Norge website

Thanks for the lead, Krish. Growing up I thought Norge was a foreign brand and was (pleasantly) surprised to discover it was desi. I have no doubts as to its quality and will definitely try my best to audition the Amp you mentioned.

Its a sad news, I have read in the recent AVmax issue that mr Syam bajaj is suppose to introduce a new amp with so many modern changes. May god utter his all Wishes.

Why is that sad news???

Shahrukh schrieb:

Why is that sad news??? :?

Right

Particleman,

Do check out the Norge and please write a review of their amps and speakers for this forum. Models 2060 or Concerto 1000 should be powerful enough for your tower speakers. Pricing should be affordable compared to MNC brands.

Also check out Pulz and Telome amps. A 10,000 budget is more than enough for a decent amp. Only fancy looks you will not get.

Neutral schrieb:

Do check out the Norge and please write a review of their amps and speakers for this forum.

Hi Neutral, I will definitely try to visit Norge but I should mention that my hunt may be over as FX Entertainment have made me an offer I cannot refuse! Absolutely wonderful offer and if all goes well I should be the proud owner of a Cambridge Audio 540A V2 amp + Mordaunt Short 904i speakers.

particleman schrieb:

Neutral schrieb: Do check out the Norge and please write a review of their amps and speakers for this forum. Hi Neutral, I will definitely try to visit Norge but I should mention that my hunt may be over as FX Entertainment have made me an offer I cannot refuse! Absolutely wonderful offer and if all goes well I should be the proud owner of a Cambridge Audio 540A V2 amp + Mordaunt Short 904i speakers.

Gr8. Congrats! So you have upgraded from the entry-level to the mid-level components. Now, I will have to be envious of you. Now, all you need is good music and good friends to listen with.

Shahrukh schrieb:

Why is that sad news??? :?

Sorry guys, i wrote sad instead of good news..

One more thing to add, Norge concerto gold 1000 is a superb amp at this price, Mr shyam bajaj had discovered a great amp for the people entering into Hifi and for those who cant afford to buy imported stuff.
Gold 1000 is a 125 watts amp at 4 ohms and can drive any modern speaker but not power hungry,i had used it for 3 months .

It would be nice to see a comparitive audition of Norge's amp with imported ones' in a similar price range.
If the Norge measures' up,it should be supported by our community.

Neutral schrieb:

Gr8. Congrats! So you have upgraded from the entry-level to the mid-level components. Now, I will have to be envious of you. Now, all you need is good music and good friends to listen with. :prost

Thanks so much for your good wishes, Neutral, it means a lot. Ha ha, my "source" is a four-year old, beat-up Pioneer DVD player that is a touch-me-not (tray retracts randomly when opened) -- so there, nothing at all for anyone to be envious of. And you are absolutely right about "good music and good friends" - this forum is fast proving to be a source of both.

Congrats, pm, spend time on setting up your speakers/system properly & enjoy!

particleman

is your dvd player a pionner DV-336 ?

I do have the same issue with mine from time to time

manek.

Manek schrieb:

particleman is your dvd player a pionner DV-336 ? I do have the same issue with mine from time to time manek.

I have a similar problem with my Sony computer DVD-ROM drive. As soon as I open it, it opens and closes before I have time to insert a disc! I wonder if this problem can be solved. I would suggest a slot DVD drive. This eliminates the tray and thus the problem.

particleman schrieb:

Neutral schrieb: Gr8. Congrats! So you have upgraded from the entry-level to the mid-level components. Now, I will have to be envious of you. Now, all you need is good music and good friends to listen with. :prost Thanks so much for your good wishes, Neutral, it means a lot. Ha ha, my "source" is a four-year old, beat-up Pioneer DVD player that is a touch-me-not (tray retracts randomly when opened) -- so there, nothing at all for anyone to be envious of. And you are absolutely right about "good music and good friends" - this forum is fast proving to be a source of both.

Change the source as soon as possible. The source will drag your setup down to its level.

Manek schrieb:

particleman is your dvd player a pionner DV-336 ? I do have the same issue with mine from time to time manek.

I had a similar issue with my pioneer DV 535. A good cleanup of the transport section by the local repair guy solved it.

square_wave schrieb:

Manek schrieb: particleman is your dvd player a pionner DV-336 ? I do have the same issue with mine from time to time manek. I had a similar issue with my pioneer DV 535. A good cleanup of the transport section by the local repair guy solved it.

Does it need repairs? Or will a cleaning spray do the trick? How does one access a drive to clean it?

I suspect the prob occurs bec of dirt/wear particles on the gears/rails of the transport mech so I don't think a spray could do a good job.
Better give a technician 100 bucks to open it up & do a thorough job.

