At the price at which the 2000 system is available, it ... - Norge Audio
At the price at which the 2000 system is available, it ... - Norge Audio
At the price at which the 2000 system is available, it ... - Norge Audio
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62 av max | november 2007<br />
<strong>At</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>price</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>which</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>2000</strong> <strong>system</strong> <strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>available</strong>, <strong>it</strong> can surely give <strong>it</strong>s bigger compet<strong>it</strong>ors a<br />
run for <strong>the</strong>ir money.
<strong>Norge</strong> Millennium Spkrs & Ref <strong>2000</strong> Amp<br />
Brand<br />
Model<br />
C<strong>at</strong>egory<br />
: <strong>Norge</strong><br />
: Millennium<br />
Speakers<br />
& Reference <strong>2000</strong><br />
Amplifier<br />
: Bookshelf Speakers<br />
Price : Rs. 19,900 *<br />
Warranty<br />
Aes<strong>the</strong>tics :<br />
Build :<br />
Sound :<br />
VFM :<br />
: 1 Year<br />
No th<strong>is</strong> company <strong>is</strong> not from<br />
Norway, <strong>it</strong> just means<br />
Norway. Establ<strong>is</strong>hed about<br />
four decades ago by a<br />
passion<strong>at</strong>e audiophile, <strong>Norge</strong> <strong>Audio</strong>phile<br />
Systems has really come a long way.<br />
W<strong>it</strong>h an impressive h<strong>is</strong>tory of legends<br />
like RD Burman, K<strong>is</strong>hore Kumar and<br />
Mohammed Rafi as <strong>it</strong>s clientele and<br />
proudly holding <strong>it</strong>s ground as one of <strong>the</strong><br />
very few audiophile companies based in<br />
India, <strong>the</strong>y have been c<strong>at</strong>ering to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
own select crust of clients. Until now,<br />
we have reviewed a handful of products<br />
from <strong>Norge</strong> and when we got <strong>the</strong>se two<br />
boxes one Monday morning; we knew<br />
th<strong>at</strong> we could look forward to some<br />
qual<strong>it</strong>y in <strong>the</strong>se boxes.<br />
Out Of The Box<br />
<strong>Norge</strong> has never tried to do anything<br />
fancy w<strong>it</strong>h <strong>the</strong>ir equipment design.<br />
Their amps and speakers have always<br />
maintained minimal<strong>is</strong>t designs — <strong>the</strong>y<br />
just don’t shout for <strong>at</strong>tention. The <strong>Norge</strong><br />
Millennium bookshelf speakers and <strong>the</strong><br />
Reference <strong>2000</strong> amplifier were just <strong>the</strong><br />
same — a very humble set of speakers<br />
and a sturdy amplifier. The vinyl fin<strong>is</strong>h of<br />
<strong>the</strong> speakers lends <strong>the</strong>m a vintage look,<br />
just like those furn<strong>it</strong>ure style radiogram<br />
consoles from <strong>the</strong> sixties. The amplifier<br />
<strong>is</strong> p<strong>it</strong>ch back in colour. It reminded us of<br />
<strong>the</strong> big black box; you put in anything<br />
and <strong>it</strong> will never come back.<br />
Technology<br />
In terms of technology <strong>Norge</strong> has<br />
been doing <strong>it</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir way. They have<br />
Edge Of <strong>Norge</strong><br />
All set to give a tough m<strong>at</strong>ch to all <strong>the</strong> big players, <strong>Norge</strong> slowly but steadily<br />
moves forward as one commendable rival in <strong>the</strong> ring w<strong>it</strong>h <strong>the</strong>ir new <strong>2000</strong><br />
range of speakers and amplifiers.<br />
always made <strong>it</strong> a point to use high<br />
qual<strong>it</strong>y components across <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
products. First <strong>the</strong> speakers: <strong>it</strong> <strong>is</strong> a twoway<br />
bass reflex <strong>system</strong> w<strong>it</strong>h a crossover<br />
frequency of 2kHz. There <strong>is</strong> 1” silk dome<br />
tweeter and 6.5” woofer. The drivers are<br />
made up of dual neodymium magnets<br />
th<strong>at</strong> ensure efficiency and optimal Thiele<br />
parameters (factors <strong>which</strong> define <strong>the</strong><br />
overall performance of <strong>the</strong> speakers, like<br />
<strong>the</strong> volume of <strong>the</strong> cabinet, size of <strong>the</strong><br />
drivers, etc), and simultaneously provide<br />
extremely good magnetic shielding. The<br />
