Orb Audio Mod2 vs. Bose. vs. Klipsch

[Privateer]

The driver in the subwoofer looks like the 8inch driver in my logitech Z2200 computer speakers. Just missing the "Logitech" in the middle.

Give it up, wow here is a new way to see how a speaker will perform we will just look at the drivers and if they resemble anything cheap then the speakers must suck.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Obviously something was wrong, what product did you demo?

The 1,3,6000, and 8000. Can't comment on the 5's, but I'll probably be over that way this weekend and have a listen. Easton is 5 mintes from me. Their store is just down the way from the Bose store. Bose has a nicer store, and gets more traffic, believe it or not. It makes me ill to see so many people picking that stuff up, when just down the road is Genesis Audio, which carries far superior products at similar prices. It's just not in a "posh" outdoor mall like Easton. I may be biased towards less modern equipment, but I use my ears first, then my eyes.
http://www.genesisaudio.com/

 

[Tomorrow]

I use my ears first, then my eyes.
http://www.genesisaudio.com/

LOL, Buckeyefan! Take another look at that Sony Qualia picture. Are you SURE you don't want to use your eyes first?

 

[Sheep]

when did I say anything about performance? As a matter of fact, I didn't. You just assumed that because, your a *****.

Hey kids! Look at this, privateer is saying that looking at speakers is not the way to judge performance, yet he is backing B&O, that are pleasing to look at and everyone else is saying they don't sound good, but look good!

Hypocrite, thats the word im looking for....

sheep

[Edit: Cool it. You are headed for a temp-ban. - Admin]

 

[brian32672]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SONY-SURROU...801343555QQcategoryZ64618QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'd be willing to bet that if you performed measurements of this sony set and those orbs, there wouldn't be more than 4db of diff.

Boy you guys love a good arguement.
Anyhow, beleive or not, I can comment slightly on this sony set.
No I do not own it Thank goodness.....
However my stepfather has these in his bedroom.
The imaging is actually quite good. The sub truly does suck, but thats a whole other ballpark.
These IMO compare a tad like some of the overpriced bose stuff.
However without the price.
The set he has is this same exact set, but came as a HTIB with a receiver.
The receiver is not so hot, but back to these--- Not sure how well they would do up against 1200.00 Orbs - But once again for about 1/100th of the price they do image quite well. However I would only recommend something like this for a small bedroom, with tv and surround sound. Not a decent small HT room....

 

[photodyer]

A sidebar question . . .

I'm relatively new around here--hi everyone!--so I'm going to ask for a clarification here . . .

Is the contention here that a satellite system in general cannot yield decent sound, or is there another layer of distinction that I'm missing?

I ask because I'm giving very serious consideration to the Mirage Omnisat v2 series for the HT area we're putting in in our soon-to-be-finished basement. Besides having been pleased at least with in-store auditions, we're dealing with some complex placement issues that would be solved by using the Omnisat Cans for side surrounds (with regular Omnisats for the rear surrounds, the proprietary towers and center for the front and center channels, plus subs-yet-to-be-chosen).

I haven't given more "beefy" setups much consideration just because our room will likely make placement of "traditional" side surround options something of a nightmare both in terms of practicality and, I must admit, aesthetics (long story short, sides would have to be mounted to a firred-down ceiling section that's only 82" high, thus inviting some nasty head-on collision ops for anyone over 6' tall.

I know that there are definitely better speakers out there, but am I selling things "that" short? I'd appreciate comparative input, particularly from anyone who's spent any time with the latest Mirage setup. I've not found any reviews of the full v2 family to date and thus listener impressions would be much appreciated!

 

[Privateer]

when did I say anything about performance? As a matter of fact, I didn't. You just assumed that because, your a *****.

Hey kids! Look at this, privateer is saying that looking at speakers is not the way to judge performance, yet he is backing B&O, that are pleasing to look at and everyone else is saying they don't sound good, but look good!

Hypocrite, thats the word im looking for....

Ya that is right, so what were you trying to say when you had your stupid comment on how the woofer looked? Have you ever been for a proper demo of a B&O product?

 

[Privateer]

Is the contention here that a satellite system in general cannot yield decent sound, or is there another layer of distinction that I'm missing?

It is the fact that everyone on here is super cheap and if anything costs more than the $100 in there bank account there are going to assume that the product is overpriced. Most people on here think that all amps sound the same so when some one buys a proper amp to drive there speakers they automatically look down on them.

 

[Privateer]

The 1,3,6000, and 8000.

How is your B&O store setup? Do you think that you had a proper demo? What was your opinion on the 1's.

 

[jaxvon]

Privateer, you need to calm down.

[Edit: Please watch the language (even if it's "blanked"). Thanks. - Admin]

 

[Audioholics]

Everyone needs to take a breath... And by the way, we just reviewed some Orb Audio speakers in case you forgot.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

You must work for Bang

How is your B&O store setup? Do you think that you had a proper demo? What was your opinion on the 1's.

How is the store setup? I can take some digital photos this weekend if you'd like. It's a store with multiple listening rooms. Is this a quiz? Are you a district manager for B&O? I don't want to get anyone in trouble.

Since I'm not in the market for B&O equipment, I probably didn't get the gold standard demo. I made them play my Diana Krall cd on most of their units. My opinion of the 1's were that they weren't bad, but I really didn't expect much out of dual 6.5" drivers. It's hard not to ignore the price when listening to these 6' tall totem poles. They claim to go down to 39Hz, but my guess is the usable bass response was more like 60Hz.

