera.
I have made similar mistakes. While I did take my older Nikon 6060 with me to Paris, I also brought with me my Mavica and shot about 20 floppies worth of compressed 640 x 480 images. What was I thinking? Years later, the images are simply not worth looking at.
I have been an early adopter of digital cameras. I used my old Sony Mavica to take many of the original photographs on the nOrh website. I have had four generation of Sony digital cameras. My last Sony was the DSC-S85. The DSC-S85 reached a level of performance that I was able to suppress my desire to buy a new digital camera. Last year, while I was in Japan, I nearly gave in to buy a $700 Sony with 5 Megapixels. I was able to convince myself that spending $700 for a camera which was virtually the same as I had with just a bit more resolution was probably not a good use of my money.
This year, two cameras caught my eye. Last year, I thought about the Nikon D100 but its price tag was just too high for me. This year, the D70 seemed like the ideal camera for me. I decided to go for the D70 and buy the Sigma 18-50mm 1:35-5.6 DC D lens. The Nikon lens would be the best choice for anyone starting from scratch. I had many Nikon Lenses so I bought the Sigma to fill in for my wide angle to 50 mm.
The D70 is the best digital camera I have ever worked with. It is amazingly fast. The feel is absolutely perfect. I can remember taking pictures of friends weddings and worrying about whether the film was moving through the camera or worrying about whether or not the images would develop properly. The D70 takes all the worry as you can see the images right away.
The resulting images are so much richer and more natural looking than any digital pictures I have ever taken. I copied some of my images off to CD and had them printed at a photolab. The prints looked exactly like images printed with film -- except no scratches or dust.
I took the following photos. The resolution has been dramatically reduced for the web but these give a general idea of how the D70 performs. Click on the images to view a larger version.
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Guardians holding serpents in each hand/wing |
Photo of Temple of the Emerald Buddha |
Water Lilly |
Jomtien Beach |
An old Mercedes outside my house (not mine) |
A Motorcycle Taxi |
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Photo taken at night at a gas station |
Inside McDonalds without a flash |
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Is the D70 perfect? No. I have seen that there is a tendency for the Nikon D70 to blow out highlights in some images. Many indoor photos or low level photos appear underexposed. Even so, I was quite impressed at the D70's ability to handle low-light situations. The two photos above were taken without any flash, using the auto ISO mode.
I can strongly recommend the Nikon D70 to anyone who is serious about the photos they take but still want a digital camera. The D70 is an excellent SLR that just happens not to use film.
The SE 9 remains our best selling product. The SE 9 is the most reasonably priced high end integrated amplifier available. I use the SE 9 and a pair of 3.0s in my office and because I work so many hour, most of the music I listen to is on this system. As modest as this system is (price and size), I am quite pleased with the sound. We have sold hundreds of SE 9 and everyone who has bought one is quite pleased with the sound. The SE 9 is a great Christmas gift. For the office or kitchen, the nOrh 3.0s are a great low-cost combination. For people who are using the SE 9 as their primary system, the nOrh Classic 6.0s are the ideal choice. The Classic 6.0s are low-cost, full range and very efficient.
I get more e-mail about tubes vs. transistors than I do about anything else. The reason that we get so much mail is that we are one of the few companies that sells both tube amps and transistor amps.
There are many audiophiles who swear that tube amplifiers sound better. They go so far as to claim that solid state amplifiers simply can not reproduce sound as well as tube amplifiers. I don't believe this. I believe that it is possible to build great amplifiers that are either solid state or tube based. I also believe you can build very bad amplifiers using either approach.
If it is possible to build a great sounding solid state amplifier, why have we been selling tube amplifiers. The reason is simple -- harshness.
From the very early days of solid state amplifiers, listeners have noted that some solid state amplifiers sound harsh. This isn't to say that it isn't possible to build a smooth sounding solid state amplifier. There are many very good solid state amplifiers that sound excellent -- with no trace as harshness.
The problem is that virtually all consumer level audio products sound harsh when compared to high-end audio equipment. A few years ago, nOrh released the CD 1. This was a CD player with a tube output section. This was nOrh's first tube product. The CD 1 received tremendous praise. We continue to get e-mail asking us to bring the product out. Unfortunately, the transport we were using was discontinued and we were unable to produce any more.
What set the CD 1 above other CD players was the fact there was no harshness. Some audiophiles wrote that CDs couldn't sound as good as vinyl. By eliminating the harshness, the CD 1 won over many audiophiles.