amplifier un<strong>it</strong> has a toroid transformer,<br />
<strong>which</strong> has now become like a trad<strong>it</strong>ion<br />
w<strong>it</strong>h all <strong>the</strong> <strong>Norge</strong> amplifier un<strong>it</strong>s. It<br />
ensures effective rend<strong>it</strong>ion of <strong>the</strong> low<br />
frequencies. The un<strong>it</strong> has tape, CD and<br />
auxiliary as input options w<strong>it</strong>h RCA<br />
jacks. Ne<strong>at</strong> looking tonal controls and<br />
input selection sw<strong>it</strong>ches for DVD, iPod<br />
and auxiliary are provided in <strong>the</strong> front<br />
along w<strong>it</strong>h a headphone out. There <strong>is</strong><br />
a tone defe<strong>at</strong> sw<strong>it</strong>ch, <strong>which</strong> basically<br />
bypasses all <strong>the</strong> tonal controls. So if<br />
you want, you can l<strong>is</strong>ten to <strong>the</strong> mixes<br />
just as <strong>the</strong> mixing engineer made<br />
<strong>it</strong> w<strong>it</strong>h minimum influence of <strong>the</strong><br />
amplifier. The remote <strong>is</strong> optional <strong>at</strong><br />
an extra cost. Let’s see how <strong>the</strong> two<br />
bookshelves sound as <strong>the</strong>y come right<br />
out of <strong>the</strong> factory.<br />
Performance<br />
First, we loaded ‘OVO’ by Peter<br />
Gabriel. It did not take long for us<br />
to real<strong>is</strong>e th<strong>at</strong> th<strong>is</strong> set of speakers<br />
would take some time before <strong>it</strong> could<br />
optim<strong>is</strong>e <strong>it</strong>s performance. But <strong>the</strong><br />
amplifier did give us a glimpse of <strong>it</strong>s<br />
strength. Thus went in a 'Sheffield Test'<br />
CD. Just for your inform<strong>at</strong>ion, <strong>the</strong> test<br />
CD w<strong>it</strong>h all <strong>it</strong>s test signals and burn in<br />
tones <strong>is</strong> quiet a workout for any given<br />
<strong>system</strong>.<br />
Having religiously completed all <strong>the</strong><br />
testing r<strong>it</strong>uals, we played some reference<br />
tracks from <strong>the</strong> test CD <strong>it</strong>self. There <strong>is</strong><br />
a very elabor<strong>at</strong>ely recorded track in <strong>the</strong><br />
CD, <strong>which</strong> really tests any given <strong>system</strong><br />
for each and every detail to <strong>it</strong>s extreme<br />
lim<strong>it</strong>s. It was clearly evident th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> l<strong>it</strong>tle<br />
ones were emerging from <strong>the</strong>ir shell.<br />
The pair sounded much better than<br />
wh<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong>y did in <strong>the</strong> beginning. The bass<br />
was now more pronounced and was<br />
just making <strong>it</strong>s presence felt. However<br />
still <strong>the</strong>re were small traces of gain in<br />
<strong>the</strong> high frequencies. Going fur<strong>the</strong>r, we<br />
played a mono track from <strong>the</strong> test CD.<br />
PECIFICATIONS<br />
Millennium Bookshelf Spkrs<br />
Design: 2-way Bass Reflex | Drivers: 1 x 1” Silk dome Tweeter, 1 x 6.5” woofer | Frequency Response:<br />
30Hz–30 KHz | Crossover Frequency: 2KHz | Sens<strong>it</strong>iv<strong>it</strong>y: 91.5dB @ 2.83 V/ 1m | Power Handling:<br />
100-w<strong>at</strong>ts /channel | Impedance: 4W | Dimensions (H x W x D): 17.2” x 8.11” x 10.55” | Weight: 10kgs each<br />
november 2007 | av max 63
The <strong>2000</strong> <strong>system</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>at</strong> par w<strong>it</strong>h most of <strong>the</strong> better products<br />
<strong>available</strong> out <strong>the</strong>re.<br />
Now <strong>the</strong> point <strong>is</strong> th<strong>at</strong> whenever you play<br />
a mono track, <strong>the</strong> entire sound should<br />
appear to be coming from exactly<br />
<strong>the</strong> centre of <strong>the</strong> two speakers, as if <strong>it</strong><br />
coming from one single point — smaller<br />
<strong>the</strong> point, better <strong>the</strong> performance of <strong>the</strong><br />
speakers in <strong>the</strong> stereo mode. So coming<br />
back to <strong>the</strong> speakers, <strong>the</strong> pair faired well<br />
in th<strong>is</strong> test.<br />
Just to confirm <strong>the</strong> same we played<br />
‘The Binary Universe’ by BT. The<br />
speakers did reproduce all <strong>the</strong> complex<br />
panning and <strong>the</strong> intric<strong>at</strong>e syn<strong>the</strong>s<strong>is</strong> w<strong>it</strong>h<br />
