Hot Scoop ! Norge Pre-Power Exclusive 1st Look & Review

[trittya]

NICE, very Nice, indeed. That combo is a typical no-nonsense-but-only-great-sound kind of "Sam Bajaj-esque" creation. Hats off to the gentleman. May he be "Forever Young" as Bob Dylan sang. This is for you, (our very own) Uncle Sam.

Bob Dylan - Forever young (with lyrics on screen) - YouTube


Great effort there, Denom, thanks a lot.

For those of you who did not know, Mr Bajaj was making valve amplifiers when many (read MOST) of us had not even been born yet. It appears that Mr Bakhshi of Lyrita is going to have some competition soon. Thats great news for the end-user budget audiophile, isn't it?

In addition, I would like to make mention of a snazzy looking high-end kind of vintage amp made by Mr Bajaj in the not so distant past. Our very own FM, Capt Ashok aka Ashok hi-fi owns the same. I forget the model No, I think its the 2020 professional series by Norge.

Sir, May I request you to share some details and pictures if possible.

Regards

 

[cifrancis]

Sachin, this beats the pants of the 1000. Call it co-incidence or luck or both, after I finished listening to the pre-power combo, 2 gentlemen came for a demo of the 1000. I was initially not paying attention to the demo going on since I was interacting with Mr. Bajaj in his adjoining partitioned cabin/workbench but after a while started listening to the tracks these gentlemen were listening to attentively. They played a lot of Dire straits tracks, some eagles, an AR Rehman Track (dunno the name but it has lots of intricate musical arrangements + effects & is quite popular in the demo cycle at most places)

To be honest after listening to the pre-power combo, the music being played with the 1000 was sounding quite lifeless & dull. The same conclusion was being arrived at by 1 of the gentlemen having the demo & he asked me for my views. I told him to listen to the pre-power combo. He played Dire Straits - money for nothing track first on the 1000 & then immediately on the pre-power combo & after doing so was smiling a lot. I instantly felt happy that I was not the only one having similar views on the 1000 & started interacting more with this gentleman. After a couple of exchanges of views & our names, was pleasantly surprised to learn that this person was also a fellow member of HFV & his name is cfrancis who had come from delhi to have a demo & meet Mr. Bajaj

Forgot to add that the 1000 being demo'ed was already purchased by another gentleman who had just come over to pick it up & the poor chap had to wait till the other 2 had their fill of the demo so that it could be packed & he could take it away :lol:

Hi its me C.I Francis we met at Norge you remember. Personally i liked 2060 better than 1000 because 2060 had tighter bass and has well balanced sound. As far as pre-amp and power amp are concerned if listen to it you will be blown off your feet. Its superb and i think in future these will be the best sellers for norge. The sound had so much depth and the bass was tight and treble was also well balanced. Be in tough Denom please let me know about the latest from Norge regarding pre amp and power amp i am back in Delhi. One more question to ask will be good to pair it with TSI 300 floor standers

 

[shiva07]

Dear Denon and Others,

I am new to this forum and need your advice. I am planning to buy a turntable and add a stereo amp and speakers. I will be mainly listening to tamil and hindi songs and little bit of english. I need a system that can deliver a deep and rich bass along with a good treble as well. Appreciate if you guys help me with the answers for the following questions.

1) is the philips 242 (used) a good source for a turntable or should I look at a new Denon turntable DP300F for eg for a superior input quality?

2) Should I go for a seperate pre amp and power amp for getting the best sound quality (rich bass and treble) or will an integrated power amp be sufficient for the same experience of listening?

3) Should I go for a valve amp or a transistor amp to get a rich bass and treble?

4)Is the norge pre and power combination a good choice for my requirement? Can I adjust the bass and treble in this? If so, for a 14 by 12 room size, which amps and speakers should I choose fron Norge? Will a JBL or someother imported speaker sound better with a Norge amp?