There are solid state amplifiers which sound smooth and detailed. Unfortunately, these are often very expensive. Many audiophile amplifiers cost over $10,000 USD. Some cost even more. Why do audiophiles spend so much money on amplifier? Many audiophiles have learned through the years how to listen to music and over the years they have become very sensitive to the typical harsh sound from consumer HIFI products.
Originally, nOrh built solid state components. We created amplifiers and preamps that delivered smooth and dynamic sound. The problem was that the combination came to about $2,000.00. While this is much less money that what other company's charge, $2,000 is beyond the budget for many people who simply want to enjoy music.
Two years ago, nOrh introduced the SE 9. The SE 9 was and still is one of the best values ever. The SE 9 is one of the most cost effective solutions to harsh sounding audio. The SE 9 is powerful enough to drive most reasonable loudspeakers and reliable enough to deliver years of audio enjoyment.
SE 9 Single Ended Integrated Amplifier
We have sold hundreds of SE 9s over the past couple of years. We have received many letters of praise telling us how wonderful the SE 9 sounds. The SE 9 eliminates the harshness and recreates the sort of sound that audiophiles spending many thousands of dollars desire.
The SE 9 has enough power to drive most existing loudspeakers. Even with inefficient loudspeakers, the SE 9 can play loud enough to drown out conversation or in my case, get your significant other to come down screaming to turn down the music. How much louder do you need? I used to believe that I needed enough power to destroy any loudspeaker. I wasn't happy unless my amplifier was drawing as much electricity as an iron. I now find that the SE 9 and its larger brother, the SE 18, are more than enough amplifier for my listening.
Beautiful, Simple, Elegant and Inexpensive
The SE 9 is the ideal integrated amplifier for an office, dorm, bedroom or small apartment. The SE 9 is the perfect starter systems and it is the ideal upgrade for someone who is now using a mini component or some other "all-in-one" solution. The SE 9 is available for $450.00 USD shipped directly to your home.
Classic Styling and Unconventional Performance
ACA 2b Class A Tube Preamp
The ACA 2b preamp is one of the best values available. The ACA 2b is a small, inexpensive, high performance preamp that costs a fraction of what other high quality preamps cost. We have received rave reviews on this product but its low price leaves many possible customers suspicious. We ship the ACA 2b for only $395.00 yet it sounds better than many preamps that cost much more. The ACA 2b is an ideal low cost preamp to mate up with lower cost solid state amplifiers because most low cost solid state amplifiers tend to be harsh. The ACA 2b provides a lot of voltage so that it is possible to run long wires between your amplifier and preamplifier.
The SE 10 is about ready to ship. The product was finished but we got an e-mail that our styling was too close to that of an existing amplifier. We spoke to our supplier. They assured us that the styling similarities were not intentional and that they had never seen the amplifiers which looked similar to theirs. We have spent the past two months changing the style of the amplifier. The amplifier will continue to be a very elegant looking upgrade to the SE 9.
The SE 10 is very similar to the SE 9 but it has many upgrades. The SE 10 has a Ultralinear switch that allows the user to switch between Triode or Pentode performance. In Triode mode, the SE 10 outputs 8 watts and in Pentode mode, the SE 10 outputs 10 watts.
The SE 10 uses uses point to point wiring and uses silver cable. The components and volume control in the SE 10 are higher grade than what we use in the SE 9. The SE 10 is designed to create a limited edition amplifier for less money than other companies produce very standard equipment. The SE 10 is available for $695.00 shipped.
nOrh has focused on building better loudspeakers. Our loudspeakers are better because we use better materials, better drivers, better components and better designs. Our nOrh 3.0 is an amazing product that sells for only $250.00 USD shipped. For anyone wanting amazing audio from a lower powered receiver or integrated, we strongly suggest our Classic 6.1. The Classic 6.1 is only $500.00 per pair shipped. There are simply no loudspeakers that sound, look or perform better at this price.
Efficient, beautiful, handmade, and elegant, the Classic 6.1
We continue to offer the Classic 7.0s for $995.00 shipped. Given the lower value of the USD, this is an amazing offer. I know of no other loudspeaker in this price range using such high quality drivers. The Classic 7.0s continue to use Scanspeak components. Most loudspeakers in this price range use OEM Chinese drivers.
We also continue to provide the highly acclaimed Mini 9.0 kit. We sell the mini 9.0 kit for $500 shipped. You only need to add drivers. The Mini 9.0 is the best sounding small loudspeaker I have ever heard. The look is stunning.
The Mini 9.0 kit is still available for only $500.00 shipped. Simply add your own drivers
Sincerely,
Michael C. Barnes
nOrh Loudspeaker Company, Ltd.
