Orbitsound: Classic British Audio Innovation

Posted on Oct 24 2012 - 8:31am by Editorial Staff

The Problem

If you have ever spent hours positioning your speakers and your favourite chair around the room looking for that audio sweet spot; becoming increasingly frustrated as you untangle metres of audio cable, and hooking up the edges of your carpet in an attempt to hide the trail, you will probably have wished for an easier way.

In the search for perfect audio, the speaker or indeed multiple speakers have always been a key ingredient. Home cinema systems feature up to five speakers in a standard setup and the 7.1 system has yes, seven of them. But let’s be honest about this, no matter how sleek the design and how good the quality – they clutter up the room! You can tuck them behind the settee, mount them on the wall but no matter how ingenious you are, they are still something of an inconvenience. Of course the cable issue was solved years ago with wireless technology, but in the search for perfect audio, wireless was never going to be the answer; and you still have the problem of where to put all those speakers.

The Solution

Being the innovative people that we are, wherever we spot a problem, we inevitably search for a solution. In this case enter the Soundbar. The Soundbar replaces all of those speakers and all of that cable, and condenses the technology into one slim unit that is in most cases, less than 20 inches in length and sits unobtrusively at the front of the room. For those of you that worry about how this will affect sound quality, read on for some reassurance.

How it Works

A sound bar is a single audio unit in the form of a slim bar. Usually the bar will house seven discreet speakers inside the unit. It creates virtual surround sound by using various pitch placement and delay algorithms generated by the onboard digital processors to produce the desired audio effect. Soundbars have come in for some criticism in terms of performance but as always, the technology continues to advance.

Orbitsound Soundbars

Orbitsound is the brainchild of world-renowned audio electronics designer Ted Fletcher, The Soundbars use a system that they call spatial stereo technology to push the boundaries in terms of the search for perfect audio from a compact system. Orbitsound Soundbars have effectively redefined the technology and solved the dilemma of how to recreate original-quality audio from a single compact speaker unit.

Whether you require theatre quality surround sound for your home cinema system or near perfect audio quality as a docking device for your iPod, Orbitsound Soundbars deliver near perfect audio for you. The “spatial” effect means that wherever you place yourself in the room, you will experience the same result. They are also infinitely versatile; coming with an iPod docking station as standard, the latest T12v3 model also features a 3.5mm stereo jack plus inputs for the latest digital TVs, CD, MP3/MP4, laptops, desktop computers and games consoles.

Unlike many manufacturers, Orbitsound have incorporated remote control into their Soundbars. The handheld unit puts you in control of the volume, audio source and tone, as well as the menu functions and playback from docked devices such as the iPod or iPhone.

If you are tempted by both the technology and the idea of clearing out the clutter of multiple speakers and metres of cable from your living space and yet still retaining superb audio quality, then a Soundbar could well be the way forward for you

About the Author

Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.