Do they look good? They look great.
Do they sound good? They sound outstanding to the average joe.
How do they sound to someone who's been into audio for 22+ years and knows what he/she likes? (doesn't have to be an audiophile) Probably a lot different than what he/she's used to - that wooden box sound. Imaging is fine. Crisp clean mids and highs are definitely there (some say highs are a tad in your face, but I don't mind a little extra - they can always be tamed). It's the mid to low bass I don't care for. It's the same for me when listening to Def Tech towers. I don't care for the bass, but I think the B&O's are a bit better with the mids/highs. Personal opinion, and that's what sells - right?

 

[mulester7]

:I made them play my Diana Krall cd on most of their units

.....outstanding, Buck....guys, when you go to listen to a friend's setup, or to a store to hear speakers, take a CD that you LOVE, and have listened to about a bazillion times....in my view, that would be the ONLY way to AB their speakers against yours back home.....

 

[Sheep]

common denominator

What I was saying, is that the subwoofer driver looks like the subwoofer driver in my Logitech z2200 computer speakers. I never said its performance sucks, nor did i say the logitech subwoofer sucks. Most towers have the same general shape, but doesn't mean they're performance is the same.

Everytime you respone in a thread Privateer, you never just accept other peoples opinions, you just hound them relentlessly until moderators have to come in and shut down the thread. You seem very confident in your self and your knowledge of audio, but you green chicklet is grey, which means people don't think your input is positive or helpful.

just telling you what is.
sheep

 

[pinnace0]

MacManNM Wrote:

You guys have to be kidding. $1200 for that? Bose killers? Who cares, if you spend that kind of scratch on those, you need help, and lots of it.

Frankly I did get help. I researched several sites, read available reviews, researched the company (Orb Audio), and made what appears to be a quality decision.

I am seeking the greatest possible system given my knowledge and ability.

As I build my system, I fear I might select complex components and not be able to effectively use them. For example, once I bought a complex very expensive digital camera. It had tremendous capability. But it was very difficult to use. I never had the time or inclination to figure how to use the camera. The potential ability of the camera was great, It's achievable ability was very low

It ended up being a paperweight. The point is "be ambitious but know thy limits"

As to MacManNM... His equipment list obviously indicates a vast knowledge of all things audio. It truly demonstrates the size and girth of his EP.

For the rest of us "Mortals" seeking an effective solution for a mid level home theater, the ORB represents a solid product from a solid company with a very high "achievable value"

 

[AverageJoe]

:
Do they sound good? They sound outstanding to the average joe.

Hey. I know I'm new here, but isn't it a bit early for character assasination?

 

[anamorphic96]

You guys have to be kidding. $1200 for that? Bose killers? Who cares, if you spend that kind of scratch on those, you need help, and lots of it.

MacManNM makes an excellent point. Especially at that price.

I could put together a system around the Klipsch RSX series that would smoke the Orb system. Especially at higher volume. On top of the fact the Klipsch have a nice WAF.

I have spent a little bit of time with Orb's at a co-workers place who ended up selling his six months later after he spent some time with some PSB's from the Alpha series. At lower volumes the Orb's are fair but nothing special at all.

The Orb system is worth about 5 to 600 but thats it. At 1200.00 the system is way OVERPRICED. I guess the only thing going for them is they sound better than Bose. But that isn't saying much.

 

[surveyor]

I think measurements would reveal that any 3" driver can not produce accurate high frequencies. I'm amiss how these theoretical Bose Killers could produce anything but adequate mid range frequencies.
Sorry, there just too darn similar to Bose!

Shoot me for saying so!

 

[mulester7]

The Orb system is worth about 5 to 600 but thats it. At 1200.00 the system is way OVERPRICED. I guess the only thing going for them is they sound better than Bose. But that isn't saying much.

....like it or not, the market demands a higher price for systems that are small, isn't Bose proof of that?.....

....back to the origination of this thread....if this Orb Audio Mod2 speaker package, with sub, was presented as a worthy/superior alternative to a Bose cubes package, with sub, which it appears was the reasoning and logic, where's the foul?....aren't they in the same neighborhood price-wise with Bose cubes with sub?....don't guys read here that their smoochkins has laid down the law a system in the den/living room will be VERY small or it won't happen?....do any Bose products being sold benefit this site in any way?.....

 

[Takeereasy]

There is just no pleasing you guys. Seriously. The review is of a system that is designed to compromise sound quality somewhat for the purpose of size, cost and an insanely high WAF. That, in the opinion of the reviewer, was what these speakers did well. These aren't monster floorstanders designed to give 100% of the sound spectrum in full glorious and neutral resolution. They are some pretty darn nifty looking spheres that I know any GF of mine would be happier to see than my big black boxes. The speakers are also made by a company called ORB, not B&O, not Sony. Knowing this fact you guys hijack a reviewer's first chance to post here with pages of arguements about other speaker companies and how they sound. It would be one thing if you were comparing the sound of those speakers competing with the orbs, but that's not what's going on. Are the orbs my cup of tea? No. Are they a nice alternative to other small speakers? I think so. Would I take them if my choices were The cubes who must not be mentioned or TV speakers? In a heartbeat.

If I were to criticize the review at all it would be for the lack of measurement, but I also realize that not every review will be measured. Let's not bust AH's hump over that fact. They don't have a staff of thousands, and unlimited testing equipment. And now I will step down before my soapbox breaks.