CES: T12 iPod Speaker Sounds So Good, Company Refuses To Demo It

Orbitsound's T12 Stereo Soundbar sounds so good, the company refuses to demo it on the show floor. "It just won't do it justice," said a spokesman.

LAS VEGAS — Orbitsound claims its T12 Soundbar sounds so good, they refused to demo it on the show floor.

“It just won’t do it justice,” said Ted Fletcher, founder of Orbitsound, which is based in London.

“It’ll revolutionize the way you listen to music,” he added.

Six speakers reproduce the music in mono, while a pair of speakers on either end reproduce spatial sound.

Instead, Orbitsound has set up a soundproof room on the CES show floor where listeners can go to enjoy the T12’s airSOUND technology, which delivers true spatial stereo sound without stereo speakers, according to Fletcher.

“Unlike traditional stereo speakers, there is no sweet spot,” Fletcher said. “Everywhere is the sweet spot. It’s the same stereo image wherever you go in the room.”

Instead of broadcasting to two stereo channels, the T12 splits the music into sound and spatial information, Fletcher said. Six speakers in front blast out mono sound, while a pair of speakers at the sides project sound in space.

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Featuring a built-in iPod dock and a honking big subwoofer, the T12 Soundbar will replace a 5.1 home theater system, Fletcher claimed. The T12 has been on sale in the Uk for about six months and has garnered favorable reviews. It’s currently sold out. It will be coming to the U.S in the summer for about $350.

At CES, the company is also demonstrating a prototype internet radio and it’s T3 Mobile Stereo Speaker, a portable battery-powered iPhone/iPod speaker.

Orbitsound's Harvinder Hungin handles the T3 Mobile Speaker, which he says his kids like better then bigger, more powerful iPod stereo systems.

Orbitsound's prototype internet radio will also be coming to the U.S. later this year.

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About the author

Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in CES 2010, iPhone, iPhone & iPod Accessories, iPod, News | Tagged: CES 2010 |

Michael
In other words it only sounds good in a limited controlled environment.
http://www.toxicspark.com Andrew Macdonald
@Michael “In other words it only sounds good in a limited controlled environment.”
- I couldnt have said it better myself.
Simon Landon
“Orbitsound’s Harvinder Hungin handles the T3 Mobile Speaker, which he says his kids like better then bigger, more powerful iPod stereo systems”
‘his kids like better THAN bigger, more powerful iPod stereo systems’
Porkchop1234
Pardon my french but orbitsound is full of it. No matter what they come up with no company will ever beat out a mid to high end stereo using a cd or vinyl record as its source. What people have to understand is that mp3′s, windows audio, apple loss less and the like are all compressed audio and when you compress audio you WILL LOSE some of the sound quality no matter what the hardware. I love my ipod touch but it will NEVER replace the quality of sound I get from my records played on my stereo. Buying some SO CALLED high end speaker system for your ipod is a waste of time, money and only serves to demonstrate that there’s a sucker born every minute.
There is only a grain of truth in the statement made by Orbitsound. The statement about in a sound proof room everywhere is the sweet spot. They are right in a soundproof room with proper speaker distancing and balancing the sweet spot is everywhere BUT i dare Orbitsound to put their money where their mouth is and go head to head with even a mediocre traditional stereo company. I doubt they would find the outcome very favorable.
iGenius
“What people have to understand is that mp3â€™s, windows audio, apple loss less and the like are all compressed audio and when you compress audio you WILL LOSE some of the sound quality no matter what the hardware.”
Apple lossless is not lossy compression. You will not lose any quality compared with the original WAV file.
And the iPhone has a very good DAC. Playing lossless files through the iPod/Phone is equivalent to playing CDs on a system with a typical or even high quality DAC.
That being said, well-recorded and produced vinyl played on an excellent turntable coupled to an excellent phone preamp will probably sound better.
But there’s little wrong with an iPhone playing lossless media compared to CDs.
And WRT Orbisound wanting a quiet environment: Likely the system has natural midrange and a detailed, transparent high end. That stuff cannot be appreciated in a distracting atmosphere. In a Best-Buy style space, “boom boom hiss hiss” speakers wow an audience. Refined, natural sounding speakers sound bland.
It is the same phenomenon as with TV sets: They crank the color and detail on the showroom floor, or else they look “washed out”.
This system may not be “high end”, but it is also compact and (relatively) cheap. It looks pretty cool for a home office or a secondary system at a vacation home or for a (rich) kid’s room. Or anybody who demands a compact system which will sound beautiful in the background, with an occasional session of close listening might be very happy with this system.
Me, personally, I have no need. I plug my iPhone directly into my home theater system and crank it. And it sounds as good as my CD player (but not as good as my turntable).
porkchop1234
iGenius quote:
Apple lossless is not lossy compression. You will not lose any quality compared with the original WAV file.
LMFAO I’ll put my source media (vinyl, cd) against any apple lossless files you have buddy. This isn’t an Apple store but a blog post I highly recommend you not try throwing the bull around to someone who knows better. Fibbing on a forum post won’t earn you a sale. Oh by the way a so that you know FLAC file is by far better sounding then Apple loss less.
iGenius quote:
And the iPhone has a very good DAC. Playing lossless files through the iPod/Phone is equivalent to playing CDs on a system with a typical or even high quality DAC.
BULL. Dude I like Apple especially my touch as much as the next guy on here but I have no problem admitting that my touch sounds crap compared to a good traditional system. iphones/touches are good for mobile music but that’s where it ends and believe it or not there’s even better sounding mp3 players (audio only dedicated devices) out there. Keep this up and I’m gonna start calling you iDummy.
P.S.
iGenius quote
Me, personally, I have no need. I plug my iPhone directly into my home theater system and crank it. And it sounds as good as my CD player (but not as good as my turntable).
I highly recommend you stop buying your stereo equipment from Wal Mart.