[Don Maico]

Hi
I was looking through their website and am very attracted to their speakers not just because of the shape but because of the philosphy of the company . Problem is that because I can hear before buying them I have to rely on advice from others who know about them. I tried to email them 3 times but so far got no reply. Anyway I am loooking for a pair of speakers for a stereo system in a small listening room , about 12.5 x10.5 ft, but because of the confined space I need to place them on shelves( sacrilidge I know but cant be helped as my wife doesnt want speakers standing in the middle of the room ). I gather the Drum ones are not suitable because  they are rear ported so maybe  Prism 3s coupled with a sub would be the answer.Would I be correct and does anyone have experience of them?Their back up apparently isnt great as someone pointed out one of their tweeters blew and they couldnt get a replacement. I see the Norh 3s only handle about 20 watts max. How does that sit with a 60 watt amp? thanks

[Don Maico]

it would seem no one knows a thing about Norh

[Mathew_M]

There's a Norh forum here on AC.  You should be able to find plenty of information there.

I used to own a pair of ceramic 4.0 drums.  I liked them quite a bit but sold them to upgrade.  I also owned a Prism 4.1 that I used as a center channel.  It was ok but to my ears didn't sound as neutral as the 4.0 drums--much more "boxy".  I think there is a guy selling a pair of 5.2 prisms, check the trading post forum.  Those would probably be your best bet if you can fit them on your shelves.  Norh speakers however tend to be hard to place because of their obscure shapes and sizes. 

[Brad]

I liked the sound of the drums a lot better than the prisms, but they need to be out away from the wall a little bit.
Can you put them a LITTLE ways out into the room?

Great for home theater - excellent dispersion.

Wish I had kept my 4.0's......

[nathanm]

I've owned Prisms 6.5s, Norh 3.0 drums (2 pair), Marble 7.0 drums, prism center channel and Norh Pyramids.  The 3.0 drums are the only ones I still have. I would recommend those. Like a bad girlfriend, they have numerous flaws but you overlook them all in favor of a certain something.  Power handling?  Er, not much.  Bass?  Well yeah, there's a bit there but don't expect mega punchiness.  Tone?  Definitely!  Colored I'm sure, certainly not objectively accurate but they don't hurt your ears.  Mellow.  Easy to listen to.  Put them far apart and you get great soundstaging due to the small size.  Looks?  I think they look very nice.  Tippy?  Yeppers.  Don't use heavy cables or put them where they might fall.

Norh Pyramids flat out suck.  Avoid unless you like awful, indistinct sound.

Move onto the bigger marble speakers and you gain SPL handling, looks and sheer toe-smashing power.  Crossover apparently sucks, but this Dennis Murphy fella apparently fixed that, but I can't say for sure.

Bigger Prisms:  Awesome looks but the sound didn't work for me.  I punished them by connecting a miswired amplifier to them and blowing them up.  That taught 'em a lesson they'll never forget.

The way I figure if you buy from any company with a large geographical gap it's going to be cost-prohibitive to send broke stuff back and forth.  Luckily none of the speakers ever broke.  They are also packed excellently with magical fantastical expanding foam stuff and thick cardboard.  Props for that.

[Marbles]

Move onto the bigger marble speakers and you gain SPL handling, looks and sheer toe-smashing power. 

   Nathan is refering to their propensity to fall off their stands..

Crossover apparently sucks, but this Dennis Murphy fella apparently fixed that, but I can't say for sure.

I'm really digging the Dennis Murphy XO's in both my pairs of marble 9.0's.

Bigger Prisms:  Awesome looks but the sound didn't work for me.  I punished them by connecting a miswired amplifier to them and blowing them up.  That taught 'em a lesson they'll never forget.

The way I figure if you buy from any company with a large geographical gap it's going to be cost-prohibitive to send broke stuff back and forth.  Luckily none of the speakers ever broke.  They are also packed excellently with magical fantastical expanding foam stuff and thick cardboard.  Props for that.

I've heard the 3.0's and I own 5 marble 4.0's, either of these would work well for your aplication.  There is no sonic difference between the ceramic cabinets, the synthetic marble cabinets, and the (real) marble cabinets.  The wood cabinets don't sound quite as good.

The drum shape can be placed within an inch or two of the back wall of my cabinet.

[JLM]

Here's one option I'd consider for a small room:

http://www.thoroughbass.com/

The Diamond I's start at $350/pair and reportedly are placement insensitive.  Single driver speakers are phase and time coherent.  Single driver speakers become "active" by default with all the advantages of direct amp to driver coupling and no crossover.  Money in this case is invested primarily in the driver.

