Orb audio

[django1]

I was looking at these for a waffy client.http://www.orbaudio.com/index.asp?Pa...WPROD&ProdID=6

I'd use just two and they would be fairly cheap to Canada. The reviews of whole systems are good and the manufacturer says that you can use just two for two channel audio and background music. Would these be decent? Let me qualify this buy saying that my definition of decent for this case would be **** Wave radio-ish sound? Anyone heard them?

[skullguise]

For cheap money, they're good. I heard an earlier 2.1 system of theirs at someone's house who was willing to demo it to me.

Compared to the Gallo Micro and even their passive sub, it was no contest. Transparency, top to bottom balance and sound, all clearly better with the Gallo system (I bought that). Even noticable on a somewhat mid-fi system IMO.

Still....Gallo was more expensive, and if you're looking at price, these really aren't that bad in the scheme of things.

How's that for a waffle of an answer? :p

[persisting1]

They are nice little speakers.

How big is the room they'll be used in?

They have a 30 day trial period. Try them. The Super 8 is a nice small subwoofer.

[django1]

Not very big really. Kind of kitchen dinning area about 12 by 24 with the seated portion, where the speakers would be, about 12 by12.

[Kevin_Wadsworth]

My parents recently baught the Orb speakers (thread on this forum somewhere - size was important to them). I was favorably impressed with the quality/size ratio. I'd certainly put them above the wave radio, but probably below my Paradigm Titan Mk 2's.

[dvenardos]

The cambridge radios are pretty good too (once you dial down the bass a little). I have had one of the pre-ipod models for years and use it with my computer.

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=aud_radio&item=53CW0350AA000

[persisting1]

Not very big really. Kind of kitchen dinning area about 12 by 24 with the seated portion, where the speakers would be, about 12 by12.

The Mod1 works well as a surround, but if you need to fill some space, I'd suggest the Mod2. They are speakers for people who need a small footprint. And I emphasize the word small as much as possible. They are great **** alternatives.

[auge.dog]

I have the gallo micro version, which I'm guessing is similar. For music, they really do not sound very good without a sub. With a sub, they would be much better than a **** wave radio, which I have heard many times at my parents house.

[Larry D]

In spite of what everyone says I like the larger **** radio - the one that costs around $1,000 - $1,100, something like that. A friend of mine had a pretty good sized used book and magazine store and he set one of these up near his cash register and it filled the whole place with very nice sound. A lot better than the systems we're forced to listen to in a lot of restaurants and stores. Still, for $1,000 I could put together a really nice budget system that would sound much better. Polk makes a really nice table radio that also receives XM. It's been out a while and I had forgotten about it since I first got XM for the car and house here until this week when I saw it recommended in The Absolute Sound latest 2010 Editor's Choice Awards. Here it is from Google. J&R has it for $299 TAS says it sounds really good.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS236US239&q=polk+audio&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=17142180869859305377&ei=-3RvS4CEOpT-NZakgN8E&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers

Of course, the Tivoli radios and speakers sound really good and have a strong WAF.
Here's the Tivoli Home page -- big RED sale right on the front page "The Perfect Valentine's Gift"!! There you go.

http://www.tivoliaudio.com/home.php?xid=0af8176c7f76fe40b98c2d7c7cd96837

Be sure to look up their "I Networks Radio" because she can pick up lots of Internet Radio stations... hundreds.

Finally, here's a Consumer's Digest comparison of the "Top Four" best radios, including the Music Hall RDR (Radio Done Right), the one from Cambridge Audio, the Tivoli and the Polk.

http://www.consumersearch.com/table-radios?gclid=CPX3yYrZ4Z8CFQ7yDAodrXIDHQ&ef_id=1953:3:s_80ea012bcc4eeb481a4eaf5cae5f9cbb_3675985942:S292-ENIYWQAAGg5L2MAAAQA:20100208022916

Finally... finally... CCrane has some really good radios... www.ccrane.com -- the best sounding AM radio in existance, plus a variety of Internet Radios, etc.

I'll tell you from my own experience. The WAF appeal of the cutsy little radios doesn't last long if they don't have good sound. All of the above have great sound and fit into a room. The Tivolis are wooden, small. Boston Acoustics also makes a nice sounding small radio that's received good reviews. I don't know if it is still available, or not. Tivoli kind of uppity upped the price with their new Internet Radio.