Norge Concerto Gold 1000 & Monitor Audio RS6 Speakers

Norseman

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I moved to Bangalore from the U.S. with a simple and decent amplifier and Monitor Audio RS6 towers. Within three months, a power surge took out my amp and put me in the market for a replacement.

However, the search was not easy. SP Road was not the answer and most electronics stores in Bangalore carried a limited selection of mass-produced, overpriced and unnecessary receivers. I didnt want a radio and didnt need AV hook-ups. I have more than 3,000 albums and just wanted a clean amp with sufficient power. Given my initial experience, I wasnt sure how much of an investment I wanted to make on my replacement, coupled with the fact that I may only need it for a couple years.

Fortunately, I found this forum and learned that I had some options. Being of Norwegian descent, the brand Norge caught my eye. I quickly learned that it wasnt an import. Rather, it was named by Shyam Bajaj as a reminder of his early, formative experience working for Tandberg.

Reading the reviews and comments on the Norge Concerto Gold 1000 and the Reference 2000, I went with the former. The price was the right hook and I bit. I placed my order and made my way to the local retailer to pick it up. I liked the black old-school look to the amp. But, as they say (at least in my country), the proof is in the pudding. For the next three days, I ran the Norge continuously to burn in the amp and withheld my judgment. On day four, I sat down with an eclectic mix (Amos Lee, Ben Harper, Bill Evans, Calexico, Diana Krall, Kings of Leon, Mark Knoffler, Radiohead and a mix of latin music).

My early experience was mixed. The bass and mid-range sounded really good. In particular, Scott Lafaros bass on the Bill Evans tracks sounded sweet. However, the high-end vocals and instruments sounded shrill. It wasnt until a friend with more discerning ears than mine put his ears to one of my speakers then popped off the grill. As it turned out one of my tweeters was punched in and was stuck on the magnet of the woofer. Once the damaged tweeter was put back in place, the Norge did not disappoint.

While rough handling caused the damaged tweeter, the good people of Monitor Audio shipped me a replacement at no charge. (They are a class act! Please check them out if you are in the market.) Now with the new tweeter installed, the Norge Concerto Gold 1000 shined. It had plenty of power to drive my tower speakers without cranking the amp beyond of full power. At 1/2 volume my ears bleed. Someone on this forum asked whether the amp had a buzz or hum. At full power, the Norge 1000 was dead quiet. (Just don't forget this an start a CD!)

If you live in Bangalore and you want to demo a Norge amp, you will be disappointed by the local retailer who doesnt do justice to its products or its customers. So you may just have to take me and others at our word that this is a good buy for the money. Not perfect but, pretty darn good! You can count me as a satisfied customer.
 
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Hi:

Welcome. First time am hearing the RS6 pitted with the Norge amp, generally the 6s are matched with European or American amps, great you're happy with it. How's the amp in general, are they on brighter side or warm/laid back ?

:)
 
In the US my RS6 were pared with a Pioneer Elite. I wasn't going for the tube-like, warm but, pleasant distortion. That is why I opted for the 1000 over the 2000 (however, have never heard the 2000 so I don't really know).

The 1000 sounds slightly to the bright side.
 
In the US my RS6 were pared with a Pioneer Elite. I wasn't going for the tube-like, warm but, pleasant distortion. That is why I opted for the 1000 over the 2000 (however, have never heard the 2000 so I don't really know).

The 1000 sounds slightly to the bright side.

Good to hear your listening impressions. What source do you use?
 
@norseman,wow,finally someone with a pairing as u have!!bellissima!!!!i have always thought very highly of the norge at their price point,ur opinion says a lot about the amps.me thinks the 2000 mosfet might have been a better match tho in ur case.that aside,dont u feel tho that a speaker such as the rs6 deserves a lot more juice :eek:hyeah:??still,congrats on a great pairing.ur source??cheers
 
@norseman,wow,finally someone with a pairing as u have!!bellissima!!!!i have always thought very highly of the norge at their price point,ur opinion says a lot about the amps.me thinks the 2000 mosfet might have been a better match tho in ur case.that aside,dont u feel tho that a speaker such as the rs6 deserves a lot more juice :eek:hyeah:??still,congrats on a great pairing.ur source??cheers

more juice is always good
 
Hello all,

I just joined this forum. Greetings to all of you.

I normally listen to my music using a pair of Behringer Truth 2031A active monitors...! I like it flat most of the times :) But I am thinking of having a proper Hi Fi set up, sometime very soon, and not an "analytical" sound source, for my living room.

So a question for Mr. Norseman:


When you say

"At full power, the Norge 1000 was dead quiet. (Just don't forget this an start a CD!)..."

do you mean that the volume control is turned all the way up, the source is not playing, and :

1) there is minimal hiss from the HF driver and
2) No typical "ground loop" buzz or "lack of shielding" 50Hz hum from the woofer?

I am thinking of buying the 1000. And one more thing, how is the channel seperation?

Thanks.
 
I would be very keen to know the results of a side by side comparision of a Norge 2060/1000 against imported amps like CA and Marantz in the 20-30 K range.

What i have read in audio magazines is that Norge's perform close to imported amps priced 3-4 times its own. But I am yet to hear the same from experts in this forum.
 