Whoops! Sorry I was away for quite a bit setting up the system so my apologies for the tardy response.

Kamal, square_wave, Neutral, Manek:
Yes you are all spot on! It is a Pioneer DV-366 and has taken quite a beating (literally) and has been tossed around like a rag-doll. But to Pioneer's credit it has not skipped even once in 4 years.

But yes, the Pioneer was a let down when I finally heard the system. What I thought would be a moment of elation was a series of "what-ifs" -- what if I had a better interconnect, speaker cables, banana plugs? I couldn't sit still and enjoy it.

I do realise the source is the weak link but going so far over my budget I have to think twice before helping myself to a second spoonful of sugar in my morning coffee! I am contemplating either the DVD89 DVD Player or the 540A-V2 CD Player both from Cambridge Audio or perhaps a Denon CD carousel. The DVD89 at 11k is the cheapest and the most versatile - it does DVD, WMA/V, DIVX, MP3, DVD-A, SACD all at a rock bottom price. Question is: will it be a repeated mistake as maybe DVD Players cannot match a dedicated CDP? I like the idea of MP3 and SACD playability. On the other hand I like the carousel because I am too lazy to get up to change discs. So I will have to think long and hard about this one. Opinions welcomed as always.

Meantime I will ask a technician to open up and clean the Pioneer. Thanks for the advice.

particleman schrieb:

Whoops! Sorry I was away for quite a bit setting up the system so my apologies for the tardy response. Kamal, square_wave, Neutral, Manek: Yes you are all spot on! It is a Pioneer DV-366 and has taken quite a beating (literally) and has been tossed around like a rag-doll. But to Pioneer's credit it has not skipped even once in 4 years. But yes, the Pioneer was a let down when I finally heard the system. What I thought would be a moment of elation was a series of "what-ifs" -- what if I had a better interconnect, speaker cables, banana plugs? I couldn't sit still and enjoy it. I do realise the source is the weak link but going so far over my budget I have to think twice before helping myself to a second spoonful of sugar in my morning coffee! I am contemplating either the DVD89 DVD Player or the 540A-V2 CD Player both from Cambridge Audio or perhaps a Denon CD carousel. The DVD89 at 11k is the cheapest and the most versatile - it does DVD, WMA/V, DIVX, MP3, DVD-A, SACD all at a rock bottom price. Question is: will it be a repeated mistake as maybe DVD Players cannot match a dedicated CDP? I like the idea of MP3 and SACD playability. On the other hand I like the carousel because I am too lazy to get up to change discs. So I will have to think long and hard about this one. Opinions welcomed as always. Meantime I will ask a technician to open up and clean the Pioneer. Thanks for the advice.

Go for the CD player.

Scout around and see if you can get a deal on a second hand/new piece.

My 2 pence's worth-
1.Don't go for a 2nd hand CDP-you would'nt know the state of the lens assembly/transport mech, how its been handled etc.
Getting parts is a pain-I've had to trash a player bec the lens assy was just not available.
2. The Cambridge CDP would'nt be a great jump up;
save for , e.g. a Cyrus instead; meanwhile,
3.Enjoy your Pioneer, and tweak other, lesser cost but v.impt things,e.g better Spkr cables/Interconnects;
I personally experienced a quantum leap in sound when I plugged in Viren's Spkr Cables & I/C's.
4.Ensure your system placement is optimum for your room-v.v impt to get the best out of what you have.

Go for a dedicated cd player. Entry level marantz, nad or CA should suffice.
I was on a similar boat long back. I had downgraded from a heavy Onkyo cd player to a 11k pioneer dvd player. Bad experience. Then I tried better interconnects, speaker cables etcc.. All made a difference but the biggest upgrade was when I picked up another cd player. The entry level cd players won’t be a big upgrade but it will have the basics right.

square_wave schrieb:

Go for a dedicated cd player. Entry level marantz, nad or CA should suffice. I was on a similar boat long back. I had downgraded from a heavy Onkyo cd player to a 11k pioneer dvd player. Bad experience. Then I tried better interconnects, speaker cables etcc.. All made a difference but the biggest upgrade was when I picked up another cd player. The entry level cd players won’t be a big upgrade but it will have the basics right.

A sad tale. You spent 11K and couldn't get a decent DVD player. Soundd like a nightmare! Sure, getting a CD player is fine, but what is one to do will all the music concert DVDs that one has? Would getting a good 192/ 24 soundcard be a better solution than a CD player. It would double up for recording too.

