Sound, looks, price, quality

Looks (love or hate the drum style)

First off, I paid $400 due to the Christmas sale nOrh currently has going on. It ends on December 26, 2001. (http://www.norh.com/news/1101/news-2.html) This review is for the wood 5.1s rather than the new synthetic marble (SM) 5.1 that currently going for $500 delivered. Onto the review:

The first thing I noticed was how quickly these got to me. It took about a week. To say the least, I was very pleasantly surprised.

After unwrapping them like a giddy boy on Christmas morn, I saw just how beautiful the 5.1s truly are. To say the least, they are stunning! For reference, mine are the walnut color, as opposed the rosewood color that is pictured. One thing I noticed was a small rattling sound in one of the speakers. One of the crossovers had not been attached. After opening up the speaker, removing the driver, and screwing in the crossover (the screw was on the drivers magnet), I was in business! That brief operation took all of 15 minutes to do. No big deal, especially as others have needed to do the same thing and this is the only time I've needed to do that. For aesthetics, the wood 5.1 is much better looking than the ceramic 4.0, IMO. It is much classier. Unquestionably the 5.1 is larger as it is 13 liters as opposed to the 6 liters for the 4.0. Another item is the binding posts of the 5.1s are on the underside of the speaker towards the back. Very nice indeed! But how do they sound?

Out of the box, very similar to the ceramic 4.0s. They do sound warmer and do not give as much detail as the 4.0s do. The 4.0s can be very revealing whereas the 5.1s are more forgiving. For two channel listening with no sub, the 5.1s go deeper (55Hz, -3db point) than the 4.0s (65Hz, -3db point) do and that is very much appreciated by this audio enthusiast! The soundstage again is similar to that of the 4.0 and the off axis response is true to all of the drum speakers by nOrh. It is simply incredible. Behind the speakers is almost as good as in front of them.

Integration of the 5.1s into my main system was seemless. The main differences between the 4.0 and 5.1 is cabinet material and size. The SM 5.1 would integrate a little better, but I imagine it can not be by much. The drivers the 4.0 and 5.1 use are absolutely identical. So what did I do?

Originally I bought the 5.1s to replace my 3.0s, a dramatic improvement to say the least. Now, more and more I am leaning towards keeping the wood 5.1s in my main system, with the ceramic 4.0 center and surrounds. The ceramic 4.0 mains are being relegated to bedroom duty, which is still a tremendous upgrade for me and very enjoyable too! If I was required to choose between the wood 5.1s or the ceramic 4.0s without a sub, the wood 5.1s would barely win out. With a sub it becomes a clear tossup and a decision based almost soley upon looks and how much more detail you want. Either choice would, IMO, be very easy to live with for a long time to come though my next speaker upgrade has become clear. SM 6.9s. :)

Associated equipment:
nOrh wood 5.1 mains
nOrh ceramic 4.0 center and surrounds
Outlaw 1050 receiver
nOrh Le Amps for the mains
SVS 20-39CS
Samson S700 (1 channel sub, 1 for the center speaker)
Clearview Audio interconnects between the receiver and amps
Monster cables all around
Radio Shack solderless banana plugs all around
Panasonic RV-31 dvd player
Technics PD-5 cd player

Similar Products Used:

nOrh ceramic 4.0, drum 3.0, Wharfedale Valdus 500

Incredible clarity and presense. WIDE soundstage, really fills the room.

For some, their weight might be a weakness, they're really REALLY heavy. I, however, LOVE the marble-ish cabinet.

The simulated marble is simply another piece of artwork added to my room. I had a real fear that they'd look like a ham shaped bowling ball (which some of my coworkers chided me about). HOWEVER, in person these things are simply niiiiice to look at, touch, carress, and fondle in it's special private areas. OH, and listen too too.. yeah.. yeah..

All jokes aside, the SM 5.1's are an incredible value. I can't speak towards the woodies, but after hearing the literally breathtaking presence and imaging of my set of SM 6.9's with a SM 5.1 center, I'm NEVER going back to wood cases for my mains. If my room could handle it, i'd have SM 5.1's for my rears as well, but unfortunately the WAF (wife approval factor) on that idea was 0.0%, so we're having to go with Polk ceiling mounts (..sigh..).

It's a crying shame that nOrh's don't have more demo spaces available around the world. But then, that's one of the best advantages of them as well, no dealer markup. The value of these things simply can't be understated. I tried pricing out a DIY kit for a "ceiling mounted" 5.1-ish setup, and quickly realized I'd be getting close to the price of the real deal if I tried to make it myself. That's real value!

I can't wait until AR.com get's the 6.9 category, so I can gush about them as well.. :-)

In all honesty, I was QUITE nervous about ordering something this substantial and subjective online without auditioning them first. But after just a month of listening too them, I can say with complete resolve that there's no single purchase in the last few years of my life that I've been happier with.