Infact, it would make sense to perform comparisons of not only Indian Amps, but Indian Speakers too with the Imported Maal :D
Very anxious to hear from the experts conducting such comparisons :rolleyes:
 
I would be very keen to know the results of a side by side comparision of a Norge 2060/1000 against imported amps like CA and Marantz in the 20-30 K range.

What i have read in audio magazines is that Norge's perform close to imported amps priced 3-4 times its own. But I am yet to hear the same from experts in this forum.

Sir,
I auditioned norge 1000 , yamaha entry level int.amps , rotel, marantz both high and low end on Diamond 10.2 , B&W on same day on Rotel C.D.player on few selected C.Ds. I am unable to recollect their S.No. Switched from one amp to another on quick succession .
Norge and Yamaha had very good base , and mids . SQ of both is more or less
same. Then shifted to Rotel ,Marantz low and high end amps . Definitely even people who have no taste to music will jump in surprise to note a total difference in the SQ of these amps had in their handling of high and mids with balanced lows in comparison to Norge and Yamaha. Though the Marantz high end amp is costing 1.4 lakh in comparison to rotel 65k I observed a marked finesse in Rotel SQ. Probably this may be due to the rotel C.D.Player which had paired well with the amp.

Regards
 
I would be very keen to know the results of a side by side comparision of a Norge 2060/1000 against imported amps like CA and Marantz in the 20-30 K range.

What i have read in audio magazines is that Norge's perform close to imported amps priced 3-4 times its own. But I am yet to hear the same from experts in this forum.

Hi,
I had auditioned Norge-1000 (@10k approx) and Denon PMA500? (@17k approx). a philips cdp and Wharfedale 9.2 were attached to both. I didn't find any significant difference in SQ. I was specifically expecting that Denon would showup more details /clarity/ separation in instruments within the song, however it sounded just as good as Norge-1000.

Regds,
 
thanks everyone for their views, but sonosphere, because you are actually using a Norge 1K, could you please let me know about the residual hum and noise from the speakers with the Norge 1000..? I mean when the source is not playing and the volume control turned way up, can you hear anything significant from the woofers and speakers? I hope i could be lucid enough.
 
Hi,
Tried it yesterday. There was no residual hum and noise even when the volume was all the way up to 100%. I had not tried this before, and was actually surprised to see such noise-free output in a low cost amp.
Regds,

thanks everyone for their views, but sonosphere, because you are actually using a Norge 1K, could you please let me know about the residual hum and noise from the speakers with the Norge 1000..? I mean when the source is not playing and the volume control turned way up, can you hear anything significant from the woofers and speakers? I hope i could be lucid enough.
 
thanks everyone for their views, but sonosphere, because you are actually using a Norge 1K, could you please let me know about the residual hum and noise from the speakers with the Norge 1000..? I mean when the source is not playing and the volume control turned way up, can you hear anything significant from the woofers and speakers? I hope i could be lucid enough.

I am using Norge 1000 + 9.2 Diamond. No hum and noise when source is not playing. But I did it with 75% volume, will try it with full volume and post it:)
 
Thanks to all...I am finally going to buy the Norge 1000 and a pair of Wharfe 9.2. I got a quote (mrp) of wharfe at 17k and the amp at 11k5 from someone in delhi. Are these right prices?
 
Thanks to all...I am finally going to buy the Norge 1000 and a pair of Wharfe 9.2. I got a quote (mrp) of wharfe at 17k and the amp at 11k5 from someone in delhi. Are these right prices?
Absolutely not!
You can get the 9.2s with some bargaining in 14k in Mumbai.
In 17k, you can venture into Wharfy 10 series speakers (10.1 ~15k and 10.2 ~17k)
Norge 1000 really rocks!! I have auditioned it in Mr. Bajaj's workshop in Mumbai. It was paired with Norge BS and then the towers. The BS sound was really detailed for such a price point (8k) but the floor really rocked with the towers (little expensive at 20k). Unfortunately, the Norge millenium speakers were not there at the workshop at that time. Please give the Norge speakers also an audition, preferably at the Norge workshop in Mumbai (Mr Bajaj is an absolute gentleman). You can save some bucks in the speaker which you can invest in the cables.:clapping::thumbsup:
 
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Thanks to all...I am finally going to buy the Norge 1000 and a pair of Wharfe 9.2. I got a quote (mrp) of wharfe at 17k and the amp at 11k5 from someone in delhi. Are these right prices?

plz check with Danney in Bass & Treble @9999016124
he has norge and Wharf both.
 
Wharfe 9.2 at 17k is nonsense. Max you should pay is 15k. If lucky you may even get at 13.5k from a dealer who needs to clear stock.

Thanks to all...I am finally going to buy the Norge 1000 and a pair of Wharfe 9.2. I got a quote (mrp) of wharfe at 17k and the amp at 11k5 from someone in delhi. Are these right prices?
 
Thanks to all...I am finally going to buy the Norge 1000 and a pair of Wharfe 9.2. I got a quote (mrp) of wharfe at 17k and the amp at 11k5 from someone in delhi. Are these right prices?

Sir,
I think he is trying to take you for a ride . The prices at Hderabad on bargain
Norge = 9.5K , 9.2 = 13.5K.

Regards
 
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