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REVIEW: nOrh Le Amp Monoblock Amplifier (SS)

65.201.189.61


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Model: Le Amp Monoblock
Category: Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price: $495 per pair
Description: 100 w monoblocks
Manufacturer URL: nOrh
Manufacturer URL: nOrh

Review by Father on October 01, 2001 at 07:45:56
IP Address: 65.201.189.61
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for the Le Amp Monoblock


Well I had a party all weekend with Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk, John Coletrane, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison, Steve Laury, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Parker, Dave Mathews Band, Steely Dan and many others ... and I must say each sounded as if I've never heard them before ... all for the better.

The quality of the amp is very professional looking and solid. First glance, one can tell a lot time and effort went into the construction. The aluminum plate and case fit well together and the back panel is very simple. The on/off switch it very tight and solid. The green lamp is nice but a little bright IMO. Especially if you have the lights turned off. The size of the amp with its slender body makes it simple to place, at least in my set up.

I left the amps on all weekend and to my amazement the amps never got warm. My cable box was hotter. Actually I wondered if they were even on. If it wasn't for the green lamp, I couldn't tell. There is no hiss or hum even when I turned up the volume to maximum when the CD was on pause.

I have to admit I don't have any exp. in auditioning other amps but IMS (in my system) I feel the Le Amps have made the best improvement to date. I've been tuning/building this system for a year now. I'm using my Denon 3801 as a pre-amp and listening in Direct Mode. Soon I'll be using nOrh's ACA as the pre-amp.

The biggest improvement IMS was the bass. With each improvement to my system, the need for a subwoofer was less and less. Now with the addition of the Le Amps, I barely have to have them on. The Le Amps brought life to the bass that was always there, but the Denon could not access it so I had to have the subs turned up more, which can make the bass a little messy. With the Le Amps, the bass is tight and now with the subs turned up just ever so slightly, I think I have reached audio heaven.

The other major improvement was sound stage. The sound stage grew dramatically! The sound suddenly filled the room. You could see where the musicians were on the "stage". Where as before they were a little mixed.

The highs and mids seemed to soften a bit and became more natural and surrounding .... more pleasing IMO then with only the Denon 3801. During a drum solo I could see the complete drum set with the drummer turning and hitting each drum. I could imagine where the toms, the snare, top hats were ... it was impressive. I know there are lots of amps that can perform like I mentioned, BUT not at $195 or even $295 list!

Most the differences I noticed were for music. But let me tell you what it did for HT. MY GOD! Gladiator .... was unbelievable. I didn't think I would hear a difference but every sound was more defined, the bass was exact. Every movie I tested had more authority, even the Dolby Digital cable connection movies sounded as if they were DVD's. So I'll keep this short the HT improvement made my jaw drop ..... just amazing.

So all in all I would have to say these Le Amps are a tremendous value. Honestly I can't find anything wrong with this amp ... well maybe the green lamp is too bright. At $295 MSRP ($500 for a pair) you just can't beat it and they put the rest of the audio manufacturers to shame. The intro price was well ... lets see...... a steal! Was this legal!

My system consisted of:

Denon 3801 for pre-amp
Denon DCM-370 HDCD CD player
2 Le Amps
nOrh Marble 7.0's
Supra 3/4s ply speaker cable
Audioquest Coral IC's from amp to pre-amp,
Elco DC-32 Solid Silver cable from source to pre-amp.

The above reveiw was with the Denon 3801 reciever used as the pre-amp. Currently I now have the nOrh ACA ... which dramatically improved the sound. The Le -Amps and the ACA match very well together.


Product Weakness: can't audition before you buy. Possibly more power, but for my case, that is not needed.
Product Strengths: value, bass, soundstage, tube like smoothness


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: nOrh Le amp
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Denon 3801 and or nOrh ACA
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Denon DCM 370 HDCD
Speakers: nOrh Marble 7.0s
Cables/Interconnects: AQ Corals and Elco pure Silver
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Jazz, rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 18 x 20 x Vaulted
Room Comments/Treatments: Foam
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): APC UPS
Type of Audition/Review: Home Audition




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Topic - REVIEW: nOrh Le Amp Monoblock Amplifier (SS) - Father 07:45:56 10/1/01 ( 14)