Their subs are tiny, but fast and very placement insensitive.  They are much better known and provide amazing amounts of bass for their size.  With a high pass filter in place (as you'd have if running speaker cables through a sub) the Diamonds are rated to handle 70 wpc.  Of course you don't have to use their (proportionally expensive) subs.

[Mathew_M]

Norh Pyramids flat out suck.  Avoid unless you like awful, indistinct sound.

   I crack up everytime I read of of your posts about the pyramids.  I joined a 24 hour fitness a few months back and they had what appeared to be Norh Pyramids (I'm sure they were some other brand of speaker) hanging from the ceiling.  The sound sucked coming out of those too but it was more because of the shitty hip-hop they were playing.

[Don Maico]

Thanks guys. Because of my inabilty to listen to them prior to purchase I am only willing ot buy one of the 3.0s otherwise i'll be heading for more conventional cabinets such as Kef or B&W. Also siting restericts me to, either above this:
 http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15561&catalogId=10103&storeId=7&langId=-20&parentCats=15561*15639*15651*17068&categoryId=17068&productId=77048&chosenPartNumber=S39831445
or either side of a window on shelves or maybe some stands which I could move in and out.
 Those Diamonds may be a good solution :)Thanks

[Don Maico]

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15561&catalogId=10103&storeId=7&langId=-20&parentCats=15561*15639*15651*17068&categoryId=17068&productId=77048&chosenPartNumber=S39831445

[Don Maico]

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=7&langId=-20&catalogId=10103&categoryId=17068&cattype=sub

[JLM]

I use Ikea for my "equipment rack":

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15558&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=11460&langId=-1&categoryId=15620&chosenPartNumber=95699507

20.5 inches wide x 15.75 inches deep x 22.875 inches tall.  The top, bottom and sides are 1.3 inches thick and it has an adjustable shelf in the middle.  I left the casters off so that the spindles act as spikes through my carpet to the concrete slab below.  A 2nd one acts as a side table at the listening chair and allows for an extra shelf for the rack.  $90 shipped for both.

Other small/single driver good quality speakers are out there.  Check out Omega, AV.123, and others right here at AC.  I use Ascend Acoustics and love them.

Regarding your 60 wpc:  try to find test tones and a sound pressure meter to find out what frequencies and how loud you really listen.  Most are amazed to find out that they've way overestimated how loud and how low they listen.  Unless you have "young taste" or want hearing loss, any speaker will use less than 1 watt for average audiophile playback levels.  (Long term exposure to 85 dB will result in permanent hearing loss and possible pain.)  However the extra power is useful, to handle peaks cleanly as clipped signals (where the amp suddenly runs out of power) is the quickest way to ruin a driver, especially tweeters.  (That's another advantage of single driver speakers.)

[Don Maico]

I use Ikea for my "equipment rack":

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15558&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=11460&langId=-1&categoryId=15620&chosenPartNumber=95699507

20.5 inches wide x 15.75 inches deep x 22.875 inches tall.  The top, bottom and sides are 1.3 inches thick and it has an adjustable shelf in the middle.  I left the casters off so that the spindles act as spikes through my carpet to the concrete slab below.  A 2nd one acts as a side table at the listening chair and allows for an extra shelf for the rack.  $90 shipped for both.

Other small/single driver good quality speakers are out there.  Check out Omega, AV.123, and others right here at AC.  I use Ascend Acoustics and love them.

Regarding your 60 wpc:  try to find test tones and a sound pressure meter to find out what frequencies and how loud you really listen.  Most are amazed to find out that they've way overestimated how loud and how low they listen.  Unless you have "young taste" or want hearing loss, any speaker will use less than 1 watt for average audiophile playback levels.  (Long term exposure to 85 dB will result in permanent hearing loss and possible pain.)  However the extra power is useful, to handle peaks cleanly as clipped signals (where the amp suddenly runs out of power) is the quickest way to ruin a driver, especially tweeters.  (That's another advantage of single driver speakers.)

Thanks. I already have my equipment housed in the Traby, its just the speakers which need placing.I have also more or less decided ion changing my amp to one of the new Class t ones- Sonic Impact T-Amp- cheap as chips at sub £50 plus shipping. Its onloy 15 watts mind buty has got so many good reviews I cant resist it.
As for the speakers I also have to bear in mind whether the manufacturers ship to the UK nad hten thrte are the dreaded taxes  but I'll check out those ones you mentioned. I gather that Kef iQ1 s are quite easy to place as well

[Don Maico]

another option i am thinking in terms of is the Russ Andrews Rave amp and speakers. The amp works on a similar basis as the class t albeit with a different chip. Does any one have experience of that beast?