[audioisi]

My most loved Norh 6.9 system. I've heard 60K systems and this one is right up there. Anyone who want's to come take a listen is welcome. I'm driving the Norh's with a Crown X1000 power amplifier which is fed with uncompressed music through my iPod Touch 5G. Joe.

[jqp]

Cool, Johng316 has (had?) a pair of those green SM 6.9s!

[audioisi]

Indeed. Maybe he's the gentleman that I originally bought them from several years ago. I believe he drove up to meet me in Chicago from St. Louis? I'm not sure if he's the same person. I've tried over 10 different amplifiers on the Norh's over the years and finally found one that can drive them to their full potential. : )

[jqp]

Which amp did so well?

[audioisi]

Hi, two amps that I have used have been awesome. The Crown X-1000 and an NAD 2400. A few others like a Parasound HCA-1500 and my Tripath "Amptastic" were nice as well. I'm thinking of selling the Norh's now. I have the itch to try out something new. There are a pair of DCM TFE-200's locally that I may want to try.

[jackman]

Interesting speakers and the rise (and fall) of nOrh company was equally interesting. You have to give Barnes credit. He didn't try to copy anyone and offered some very unique speakers, he always tried to provide value, and he used good and even great drivers.  IMO, nOrh was ambitious but the crossover design was not up to par with the enclosures and drivers.

Also, the drum enclosures/hams looked cool but they were a bit tipsy. My friend was setting up some ceramic 4's when one was bumped off the stand and crashed on his head. He was so angry he crashed the broken pieces on his patio. It wasn't Norhs fault but a marble speaker might have punched his ticket. Seeing those speakers brings back good memories. Thanks!

[tkp]

As a long time nOrh owner, I strongly recommend finding out if anyone has redesigned the crossover for the 6.9. 

I have had the marble 9.0 for almost 13 years now I think.  The factory crossover sounded great to my untrained ears when I first got them.  However, my listening evolved over time and I also owned much more expensive speakers over a span of 10+ years (i.e. VMPS RM40, Selah RC4, Selah IncredArray) and recognized that the original marble 9.0 was not up to par with some of the speaker on the list.  Note that Mr. Barnes used good part such as Multicap so as Jackman indicated, he tried to offer value for the money.

However, the situation changed dramatically once I implemented Dennis Murphy redesign crossover with high quality parts (Alpha core inductor, SonicCap) especially when mated with a pair of 10" sealed subwoofer.  The over all sound came pretty close to my pair of IncreadArray within their dynamic range.  In an opened environment, the IncredArray clearly better in term of dynamic range but the DM marle 9.0 held its own really well.  I can live with the DM marble 9.0 plus a pair of 10" sealed sub and not miss the IncredArray much at all.

The fact that I still held on to the DM marble 9.0 until this day speak loudly of its performance, especially in the mid-bass area.  I have yet to hear a speaker that has better midbass.  I know there are speakers out there that can produce similar midbass to the marble 9.0 but they probably will cost much more than what I can afford.

This thread brought back a lot of memory for me when I was quite a bit younger.  I still cannot believe it has been almost 15 years since I purchased my first pair of nOrh speakers (wood 7.0 I think).

[audioisi]

Well after listening to all my music many times over on the Norh 6.9's with many amplifiers and sources... I've decided to try something else. Sadly i don't have the money to buy unless I sell. The Norh 6.9's are officially up for sale regretfully. The only other speakers that I hold in the highest regard that are up there with the Norhs are the Magnepan .6QR, Magnepan 1.5QR, JBL 4430's and the Klipsch Cornwall's.

[jackman]

If you love them so much, why sell them?  Also, your list if speaker options looks pretty good but you have a pretty broad cross section. The Klipsch sound way different than the Maggie's, etc. I wouldn't limit my choices to the ones you have listed. There are lots of great options these days for reasonable prices.

Best of luck with the sale. Those nOrh speakers are cool and I'm sure you will find a buyer quickly if you price them accordingly. I hope you saves the boxes. They used pretty nice boxes with form fitting foam

Cheers

Jack

[audioisi]

If it wasn't for needing the cash, I would keep them forever! I'm probably going to ask $500pr. No boxes. Local pickup or drive to meet up to 2 hours. I'm also open to possible trades.

[SteveSatch]

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[Marbles]

Nice picture...a blast from the past.
I listen to nOrh column 9.0 w/Murphy xo most every workday.
BTW, Dennis Murphy thought that they were the perfect cabinet!

I've never heard the 6.9, but heard they are a pretty good party speaker, meaning they like rock music and can play it loud.

[SteveSatch]

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[audioisi]

I've recently upgraded my source to an iPad 1st generation 64GB using uncompressed files (battery power counts in a big way). The sound quality has now improved dramatically over my iPod touch 5G.  Like night and day and just as good if not better than any CD players that I've heard costing thousands. Like stated above, the Norh 6.9's can crack the plaster on my walls, be musical and still be highly resolved while retaining deep bass. That said, I'm sorry I ever thought about selling them. I would need to upgrade to the Norh 9.0's to obtain anything better, expect for the sheer power/dynamics the 6.9's have in spades. I'm officially going to be buried with them. I'm 44 years old, so I plan to enjoy them a very long time. My 18 year old son recently had a party with 15 people over and they rocked the house. I can imagine just trading out sources and power amplifiers to hear my music over and over in so many different ways for years to come. Long live the NORH 6.9's! I'd buy another pair in a heart beat (if I had another house) : )

[audioisi]

I heard this system in Florida and it's #1 of all time......The NORH 6.9's with a very large room and lots of power are still #2 and not that far off from the best : )