good detail. To check if all <strong>the</strong> burning<br />
in and <strong>the</strong> test tones helped or not,<br />
we played ‘OVO’ again. There was a<br />
considerable difference in <strong>the</strong> way <strong>the</strong><br />
speakers performed and <strong>it</strong> was for good.<br />
Now <strong>the</strong> bass was tight and subtle.<br />
The speakers nicely rendered <strong>the</strong> midfrequency<br />
range, <strong>which</strong> <strong>is</strong> in fact <strong>the</strong><br />
most important factor in any form of<br />
music. Generally, th<strong>is</strong> range defines <strong>the</strong><br />
entire tone of <strong>the</strong> music.<br />
The high frequencies had now<br />
mellowed down a l<strong>it</strong>tle b<strong>it</strong>, though<br />
still not <strong>the</strong> sweetest. Exc<strong>it</strong>ed w<strong>it</strong>h<br />
change in <strong>the</strong> performance we<br />
played a CD by Venetian Snares.<br />
The speakers produced <strong>the</strong> fantastic<br />
orchestr<strong>at</strong>ion and <strong>the</strong> amazing blend of<br />
modern classical and electronic be<strong>at</strong>s<br />
impressively. The speakers had good<br />
d<strong>is</strong>persion and a s<strong>at</strong><strong>is</strong>factory transient<br />
response. Wh<strong>at</strong> makes us say so <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
convincing directiv<strong>it</strong>y shown by<br />
<strong>the</strong> speakers.<br />
W<strong>it</strong>h <strong>the</strong> intention to see how<br />
th<strong>is</strong> <strong>system</strong> would sound in a home<strong>the</strong><strong>at</strong>re<br />
set-up we hooked <strong>it</strong> up to our<br />
DVD player and put in ‘War Of The<br />
Worlds’. Its performance pumped life<br />
into <strong>the</strong> overall experience; <strong>it</strong> almost<br />
rained thunder and lightning. The low<br />
frequency rumbles of <strong>the</strong> blasts and<br />
<strong>the</strong> sharp and cr<strong>is</strong>p lightning w<strong>it</strong>h <strong>the</strong><br />
gunshots were effectively rendered. As<br />
we tried a number of CDs, <strong>the</strong> speakers<br />
were just getting better and better,<br />
CD after CD. Most of <strong>the</strong> good things<br />
generally take time to show <strong>the</strong>ir entire<br />
potential. Th<strong>is</strong> set of speakers and <strong>the</strong><br />
amplifier <strong>is</strong> a perfect example of th<strong>is</strong>.<br />
Conclusion<br />
Any audiophile company, having<br />
been <strong>the</strong>re for long, would have come<br />
out w<strong>it</strong>h a wide range of products, but<br />
<strong>it</strong> <strong>is</strong> not so w<strong>it</strong>h <strong>Norge</strong>. Th<strong>is</strong> company<br />
has come out w<strong>it</strong>h very few products<br />
as such, thus <strong>it</strong> <strong>is</strong> lesser known to <strong>the</strong><br />
masses. However th<strong>is</strong> does not come<br />
in way of <strong>the</strong>ir high-class standards<br />
and high qual<strong>it</strong>y th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong>y offer and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Reference <strong>2000</strong> amplifier and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Millennium <strong>2000</strong> speakers are no<br />
exception to th<strong>at</strong>. The <strong>2000</strong> <strong>system</strong> <strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>at</strong> par w<strong>it</strong>h most of <strong>the</strong> better products<br />
<strong>available</strong> out <strong>the</strong>re. On top of th<strong>at</strong>, <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>price</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>which</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Norge</strong> <strong>2000</strong> <strong>system</strong><br />
<strong>is</strong> <strong>available</strong>, <strong>it</strong> can surely give <strong>it</strong>s bigger<br />
compet<strong>it</strong>ors a run for <strong>the</strong>ir money.<br />
SUMIT BHOSLE<br />
* The <strong>price</strong> <strong>is</strong> inclusive of both <strong>the</strong> products.<br />
PECIFICATIONS<br />
Reference <strong>2000</strong> Amplifier<br />
Power: 100-w<strong>at</strong>ts+ 100-w<strong>at</strong>ts@ 4W| THD: < 0.04 % @ 1KHz | Frequency Response: 10Hz–80KHz (+ 0.5dB) |<br />
S/N R<strong>at</strong>io: 100dB | Damping Factor: NA | Dimensions (H x W x D): 4.5” x 16.9” x 12.99”<br />
64 av max | november 2007