Norsk Audio speakers /RRR/Radiotehnika/ model Baltic 90, is it worth it?

Question

As the title says, guys... I have never heard anything in my life that would bear the hallmarks of the USSR or Latvia. Maybe someone will help me and tell me they heard them. But from the beginning. Maybe I will own these speakers in the near future. From what I read online, they play hard....

najt · Answer

Well, I don`t believe that no one heard it... I don`t believe it, because I know that these speakers were sold under this brand in Poland. Old guard! Where are you?

najt · Answer

I took a risk, they will be there today. Of course, I will write photos and impressions. From what I found out, the hole at the back sucks in air rather than lets it out, which is good in my case.

I will post my opinion soon, but I have little hope that someone will respond and describe their impressions.

Added after 1 [hour] 40 [minutes]:

And they are.

The speakers deserve a really high rating. I have never heard such a scene in my life, I never would have thought that it would sound so poorly spaced in this room. You can literally feel the stereo. The treble screams a bit, but it needs to be controlled (potentiometers on the back are hard to move, metal...)

I was afraid of this "massive" bass. In vain, because the woofer does not transmit even an ounce of "vocal band". It is there where and when you need it. Even on good Polish crossovers, the Mildtons were vocally jarring in the low tones, and this was starting to bother me... the mud in the band could be heard. Here, it`s not there. They can hit and they can surprise, but the control is at a very high level, there is not an ounce of rumble effect.

Poor efficiency. I was afraid of this too, in vain, because they play beautifully quietly, cultured and controlled.

No diameter. God, how wrong I was. There is a lot of it and it is of a high standard.

In short, the guitar has never sounded like this in this room, I`m actually getting to know music all over again. I gave up on the Mildtons, I shed a tear, but it was out of sentiment.

In general, the sound of the speakers is amazing, no "reflections", no strange noises, clean, decent sound with incredible control of low tones (and their quality...) plus a stage sound. Speakers worth recommending, destroying the competition of well-known brands, this is probably what I was looking for...

No, I emphasize no, Polish loudspeakers sounded like this. Like these.

I`ll post some photos once I clean them and see the crossover. I`m tempted like hell.

To summarize in one sentence:

The first speakers I respect...

Excalibue · Answer

I`ve heard radio engineering and they are not good speakers.
There is a lot of bass, but unfortunately the quality is terrible - like from cheap subwoofers, it flows terribly, there is a long silence period...
The treble midrange is also nothing interesting. No resolution, no shine, no life. Very dark columns in these registers.
I have unpleasant memories of them.

najt · Answer

You`re one hundred percent right. Radio technology has no life in itself.

Except that it`s Norsk Audio, the crossovers are of a completely different quality, the workmanship is of a completely different quality. The sound, also of a different quality.

Added after 9 [minutes]:

At least from what I`ve read. Radiotehnika sounds completely different than Norsk audio. They tried very hard, there is a difference in every element. The Norsks are much better built, with a more compact, clean sound, a lossy hole in a labyrinth-type construction (it doesn`t actually let air out, it sucks it in more, it doesn`t function as an additional loudspeaker). In addition, there is a very complicated crossover with very good cuts, everything is in its place...

There are a lot of positive differences, otherwise Mildton would still be playing here... :)

Added after 3 [hours] 9 [minutes]:

However, the devil is in the details, I took them apart and took photos. The dimensions of the crossover are 30 cm wide and 15 cm high, unfortunately its photo is broken and it does not want to be displayed.

The loss hole is "covered" with a sponge and there is a kind of spiral in it, but unfortunately there is no good access to it.

Another interesting thing is that the copper coils in the crossover are the size of a clenched fist.

And the woofer, it has three magnets, the weight with three is over 7 kg. The cables are not soldered, they are plugs, so I took them out and checked them.

I would take a photo of this crossover again, but disassembling the bass ones is hard work...

Pain · Answer

After reading, I have the impression that the best summary would be every magpie praises its tail. Similar superlatives about the sound could be read in another topic, with the difference that they concerned the mentioned Mildtons, so I would approach the objectivity of this review with considerable distance. One day of listening is probably not enough for such a bold statement. My friend claims that the Norsk Audio Baltic 90 are better than the Radiotehnik S-90B because he has heard and owned the former, and has read about the latter and how they play? I understand that they may have met your taste, but the review should be a guide for other people, and it turns out that these are close to perfect speakers.

najt · Answer

I exchanged them for mildtons and the only condition was that they should play better. They just do it, I didn`t believe that this thing could play like that. I don`t praise them because I have them. I had a lot of speakers and amplifiers, all in acoustically good rooms. I praise them because they are really well built and they play really great. The Mildtons were building a stage here, a stage with good bass, only good. I never wrote that the Miltons don`t have it, or that I disqualify them completely, they are, were and will be a very good set, after some changes it is really excellent equipment, but what these Baltics do is of a higher league. Hence the replacement, otherwise, as I wrote above, the mildtons would still be here. I also said that no Polish loudspeakers sounded like that, and I still say so. At least to my ear and the sets I`ve heard, none compare to these. And I heard a dozen or so well-known, large sets. There are many differences between the S-90B and the Norsk audio Baltic 90. But from the beginning, please look at what Radiotehnika was doing, 90% of high-power floor-standing loudspeaker sets were built with the same drivers. Exactly the three mentioned in my first post. I found a mine of knowledge about these speakers/transducers and about RRR in general, and there are a lot of differences between the S-90 and B90. Workmanship, no cheapness and 8 layers of plywood, plus there is a labyrinth on the top which is not a bass reflex, it does not spit air and does not function as a loudspeaker, I believe that the S-90s have BR at the front, apart from the fact that the S-90 it was the end of the 1970s and they were intended strictly for the USSR, and Norsk Audio was a brand that went to the USA and generally to the West, but still the B90 are the best-made loudspeakers from RRR. Another thing is the crossover, which is completely different, heavy, large and well made. In fact, I haven`t heard the S-90 but that`s what I read about them, that they play hard and only BAS BAS BAS pours out, actually this would agree with the opinion of the guy above. Here, it`s completely different, really. I say, picking my jaw up off the floor. Not that there isn`t any bass, they are just different than the S90, you can see that RRR has made every effort to be exportable. And finally, I am not saying that these are perfect speakers. They are brilliant to my ears, for me and worth buying. If someone hesitates before buying and comes across this topic, they will at least know something and what to expect. Getting them into circulation is like hitting the lottery, although two other brands of this model were released under the name Gold Line (slightly worse built, intended for the Latvian market) and Art Audio / twin Gold Line 90, worse made. I`m leaving out the copy made by Diore, because the workmanship, materials and crossover are laughable in the room.

Norsk Audio speakers /RRR/Radiotehnika/ model Baltic 90, is it worth it?

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