Neutral schrieb:

square_wave schrieb: Go for a dedicated cd player. Entry level marantz, nad or CA should suffice. I was on a similar boat long back. I had downgraded from a heavy Onkyo cd player to a 11k pioneer dvd player. Bad experience. Then I tried better interconnects, speaker cables etcc.. All made a difference but the biggest upgrade was when I picked up another cd player. The entry level cd players won’t be a big upgrade but it will have the basics right. A sad tale. You spent 11K and couldn't get a decent DVD player. Soundd like a nightmare! Sure, getting a CD player is fine, but what is one to do will all the music concert DVDs that one has? Would getting a good 192/ 24 soundcard be a better solution than a CD player. It would double up for recording too. :)

Get a decent dvd player for around 5k for the concert dvds and a cd player for the music.

Krish, Kamal, square_wave:
Thanks again. I will do that then: buy the best, new CD player my budget will allow. I'm leaning towards a warm, mature sounding CDP that will tame the "bright" tendencies of this amp+speakers. I dont think I have the patience to wait until I can afford a great one -- this is like sailing to the shores of a beautiful land and being unable to come ashore -- thus I am following a middle path and will hunt for a NAD, Marantz, etc.

My banana plugs and interconnects are from Designer Audio's DAC brand here in Tardeo, Mumbai. As I have nothing to compare it to, I don't know if its the weak link.

Neutral, that's a great point about music DVDs. My biggest source of frustration in the 5.1 -> Stereo transition has been what to do about concerts that are DTS-only. My player does Dolby Digital through analog out but DTS is a no-go. Sigh, my Eagles and Eric Clapton concerts (among others) are DTS only. Hmmm....

Neutral schrieb:

Would getting a good 192/ 24 soundcard be a better solution than a CD player. It would double up for recording too. :)

Yup

particleman schrieb:

My biggest source of frustration in the 5.1 -> Stereo transition has been what to do about concerts that are DTS-only. My player does Dolby Digital through analog out but DTS is a no-go. Sigh, my Eagles and Eric Clapton concerts (among others) are DTS only. Hmmm.... :?

I'm surprised! I never knew there were DTS-only DVDs. The ones I own have the usual wav and DD formats. Maybe DTS can be converted into DD using a computer. I have no idea how to recombine video and audio though. BTW, the simplest solution would be to watch those DTS DVDs on a computer using a good pair of headphones and enabling virtual surround.

Neutral schrieb:

I'm surprised! I never knew there were DTS-only DVDs.

My mistake, they do have a PCM track as well. Some have only DD and DTS, which sound rather bad given my Pioneer's awful DAC and stereo mixdown capability. In future I will stick to concert DVDs with a (24-bit if possible) PCM track. Eric Clapton's Concert in Hyde Park is absolutely amazing in PCM Stereo.

Getting back to the topic, does anyone remember if Norge ever made Audio Cassettes? I seem to remember seeing the name on a few blank ones. Or maybe I'm confusing them with someone else.

particleman schrieb:

Eric Clapton's Concert in Hyde Park is absolutely amazing in PCM Stereo.

Will request you to play that for me when I next visit Mumbai. I have a Clapton CD (locally pressed) that sounds simply yucky. We can contrast them. Can DVD players play back 24-bit recordings now? CD is only 16 bit 44.1KHz.

Re Norge:
Checked out the avmax reviews of the Norge equipment. Their overall take is that the equipment caters to the student market segment (translated: boomy and exaggerated high end). Their new bookshelf MD80 Mach 2 is more highly regarded though. Glad that you got much superior imported equipment, which is why you realise your DVD player is not up to scratch.

I realised the limitations of my soundcard (no dynamics, insufficient bass, fuzzy sound) only when I purchased an entry-level amp & speakers. At the time, I seriously wondered whether I had made the wrong choice of equipment. Hifi is an expensive hobby - you upgrade one component with great financial effort and then realise that you have three more to upgrade.

particleman schrieb:

Neutral schrieb: I'm surprised! I never knew there were DTS-only DVDs. My mistake, they do have a PCM track as well. Some have only DD and DTS, which sound rather bad given my Pioneer's awful DAC and stereo mixdown capability. In future I will stick to concert DVDs with a (24-bit if possible) PCM track. Eric Clapton's Concert in Hyde Park is absolutely amazing in PCM Stereo. Getting back to the topic, does anyone remember if Norge ever made Audio Cassettes? I seem to remember seeing the name on a few blank ones. Or maybe I'm confusing them with someone else.

I have the clapton hyde park dvd. Amazing in pcm stereo. I never watch concert dvds in surround. Music comes from the front when watched live. why do we need surround when we reproduce it at home ?