Norh 9.0 Marble - worth it?

Meltz · « **on:** 26 Sep 2005, 05:44 pm »

I know this forum is rather... sedate, but I hope someone will take the time to answer my question.

I have been preparing to get a set of Norh speakers (the 5.1 video package: 2 5.1's, 3 4.0's) for my living room. They would serve for both video surround sound and music listening. My receiver is a fairly modest Onkyo TX-SR600 w/o any extra pre-amps and the like. I figured this set up would serve me well for my needs.

Then I came across the opportunity to acquire a pair of marble 9.0's for a very reasonable price. I'm intrigued by the idea of owning the top of the line models in a form that's very difficult (or impossible) to get. However, I'm worried that my receiver won't be able to realize the full (or even close to the full) potential of the 9.0's and I'll be disappointed.

I should also add that I'm not a hard-core audiophile - I appreciate good clean sound but I there's a limit to what my ear can detect. It should also be noted that my living room is far from acoustically ideal, with two gaping entry-ways severely affecting the acoustics.

Anyhow, I'm curious as to your thoughts on whether or not I should grab the 9.0s or just stick with the more modest Norh speakers.

Marbles · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 05:49 pm »

Grab them.....

Meltz · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 06:04 pm »

Quote from: Marbles

Grab them.....

Heh, somehow I knew you'd say that.

oris98 · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 06:23 pm »

Are they in marble casing ? if they are grab them.. It is hard to have them come by these days.. You won't regret with the sound they produce.

Meltz · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 06:25 pm »

Quote from: oris98

Are they in marble casing ? if they are grab them.. It is hard to have them come by these days.. You won't regret with the sound they produce.

Yes, they're black marble speakers. I think I'm going to grab them....

LadyDog · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 07:08 pm »

Agree w/the others. Grab them. Very nice speaker and at today's going rate, an excellent.

aggielaw · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 07:43 pm »

Meltz, if you don't grab them, please put me on to the seller!!

jqp · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 05:08 am »

You will also want to get better amps for them! The MB-100s are very reasonable and would sound great.

Meltz · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 02:28 pm »

Well, I bought the 9.0's but since they had to be picked up in NYC, they are now sitting in my parents' house (I hope they don't keep them!). I'll be able to look at them this weekend but won't be able to bring them back to Boston until Thanksgiving

.

In the mean time, I'll look into those amps, and more importantly some sort of stands!

Marbles · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 03:00 pm »

Yes, get good stands first.

My daughter has the wood 9.0's in her bedroom running on an early 80's Sony receiver. It sounds pretty good.

The one good thing about having those speakers is, if you want to upgrade your equipment in the future, you will be rewarded with a better presentation.

jbgcpa · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 05:24 pm »

Meltz,

I moved from a receiver to the mb-100's (le amps). Huge performance difference. The only way I can explain the sound difference is with a receiver, the 9.0s sounded like they were dragging an anchor.

I bought the marble stands from norh. Pricey, but very nice.

Jack

Meltz · « **Reply #11 on:** 29 Sep 2005, 08:22 pm »

When the time comes and the money's available, I'll definitely invest in a couple of mb-100s.

In the meantime, speaker stands a couple of rear surrounds (maybe Norh 4.0's?) are my priority.

Of course, I can't bring the 9.0's home until late Novmeber, so maybe by then I can get the amps. I do get to visit them this weekend though

aggielaw · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Oct 2005, 12:50 am »

Meltz, I use fabricated marble stands from www.homedecorators.com. They are hollow, but if you're really hard core you could drill a hole in the top "back" side and fill it with sand. They look fantastic in my room.

sas · « **Reply #13 on:** 2 Oct 2005, 06:39 am »

for speaker stands, I use sold marble blocks.
Go to a tombstone dealer or stone works, and get a block of stone/marble/granite that is about 24" high, and 12" wide and 12" deep (but measure the surface your spkrs need to be sure).
It will weigh a LOT.

jqp · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Oct 2005, 02:59 am »

I say make your own stands and use the money for amps.

Great stand ideas above. I actually made stands out of cinder blocks (cover with cloth) on furniture dollies so I could move the 80lbs + 40lbs around to vacum.

How they begin:

nohr stands and my diy stands(naked view). As you can see I am a nohrophile...

[/img]

Meltz · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Oct 2005, 02:31 pm »

aggielaw: thanks for the link. The marble stands look like a good option and I may go with those.

sas: the tombstone dealer sounds a little morbid, but could be interesting.

jgb: I like the do-it-yourself idea, but I don't think the wife would go for a pyramid of cinderblocks, even if it were covered with cloth

.

BTW, I did get to visit my new (to me) 9.0's this weekend. They look great, and I can't wait to bring them back. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to them as my dad's stereo was buried under a wall of boxes...

Meltz · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 03:14 am »

Just an update:

I finally retrieved my marble 9.0s and hooked them up last night, and all I can say is "Wow!" I put on some different CDs and I just didn't want to leave the room. I've heard details in songs that I never new existed before. I knew that my old speakers were mediocre but I just had no idea exactly how mediocre. I used to set my receiver to the "all stereo" setting to get a fuller sound, but now when I do that, I just hear how crappy my surrounds are (guess what the next upgrade is).

Right now the Norhs are sitting on the floor so I need to investigate those stands. Unfortunately, these speakers only have an exposed leather baffle. Do you think Norh would sell me some of those grills? I guess I should contact them directly.

Anyhow, thanks for all the advice. I'm thrilled that I jumped on these speakers when I got the chance.

aggielaw · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 05:40 am »

Glad to hear they're meeting expectations!

I suspect nOrh will make you new grills if they don't have them in stock. Stock probably depends on whether they have the silk-string grills on the SM 9.0's or not.

Good luck!!