[Articus]

I've noticed (through the old messages in this forum) that several people here who had top nOrh gear sold all or most of it (Tyson, Marbles,...).  I was just wondering why? Was it because of the sound, appearance, money, or something else...? Low level of "pride of ownership"? Sorry if you explained it somewhere, but I can't find it.

[Tyson]

Sold my 9.0's to get the VMPS RM40's, which were clearly better speakers.  I regret selling my marble 4.0's, those were the best small HT speakers I've ever heard, much better than my current Axiom speakers.

[Marbles]

For me, I still have 5 marble 4.0's, a pair Prism 5.2's, a pair of nOrh subs, a prism 4.1 center, 2 pair of marble column 9.0's, and a pair of wood 9.0's.

I sold some horn 9.0's for VMPS RM40's, and I sold my ACA and multi-amps for better electronics.

I sold my CD-1 because it did not work well as a transport because of the way it would "pop" when FF, skip etc..and I couldn't find another place for it.  I do miss it.

[tkp]

I still have the marble 9.0 and a single marble 4.0.  I don't think I ever will sell the marble 9.0.  They are unique and no longer in production.  Believe it or not, I sold the RM40 but keep the marble 9.0.

Like Tyson, I wished that I did not sell one pair of marble 4.0.  At some point, I will get another marble 4.0 to have a complete pair.  Soundwise, I will say that the marble 9.0 sounded very good for their size.  The marble 4.0s are very hard to beat for HT application.

[nathanm]

I've had my fair share of Norh gear but still have some of it.

Norh 7.0 drum = sold due to damage and it just sounded weird-ish.  Only much later does one Dennis Murphy fellow discover some sort of big midrange suckout in the XO design. *sigh*  Lost 1400 bucks on those suckers.  Marble doesn't seem to be very flexible when coming in abrupt contact with a concrete floor...These were also unfairly compromised (sonically) by my lack of a proper height stand for them at the time.

Norh 3.0 drums = still got 'em.  These are great little Can Do speakers.  Very colored sounding, very limited bass, limited power handling, but are still very satisfying despite these flaws.  Can be dropped without the adverse reactions of marble.

Norh Prism 6.0 - Great looking, sound rather mediocre.  Probably has same crossover issues that the 7.0 does.  They grew on me though, but not enough to keep.

Norh Pyramid - The worst sounding piece of crap I have ever heard.  Back to the drawing board...

Norh SE-9 = great sounding amp.  Still have it, but needs new caps thanks to a minor explosion.  Just remove the faceplate and bob's your uncle as far as looks go.

Also, don't assume the sale of any particular piece means anything substantial.  Audiophiles are insane and fickle creatures who like a continuous flow of new and shiny things regardless of their performance or value.

[Mathew_M]

So is Norh still making the marble 4.0?  I sold my ceramic pair but like everyone else I wish I hadn't.  They were my first real speakers besides those that come with HT boxes.

[Jay S]

I sold my Le Amps because I felt my Acoustic Reality digital amp sounded better... though not 5x better.  The Le Amps sound great when we tried them with a very good power filter (like Guan's DeZorel) but for the most part I had them plugged straight to the wall.

I have kept my 9.0 marble and don't think I will sell them.  I do think about getting a Dennis Murphy XO but it is not a priority right now.  

I got a pair of 3.0 wood drums for my mom and they are doing a great job in the corner rafters of her bedroom.

[suits_me]

The answer is that some of the most vocal norh (speaker) groupies really hadn't heard much other hi end equipment, and also didn't have a wide or deep knowledge of the audio market in general. But from the norh raves you would have assumed they had heard it all. Learning about vmps was a revelation, for example.

The other answer is that norh, the company, got flaky. I'll skip the details. Perhaps if Mr. Barnes comes back fromt he puter world he can dispute this.

Not that there's anything intrinsically so wrong with norh gear, with caveats.

[tkp]

The answer is that some of the most vocal norh (speaker) groupies really hadn't heard much other hi end equipment, and also didn't have a wide or deep knowledge of the audio market in general. But from the norh raves you would have assumed they had heard it all. Learning about vmps was a revelation, for example.

This is so true in the fast pace environment we are in today.  Years ago things moved at much slower pace.  

When I first got the Marble 9.0 many years ago, I thought to myself "It cannot get much better than this".  When I got the RM40s about three years ago, I said to myself "How could any thing top this?".  Eight months ago, I heard the RMX.  Once again I thought to myself "Why all of a sudden, my pair of RM40 sounded so bad?".  Two months ago I built the Incredarray.  Here we go again "What was wrong with me when I thought the RMX would be a tough act to follow?".  

I know for sure that my electronics is not the best.  My hearing probably has gotten a worse because I am getting older and I am very sure that I have not heard it all.  Therefore, I should not post any of my opinion about any piece of gears because I am even more sure that what ever I write will be incorrect by some one standard as soon as I click the submit box .

Learning about VMPS few years ago was a revelation for me.  The same thing happens six months ago when I learned about Selah audio.  What next ?

[Articus]

I discovered nOrh 5 months ago purely by chance: I auditioned, liked, and bought a TS Audio integrated SE34.1 amp. After completing the transaction the seller told me the amp was also known as nOrh SE9. I read all I could find about nOrh and must admit their "philosophy" is very seductive, coupled with high quality products. It felt quite right especially as they implemented a couple of ideas that I was toying with years before discovering nOrh (my diy speakers).

Anyway, my gut feeling (from the research I did) is that nOrh is past its prime time, and that it is scalling down (not closing, just downsizing). I wish I was wrong, as I am about to buy new speakers (6-7). I like their drums, so refreshingly non-boxy looking speakers (I don't like boxes no matter how good they sing, and no, my wife is not standing next to me with a gun pointed at my head). I consider speakers to be furniture or functional art blending with the environment, not defining it. The marble nOrhs fit that description quite nicely.

What else (non boxy looking, full range, and sounding good) is out there (no Bose, B+O, Morel, and Gallo satellites please)?

PS I consider the nOrh term "synthetic marble" to be a quite bad name from the marketing point of view (associates with artificial things like plastics, sweeteners, etc). Green Mountain Audio uses the same thing but they call it "cast marble". Just my $0.02 (with +/-$0.02 margin of error)

[Jay S]

I think that the time of rapid product development at nOrh has passed.  Maybe there will be another creative burst down the road but that remains to be seen.  That does not, though, take anything away from their current range of products. The ceramic/marble 4.0 remains a top quality small HT speaker, for example.  The 9.0 can sound great too and delivers nice full range sound in a relatively small, non-conventional package.  The mini 9 is, I think, the pick of the range -- it doesn't give up much to the 9.0 and is much smaller and cheaper.

[Articus]

My understanding is that the nOrh marble speakers are no longer available, with those made from teak in very short supply. Is that right?

[jqp]

I have 5 Marble 9.0s (1 bought from Marbles). Also have 2 Teak 3.0s, 2 Le Amps, 2 MultiAmps, 1 CD-1, 1 ACA, and an MB-100 (IRD). Also have 2 wood 7/9 cabinets (from Tyson).

I do believe nOrh has lost their marble craftsman and his company, so that they can no longer manufacture the marble cabinets.