norma

[hifinutt]

Grandinote was another brilliant Italian brand that lost it's main dealer a few years back but soon got another.  Superb amps . The Italians certainly know how to make wonderful amps  

 

[Blodger]

i have also asked a local dealer too . I could have had a 140 on demo in january but sad to say i have gone for moonriver as a demo instead 

That's a difficult choice!  Heard very good things about the Moonriver 404 - though less powerful than the Normas, I imagine that it'd work very well with relatively easy-to-drive speakers, such as Tannoys or maybe Harbeths.  Be interesting to compare with a Norma, and also to hear your thoughts on it eventually.

 

[Blodger]

Further to above, here is Enrico Rossi's reply regarding the UK distributor situation - as always a very prompt and helful reply:

Dear Roger

First of all, I wish you a peaceful 2022


I too was surprised by Antony's disappearance.
He didn't communicate anything to us either.

I am really surprised by this behavior.
I apologize for him.

However, we must look forward and be positive.
I am sure that we will find a solution for NORMA's presence in the UK.

For assistance, in case of problems you can tell the shop where you bought the products to contact us directly. We will give you all the necessary assistance.


Thank you very much for your email and for contacting me.
If you can, reassure the people on the forum.

Thanks so much

BR

Enrico

 

[Mansie]

Good to hear Enrico's reply.

Anthony (Norma's UK distributor) also got back to me today:

I’m no longer the distributor as the company was closed last month.
No new products for three years made the business unsustainable.
 
Thanks for the kind wishes and all the best to you for 2022.

Let's hope this situation will get resolved soon. 

 

[Blodger]

Not sure I buy into the "No new products for three years...." explanation.

This from Alan Sircom's HiFi+ review last September of the Revo 140:

"I can understand why the company flies below the radar, too. Norma has that charming, but ultimately self-defeating habit of hiding its light under a bushel. And the Revo IPA-140 is a perfect example of just why this is the case. The Revo IPA-140 is substantially changed from the model that shares the same name, chassis, 140W power output, very wide bandwidth amplifier design, number of inputs of the model Hi-Fi+ tested in Issue 104. Other companies would have bleated on about these revisions, possibly rebranding this as a new model, calling it the ‘Mk IIxe’ or ‘Special Edition’ or ‘GTi version’ in the process. Other companies would have maybe changed the front panel or gone with some other cosmetic change to herald the developments under the skin. Norma doesn’t do that because the company and its head honcho Enrico Rossi despise the notion of obsolescence, planned or otherwise. Meaning that if you bought a Revo IPA-140 five years ago, your product isn’t valueless… and you still get a really good sounding amplifier, even if newer Revo IPA-140s sound even better."

 

[hifinutt]

That's a difficult choice!  Heard very good things about the Moonriver 404 - though less powerful than the Normas, I imagine that it'd work very well with relatively easy-to-drive speakers, such as Tannoys or maybe Harbeths.  Be interesting to compare with a Norma, and also to hear your thoughts on it eventually.

Thanks blodger , yes the moonriver will be used with 93db sensitive impulse speakers so we shall see . 

 

[Niclas]

Good morning,

Has anyone been able to compare Norma Revo70/140 with Audio Note P1/P2 signature or OTO/SORO signature?

 

[hifinutt]

 i think marko sold his p1 signature in the past and bought the norma if thats anything to go by . he will be along soon 

 

[marko]

The AN P1SE Sig has some great attributes, though I find the IPA70 more ‘even handed’, especially with regards to ‘top end’ presentation. Sure others would hear things differently ‘Top end’ is the area in witch many amps fail to impress imho. Not The IPA70 though! 
It’s down to personal preference at the end of the day, nothing more. Both lovely amps. 

 

[hifinutt]

anyone wants to try a ipa 170 ... ? some cracking deals . rick appears to have an ex demo one at 2599! 

Clearance/Special Offers List - Norma Audio Revo IPA-70 Integrated Amplifier in Premium Black finish with Phono Stage and USB DAC RRP £4610_____Now £2599

 

[Mansie]

anyone wants to try a ipa 70 ... ? some cracking deals . rick appears to have an ex demo one at 2599! 

Clearance/Special Offers List - Norma Audio Revo IPA-70 Integrated Amplifier in Premium Black finish with Phono Stage and USB DAC RRP £4610_____Now £2599

This is a cracking deal, wow!

 

[hifinutt]

moonriver arrived today , would not mind comparing to the norma amp 

 

[Blodger]

moonriver arrived today , would not mind comparing to the norma amp 

Hope you can - it'd be interesting to hear your views! 

 

[hifinutt]

thanks . its great fun comparing amps and anything Marko likes always goes on the bucket list !! if I had a spare 3.5k i would be driving to collect his audionote speakers that are coming up for sale . lovely looking things !     

 

[Mansie]

Has anyone heard the Norma Revo DS-1, a CD player and DAC which accepts various digital inputs? It did get various good reviews...

 

[Musicraft]

anyone wants to try a ipa 170 ... ? some cracking deals . rick appears to have an ex demo one at 2599! 

Clearance/Special Offers List - Norma Audio Revo IPA-70 Integrated Amplifier in Premium Black finish with Phono Stage and USB DAC RRP £4610_____Now £2599

Thanks Phil. 

Btw, we also have the Revo IPA-140 Integrated Amplifier on offer in Premium Black finish with Phono Stage and USB DAC RRP £7550_____Now £4199

I feel the Revo IPA-140 offers even better VFM because in addition to the optional Premium Black finish and optional USB DAC the Revo-140 also has the optional phono stage and the overall price of the Revo IPA-140 is less than the RRP of the Revo IPA-70 (RRP £4610) 

 

[Flachead]

Hi, I have an IPA 70 and enjoy it immensely having bought it on spec during the first lockdown based on the multitude of reviews that all described the sound I knew I was looking for. I have never been disappointed.

But now I have the upgrade bug and the 140 is tempting me with some interesting deals. Has anyone compared the 70 and 140 to be able to summarise what improvements I could expect from the 140?

thanks

 

[Blodger]

Hi, I have an IPA 70 and enjoy it immensely having bought it on spec during the first lockdown based on the multitude of reviews that all described the sound I knew I was looking for. I have never been disappointed.

But now I have the upgrade bug and the 140 is tempting me with some interesting deals. Has anyone compared the 70 and 140 to be able to summarise what improvements I could expect from the 140?

thanks

I haven’t been able to compare them directly, but when I inquired about the difference between the 70 and 140 with Enrico Rossi at Norma, his reply was that they are both exceptional amps but the 140 gives more of everything.  When I talked to dealers, their view was that the 70 is extremely good, and the 140 would be better if you have hard to drive or somewhat inefficient speakers.  I use the 140 with Dynaudios and previously with Harbeths - it was/is very good with both.

 

[Flachead]

Thanks for replying. I’ve heard the ‘more of everything’ description before which I suspect will be the case but of course is hard to quantify. I’m using Marten Duke 2 speakers which I don’t believe are difficult to drive and my listening room is quite small, which may mean it’ll be difficult to fully appreciate any differences.

On the other hand, the Marten’s are hugely revealing and just about any other change I make, be it a cable, digital filter or isolation, I have heard noticeable and beneficial benefits.

it’s no doubt the old rule of diminishing returns but it might be an itch I have to scratch…

 

[Niclas]

I have had the chance to compare them. I loved the 70 but knew that the speakers I had back then (P3ESRs) love more power, and they indeed evolved with the 140. Especially the low end, it became more defined, thick and extended. Surprisingly I found that the 140 gave a more controlled sound overall, the 70 sounded more like a bit wilder younger brother.