Now.. If only they sold a ceiling mounted version of the 4.0...

Similar Products Used:

Consumer grade yuckiness

Clarity and detail, beautiful design

Crossover board became detached during shipping.

I simply can't say enough about these speakers. I have the 5.1 system with 5.1s as mains and 4.0s as center and surrounds. When I got them set up and turned on my CD that I used to audition speakers, I was floored. None of the speakers I auditioned, including the high-end B&Ws or the 10K (my previous favorite choice) even came close to the clarity, detail and imaging I heard with the nOrhs. Btw, I have the rosewood speakers and they only took 10 days to arrive from the day I ordered!

I was a little bit nervous when I ordered the speakers, considering I hadn't heard anything that I loved without reservation, that was in my price range. After reading all the reviews at this site (particularly Jicks' review of the 7.0), I decided that these sounded like the speakers I was looking for and I took the plunge. They are, without a doubt, the best speakers I have ever heard (but keep in mind I only auditioned speakers up to the $2000-$3000 for 5 price range). However, after hearing these, I fully intend to eventually get the marble 9.0s and never to upgrade again after that. Seriously. They are that great. My only comment on sound is that they don't quite get the bass I'd like for music (haven't tried movies out yet since I'm still waiting for my new Sony TV), but they're very close. I'm sure the 7.0s would have enough bass for me, but since I didn't get them I'll probably be adding a subwoofer in a few months, particularly for movies.

As far as specific details of the sound, I will just second what everyone else here has already said, and invite anyone who's in the DC area (soon to be Chicago) to come by and take a listen!

Similar Products Used:

Compared to B&W, Boston Acoustics 10k, CRs and home theater 9000/7000, Bose, Infinity, Polk Audio.

price and looks

either like the looks or hate them

I heard these at my friends house and was somewhat impressed. For the low price, minus the UPS, it's a good deal. The Vifa drivers sound excellent and the marble definately dampens. I don't know if I'd buy a pair, but they are definately worth a listen.

Similar Products Used:

totem model one

Looks, Finish, Extremely good on Bass and Vocal Presentation

Depth of speaker, Rear port requires placement a little bit away from wall.

I got involved in home theatre about a year ago and bought a Kenwood HTB 502 system. After about 3 months, I realized that my DVD collection was worth more than my sytem and that the set would not do justice to the sound. I started looking around at both stores and the internet and bumped into the norh name here. Through reading and talking with others I took the plunge and ordered the 5.1 system. Boy am I glad I did!!!!. I auditioned a ton of speakers and can honestly say that the norh sound as good as anything twice as expensive. I bought the 5.1s because the difference in price over the 4.0s was small, expecting to use a sub for everything under 80hz. What I wasn't prepared for was the amount of clean, tight bass that these speakers put out. Several times I was thinking, "boy the sub sounds really good now and then found out that the sub was switched off completely. These speakers go loud and imaging is very precise, soundstage very wide. When I turn the lights down in my HT room and the TV is the only light in the room, my small room sounds huge!

For those who think these speakers are weird or will not go well in the room, you might be surprised. In my room the speakers sit on shelves in a Home theatre wall and they look like sculpture. My wife was not too hot on the design from the web pics but when she took them out of the boxes she was immediately impressed with how they looked and the high quality finish.

Positives:

Finish
Price
Sound
Gets away from boring square box design
Shipped as part of cost, priority shipping
Michael Barnes responds to every e-mail very fast
All gold plated 5-way binding posts
Can leave the grilles on without altering sound


mhucasey

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Boston Acoustics, Energy, Kenwood

Takes you to home theater heaven

Doesn't make popcorn

Unlike the previous rocket science review from Jick, keep in mind that I'm a complete audio neophyte and like Colonel Klink from 'Hogans Heroes, 'I know nutting' when it comes to AV/home theater systems.....But...
I do know what I like - and I'm just crazy about my Norh 5.1s...

Couldn't wait for the walnut or rosewood (1-2 month back order) so I went ahead a got a pair of gloss black plus a shielded 4.02 as a center speaker. Everything you need to know about Norh can be found at www.norh.com...let's just say they look even better in real life. Arrived from Bangkok in less than a week (shipping included in cost!) packing excellent...plugged
'em in and just fab...they sound terrific and seem to be educating my ears as I go along...I use them about 65% home theatre and 35% music listening and it all just seems to be getting better and better...

I have a smallish home theater room - watch the wife factor - at first she thought I was out of my rain forest tree when I gave her the spiel about the inverted horn, carved out of a single tree trunk design, but she's OK with them now, actually it's impossible not to be impressed...whatever you pay for your Norhs, it's a bargain...someone should get the Pope to canonize Michael Barnes (super great email service by the way).

5 stars?? How about 5 super novas...