5) Does the Denon or marantz brands offer any significant sound quality as compared to Norge assuming other things like power etc being equal (cost is not though:lol

Sorry folks..thats lots of queries but appreciate an answer from you..Need to take a decision to buy now..my budget is around 50 k for the amp and speaker..will be great if that 50 k can include the turntable as well...

 

[trittya]

1) is the philips 242 (used) a good source for a turntable or should I look at a new Denon turntable DP300F for eg for a superior input quality?

Depending on the number of LPs that you have or intend to possess, I suggest you give your Philips TT a full service/overhaul and try that. If you don't like the sound, revert back to the forum again by commencing a thread.

2) Should I go for a seperate pre amp and power amp for getting the best sound quality (rich bass and treble) or will an integrated power amp be sufficient for the same experience of listening?

You will definitely get better overall sound with a separate pre-power combo as compared to an equivalent integrated amp.

3) Should I go for a valve amp or a transistor amp to get a rich bass and treble?

Transistor amp, no doubt. I have nothing against valve amps but I dont think a valve amp would be appropriate for your listening preferences, more so without spending a whole lot of EXTRA money.

4)Is the norge pre and power combination a good choice for my requirement? Can I adjust the bass and treble in this? If so, for a 14 by 12 room size, which amps and speakers should I choose fron Norge? Will a JBL or someother imported speaker sound better with a Norge amp?

Any Norge amp is a very good choice for the price. The bass and treble controls are in the pre-amplifier section, so adjusting bass and treble is well catered for. I suggest you start a separate thread for matching speakers but going in for matching speakers by Norge should pay rich dividends, too. Try not to go in for rear ported speakers unless you can give them at least 18" of breathing space at the rear. Also, avoid budget floorstanders or tower speakers, they look terrific as a piece of furniture but I would rather go in for a pair of good bookshelf speakers and aa active subwoofer to augment the bass.

5) Does the Denon or marantz brands offer any significant sound quality as compared to Norge assuming other things like power etc being equal (cost is not though:lol

IMHO, No imported integrated budget amp less than 25-30k offers the kind of SQ that Norge integrated amps do. I have not heard the Norge pre-power combo but I do have reason to believe that with it, things can only get better. An equivalent imported pre-power combo would be about twice the amount of a Norge with no significant gains in SQ. Plus, lately, there have been lots of complaints about the reliability of imported budget amps in Indian electricity conditions, something which has been well looked after in the Norge designs.

Just my two phooti kaudis, mate.
Hope it helps.

 

[denom]

Hi its me C.I Francis we met at Norge you remember. Personally i liked 2060 better than 1000 because 2060 had tighter bass and has well balanced sound. As far as pre-amp and power amp are concerned if listen to it you will be blown off your feet. Its superb and i think in future these will be the best sellers for norge. The sound had so much depth and the bass was tight and treble was also well balanced. Be in tough Denom please let me know about the latest from Norge regarding pre amp and power amp i am back in Delhi. One more question to ask will be good to pair it with TSI 300 floor standers

Hi Francis, sorry for replying late, I will keep you posted on latest developments @ Norge

As for Tsi300, no clue as have not heard these. But no harm in trying the pairing at a dealer

 

[denom]

Depending on the number of LPs that you have or intend to possess, I suggest you give your Philips TT a full service/overhaul and try that. If you don't like the sound, revert back to the forum again by commencing a thread.




You will definitely get better overall sound with a separate pre-power combo as compared to an equivalent integrated amp.



Transistor amp, no doubt. I have nothing against valve amps but I dont think a valve amp would be appropriate for your listening preferences, more so without spending a whole lot of EXTRA money.



Any Norge amp is a very good choice for the price. The bass and treble controls are in the pre-amplifier section, so adjusting bass and treble is well catered for. I suggest you start a separate thread for matching speakers but going in for matching speakers by Norge should pay rich dividends, too. Try not to go in for rear ported speakers unless you can give them at least 18" of breathing space at the rear. Also, avoid budget floorstanders or tower speakers, they look terrific as a piece of furniture but I would rather go in for a pair of good bookshelf speakers and aa active subwoofer to augment the bass.



