[taketwo]

http://www.norh.com/news.html

[vpolineni]

the se10 looks really nice.

[Marbles]

Those 100DB horn loaded speakers look interesting as well.

Paired with the SE10, I bet that would be a very dynamic and engaging system.

[Andrikos]

Very nice!
How about tube monoblocks for those who want to connect the amps to their receiver?

[Brad]

Pretty cool stuff.

I like the speaker - wonder what the crossover point is to the supertweeter.

The 3 channel version of the amp shows they're thinking ahead....

Kinda bizarre about the factory having to move - wonder if they can get any rent back since the 'owner' didn't actually own the land?

[mojoman]

Shipping in May, but it doesn't say which year.  

[Mathew_M]

After hearing a horn based tube system I think there are some definate possibilities using it for a HT setup.  This 3-channel amp is a start.  I'm really surprised no audio manufacture has come out with a multi-channel tube based system.  Do the rights to Dolby Digital really cost that much?

[thayerg]

Norh used to a scrappy little company that made interesting and unusual speakers using unusual materials. Now they've become yet another yuppie boutique. OEM'ed tube electronics in a chrome and wood chassis?
Lacquered transmission line Fostex for four figures? Spare me, I'm bored already.

[Rob Babcock]

Man, this Circle is finally getting some traffic now that we closed it and made it an owners Cirlce...  

I still wouldn't rule out ever getting anything from nOrh, but the whole LeAmp II thing kinda wore me down.  Even so, if the amps have actually moved beyond the vaporwear stage I still might try 'em out.

[murphys]

Have to agree with thayerg about the transmission lines, where's the USP here? They seem to contradict the nOrh ethos regarding speaker design from what I read.

[Mathew_M]

Yeah I think Norh stumbled upon something special with the original 4.0
I think they started to lose their way after the Pyramid and then Le Amp II debacles.

Why not try sticking the 100db into a 4.0 enclosure?

[nathanm]

Why not try sticking the 100db into a 4.0 enclosure?

I thought of the same thing at one time, spooked by the mythos of the Fostex drivers.  Well, it's just that - a myth.  Those things would better be stuck in a garbage can.  Do you like honking papery midrange, beamy treble and nonexistent bass?  Get an 8" Fostex driver and rock on.  This is only my opinion, but run like hell away from that 100db - as if the regular driver wasn't beamy enough, now you wanna add a tweeter too? ACK!  Okay, so the Pyramid sucked ass, but that was only $450 down the toilet, at four figures for that 100db you'll be flagellating yourself in the streets.  Sorry, I know I am biased but if I can stop just one person from their 8" Fostex curiosity then I think it's a good thing.

They were onto something good with the drums, I dunno why they are putting out another boring box "me too" full range thingy.  Efficiency schmiffency - the 3.0 with $15 tang bands will crush the Fostexes like a grape.

[Andrikos]

So, what are you saying Nathan?
Do you, or do you not like the Fostex full range drivers?
       

[Mathew_M]

Strangely I've heard horns sound both extremely 'honky' and thin to smooth and full in the same setup in the same day.  The only difference was the source and material.  Single drivers have a coherent sound that I like though.  I'm not sure I could live with horns long term though...

Anyone tried the 4.0 with the SE18?  I'm wishing I wouldn't of sold them because I bet they would sound killer with a medium wattage EL34 amp and sub.

[jptang]

I used the  4.0 with my se9 in my bedroom, i like the sound of the se9 very much, but then i hooked the se9 up to some more efficient B&W speakers and moved the 4.0 to the living room.

the 4.0 are now connected to a CONSONANCE M99Plus 25 wpc class AB amp. The additional power really allows the 4.0 to play LOUD.

The se9 has a more neutral sound... the CONSONANCE has a more forward or aggressive sound. I still prefer the sound of the se9 and it does quite well with the B&W. The CONSONANCE is no slouch... still a great amp, but definitely not as neutral or laid back as the se9.

 
Anyone tried the 4.0 with the SE18?  I'm wishing I wouldn't of sold them because I bet they would sound killer with a medium wattage EL34 amp and sub.[/quote]

[jackman]

I think nOrh's initial "mantra" about standing waves was a load of crap.  They made decent sounding speakers in unique and artfully crafted enclosures and offered them at a good price.  The new stuff looks much more interesting to me.  I really like the styling of the new amps and nOrh's prices are usually very competitive.  I wish them the best of luck with this new direction.  

The recent Le Amp II debacle aside, nOrh has established a market by offering good quality at low prices (okay, the 9 isn't low priced buy you know what I mean).  I would love to hear those TL speakers with one of the amps they are going to be selling.  Don't get me wrong, at this point I don't think I would shell out any cash without hearing it first.

Jack

[JLM]

A whole type of speaker cabinet that is rarely considered is the pipe.  Pipes fall into Tuned quarter wave pipes (TQWP) taper to a point (closed end) with the driver mounted somewhere in the middle and the other end being larger and open.  Terry Cain builds very beautiful TQWP single driver speakers.  The other typical pipes are transmission lines (TL) that locate the driver near the larger/closed end with the smaller end being open.  Both forms of pipes have traditional been designed by trial and error.  Both are rather large for the given bass performance.  In a way, the Norh drums were stubby TLs.

Horns (front or rear loaded) can sound good, but get huge compared to bass reflex designs.  In any case the enclosure only affects mid-bass on down.

Single driver designs are also out of the mainstream, but hold many advantages over multiple driver designs.  (The 100 dB appears to use an extended range Fostex driver with just a bit of help from a super tweeter.)  Some would argue that whizzers (the little cone shown in front of the main driver cone on the 100 dB) are a form of a mechanical crossover.  Plus whizzers do suffer from doppler effect (producing a sound wave while riding on the vibrating main cone).

I've heard several extended range Fostex drivers and have liked them all.  And I've enjoyed my TLs for the past 25 years.  Therefore I'm having TLs built for "the king of Fostex drivers" the mighty F200A (30 - 20,000 Hz, $375 each, 90 dB/w/m, no whizzer).  Do they "beam"?  Yes, like a flashlight.  But you can use that to your advantage in "tuning" it to your listening spot.  For $1,400 I'll have a pair of full range single driver speakers made in the USA with quarter sawn cherry veneer that are designed/tuned to the measured characteristics of the exact drivers used and have all the advantages of no crossovers, multiple drivers, or even whizzer cones.

[DennyH]

Those new speakers beg a question. I thought the whole point of Fostex full range speakers was that you didnt need a separate tweeter. Why is one necessary here?

[pjchappy]

Although called 'full-range', they don't go fully down to 20hz and have roll-off before 20khz. . .correct me if I'm wrong. . .

They do cover a very wide bandwith, though. . .

p

[nathanm]

They have whatever rolloff you might expect from an upscale clock radio.  (200Hz maybe?)  But you won't notice that as you'll be more concerned with the spikey, phasey, out-of-whack bizarre midrange and treble they make so effortlessly.  But if you like tweaking this is the holy grail.  Kinda like trying to squeeze more performance' out of a car with octagon shaped wheels.

The tweeter I can only assume is there to add insult to injury...  No seriously, maybe it's there to extend the high treble Death Beam from 1" wide to 2" wide?