[jackman]

It appears there is hope for the people who still own nOrh 9.0's regular and mini.  Dennis Murphy listened to them, measured them and found what many people are hearing: something is not right with the original crossovers (call this an opinion).  Anyway, he came up with a crossover design (or re-design I should say) that makes these speakers sound very good.  

nOrh uses very high quality components and makes solid enclosures (looks are highly subjective), however I have always thought these speakers should have sounded better than they did.  Looks like some of the people out there who took advantage of the low low prices these things fetch on the used market are in for a treat!  

Here is the link:

http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=marble.html

If I lived in the DC area and had a pair of 6.9's from nOrh, I'd probably give Dennis a call to see if he could do the same for the 6.9's.  I listened to a pair recently and found them to be very "hot" and unbalanced sounding.  The system was definitely mid-fi and I chalked it up to that, however their response curve indicates these could use a re-do similar to the ones that fixed the 9's.  

6.9 measurements:
http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/norh_sm69/

Dennis doesn't actually sell anything, he provides everything for free to DIY enthusiasts.  Those of you who don't have the ability to wire up crossovers on your own, may want to check with Madisound or an independent speaker manufacturer like Brian Bunge.  I don't know if Brian does this kind of thing but he may be able to point you in the right direction.  Hopefully, Barnes and Co. check out Dennis's site and incorporate the changes into the stock crossovers.  I bet the 6.9's could be made to sound very good with some inexpensive crossover tweeks.

Just my .10....

Jman

[Marbles]

Thanks Jman for the heads up..it is appreciated!

[nathanm]

Doh!

[ehider]

Wow

I have always suspected that Nohr's crossovers needed some "help" (implementation wise, not quality of parts mind you). Unfortunately I never had any data to back up my "suspicions". It is really great that Murphy has re-designed Nohr's crossover to match their excellent enclosures and great drivers (especially the marble enclosures, which I've considered a breakthrough idea).

  I think that someone here (a past Nohr customer perhaps) needs to contact Mr. Barnes ASAP and let him know about Murphy's finding and the potential fix. Hopefully he will consider incorporating this or a different crossover into his latest speakers  

[Ravi]

Yep, I was just looking at this on Murph's site earlier.  Absolutely amazing!!!  Did Norh actually even measure their speakers?  A broad 15db dip in the upper mid???!!!

I wish I had picked these up when they were selling for dirt cheap.  This crossover should really transform these.  Maybe Mr Barnes needs to hire a real XO designer next time.  He's already got great drivers and absolutely inert cabs.

[Ravi]

ehider, you're right, someone needs to contact Mr Barnes ASAP.  I beleive the 9.0 with DM's new XO could really turn some heads.  Maybe they can make a deal  

[nathanm]

Oh boy, that should be a fun e-mail:  "Hey Barnes, looky here; you screwed up!  I improved on your design! Nyah nyah!" Heh heh!  Wouldn't we all like to get that kinda of constructive criticism of our product?

[jackman]

Hi guys,
I was actually thinking about holding off on posting this information until I could get my hands on a set of 9.0's on the cheap!  I have seen them go for around $1k which is a real bargain.  My conscience would not let me do it because I kept thinking about the folks who are probably on the verge of unloading their 9's for cheap, not knowing that they were almost throwing away speakers that have such great potential.  

Don't fault nOrh for Dennis improving their speakers.  He has improved many highly rated speakers over the years.  He has the advantage of using good technology and a good ear for sound.  Dennis is an economist by day but is a violinist by night and a real music lover.  He has been designing speakers for years and has designed some of the best sounding speakers I have heard.  No doubt, his "fix" for the 9's will make many 9.0 owners very happy.  

If anyone impliments the new crossover, please keep us posted.  Just make sure to double check the polarity on the tweeters!  I always make that mistake.

J

[Sa-dono]

Oh boy, that should be a fun e-mail:  "Hey Barnes, looky here; you screwed up!  I improved on your design! Nyah nyah!" Heh heh!  Wouldn't we all like to get that kinda of constructive criticism of our product?

Yeah, but some of these designers think so highly of their products (their babies ), they ignore the comments. Hopefully they find out much later the comments were right on all along....but usually they forget about the comments by then.

[Marbles]

In this case, Barnes had Alan Isackson (hope I spelled his name right) of DACT design his XO's for him.

Alan is a friend of MB's and he might try to protect his friend and his friends rep and keep making them the same way.

I do hope MB reads this thread and at least tests this new (and less expensive) XO.

[jackman]

Hopefully Barnes will at least test the new design.  Dennis says they sound very good, much better than the original design.   For less than the cost of a decent set of IC's, nOrh owners can elevate their 9's to the status those excellent drivers and enclosures deserve.  

If he does the 6.9's and says their sound has been elevated to a level similar to that of the 9's, I may have to buy my friend's!  He has a pair laying around that don't get much use.  They would make for a rockin basement system!

J

[MaxCast]

I hope he checks out the 6.9's too.  I'd be up for it.  How much does it cost?

[Marbles]

I hope he checks out the 6.9's too.  I'd be up for it.  How much does it cost?

You would have to build them yourself, or get someone else to.

I would imagine they could be as little as $50 to as much as $1000 depending on how hog wild you wanted to go.

[jackman]

Hi Max,
Dennis doesn't charge anything, he designs new crossovers because he enjoys it.  You will have to put them together yourself and buy parts from places like Madisound or GR Research (they sell very good coils and Sonicaps).  If you don't think you can technically handle the assembly of a new crossover, you can probably get someone to do it for $25 or $30.  If I hear anything about the 6.9, I'll let you know.  Those drivers in that cabinet have tons of potential.  I wouldn't sell my nOrh speakers if I were you!

J

[audiojerry]

Wouldn't Madisound be able to supply the parts, schematics, and even build the crossovers?

[Ravi]

Well, DM would provide the scematics.

And yes, Madisound could easily put the whole thing together using their parts and ship the crossover to you.  All you would have to do is fax the XO schematic to them.

But I would raise the cost to assemble the XO to about $75.  Its a reall PITA!  If they did it for $25 I would be shocked.  It takes a few hours of detailed work to put a complex XO together.

[Bryan P]

I have owned a pair of nOrh 9 marbles for about two years now. I have also upgraded to a pair of Reference 3A De Capo i, because of the lack of involment I was obtaining from my 9's. Now I know why. It is a shame that the the problem with the mid-range was not caught before.
Can the cross-over be fixed with out taking the old one out? My system.
http://www.otlamp.com/members/BryanPedersen/BryanPedersen.html
I would like to know what Mr. Barnes has to say about this problem
Regards
Bryan

[Ravi]

Bryan, the new crossover is totally redesigned from the ground up.  So its not a fix, its a complete replacement.  So you will have to remove the old XO and put the new one in.  Well worth it, just have Madisound make you the new one.

[Xi-Trum]

Has anyone tried removing the XO from the 9.0?  If so, how?

[rosconey]

first you get the largest hammer you have-whack the top real hard-might take a few good whacks, dont get discouraged-lol

remove the bass driver and take a look