IMHO, No imported integrated budget amp less than 25-30k offers the kind of SQ that Norge integrated amps do. I have not heard the Norge pre-power combo but I do have reason to believe that with it, things can only get better. An equivalent imported pre-power combo would be about twice the amount of a Norge with no significant gains in SQ. Plus, lately, there have been lots of complaints about the reliability of imported budget amps in Indian electricity conditions, something which has been well looked after in the Norge designs.

Just my two phooti kaudis, mate.
Hope it helps.

Hi Shiva,

Trittya has covered all your queries. To add further to that, Suggest you have a couple of demo's of whatever amps/speakers are available in & around your hometown to get an idea of what you like & what do don't. That way you will be able to look for & buy exactly what suits your taste & most importantly budget. Yes, Norge is truly VFM & a good start which will keep you satisfied & enjoy your music
For TT's there are plenty of threads already in the forum started by fellow members with similar requirements as yours, suggest you search them & learn from others experiences, we have quite a few TT specialists in our forum

 

[spirovious]

Can they ever make 5ch amp?

 

[denom]

Can they ever make 5ch amp?

Why not have a word with Mr. Bajaj

 

[Sean de Silva]

Personally i liked 2060 better than 1000 because 2060 had tighter bass and has well balanced sound.

+1 to that! Probably a design characteristic of most of the amps offered by Norge . I've had a demo of the entire range till date and imho the 'tone defeat' invariably becomes very obvious i.e. all amps offer clean tight undistorted bass even post 12 o'clock but "dull laidback" treble. I've had to crank the treble to +1 or 2 to get a pleasant overall balance for most genres from pop to r & b to gospel to jazz to slow rock and techno.

just my 2 cents.

 

[Sean de Silva]

I recently took my Akai AM-U02 to Eastern Electronics to use it as a pre-amp with the new Norge power amp. We played a few english tracks and boy.....the synergy of this combo was mind-blowing. the crisp clear, warm treble , Tight bass and tremendous punch! ..all this with the akai volume slider at max and me shivering that the transistors would go POP and i'd smell toast lol , the tiny demo room was thundering with the undistorted monstrous sound being put out by those norge 4 ohm towers . i'm totally impressed by the new norge power amp. I am seriously considering buying it and I would recommend this VFM power amp to any audiophile who wishes to go beyond the 'integrated' experience and move on to a pre-power combo !
Hats off to Mr. Bajaj for bringing out yet another masterpiece.

 

[jaudere]

I am ordering the preamplifier today. Mr. Bajaj has sent me some picture of the pre andpower amp. The appearance is great. Both have same dimensions now and matching front fascia. The main power switch is much less prominent now. Will try to post pics if posssible. I wil be pairing it with a power amp that I will be getting soon from a forum member.

 

[aashish351]

jaudere... please share the pictures!

 

[jaudere]

Here are some pictures

 

[Sean de Silva]

That prototype power switch was a green eyed monster! lol

this is a radical improvement! :clapping:

 

[spirovious]

I am ordering the preamplifier today. Mr. Bajaj has sent me some picture of the pre andpower amp. The appearance is great. Both have same dimensions now and matching front fascia. The main power switch is much less prominent now. Will try to post pics if posssible. I wil be pairing it with a power amp that I will be getting soon from a forum member.

I think preamp is derivative of 1000 amp.

 

[aashish351]

how are the pre and power priced separately??

 

[jaudere]

The combination was quoted at 22k and preamp alone for 5k. I didn't ask the price for power amp separately. Rs 1.5k extra for remote. Shipping charges separate.

 

[spirovious]

I listened to this combo & found sound was very warm with less treble paired with Norge towers.Some other FM did agree same time.

 

[spirovious]

The combination was quoted at 22k and preamp alone for 5k. I didn't ask the price for power amp separately. Rs 1.5k extra for remote. Shipping charges separate.

Around 15k at the time of launch,now must be 18k,need to confirm.

 

[elangoas]

Any idea on what is the Maximum power consumption of Power Amplifier ?