Size, awesome incredible sound, look, great sub & satellites, price,

If you live in an apartment above the first floor, while the sub will sound great in an open living room (& I suggest put over a 3/4" heavy duty isolation pad, in a closed in bedroom, the sub is too powerful.

I love these speakers All I can say is they sound incredible whether you are playing DVDs, watching 5.1 TV or listening to CDs. If you live in a normal sound apartment like me, you don't need a Mod 2 system or even a Mod 2 center speaker , as the 5 Orb Mod 1 Speakers & Supereight Sub are incredibly powerful, sweet & clear & give plenty of depth. Orb has excellent customer service & I love the fact that speakers this small can deliver such a powerful sound as I hate the clutter of larger speakers,
I like this sytem so much, I bought a second set for my bedroom. One note though, while the Supereight Sub sounds great in an open area like my living room, in a closed in area like my bedroom with walls right behind it, if you live in an apartment that's not o the first florr, the sub is too loud & powerful & I had to get a less powerful sub for the bedroom. Anyway, the sound is awesome. I'd also connect this to a good receiver like a Denon to get the best sound. I had a JVC combo DVD player/receiver & while the sound was good, it didn't compare to the Denon.

Customer Service

Excellent

Extended highs, superb mid range, detail, surprisingly good bass with good control. Good overall balance with seamless integration. Price Service

None at their price point or category

This review is for the Orb Mod 2/Super 8 system. I think I was one of the earliest test guina pigs for the Orb speaker system. I was initially impressed with the speakers but remained somewhat cautious because I had just made a number of changes to my system. This stupid move helped ensure that I would constantly be confused in evaluating the speakers. To make matters worse I had a few issues with the speakers which leads me to address Orb Audios service first. The guys at Orb not only took care of me with the best service I've ever had in the audio/video world, but they delivered the best customer service of any company I've ever dealt with period. They are the epitomy of customer service. Now let me address the speaker system itself. Having shopped the competition before trying the Orbs and having had a large kick butt system for a number of years I had a pretty good idea of what I expected from these speakers so that they would qualify for permanent residence at my home. Now that I've lived with them for a little over a year I feel like I can give an honest objective review now. They simply are the best sounding satellite/sub system on the market. They simply are the best value on the market. Are they lacking in the ultimate sense, yes, but not in their category and price point. I had an annoying edge or hardness for quite some time and I believe it was due to these OP amps I had replaced in my Denon DVD 2200 which I was told could take hundreds of hours to breakin. Well I don't know what happened but a few months ago it started to open up and smooth out and it now sounds better than my most optimistic expectation. My current components meet the minimum requirements for quality sound, but I believe that if these Orbs were matched with true audiophile source and power components they could be extremely satisfying and maybe giant killers. In summary the guys at Orb build the best sounding Sat/Sub system on the market, sweeten the deal with the best price, and then blow everyone else out of the water with their service. Highly recommended!

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Value, size, looks

For the price, none.

I just got my Orb "People's Choice" and set it up with my Pioneer Elite home theater system (50" plasma monitor, VSX-52 elite receiver, DVD Upsampler). I also bought the large steel Hoss stands, which adds $300. I use this system only for home theater and not for music. I've had a few days to break them in and I love them! The small Orb's really do crank out the sound, which is relatively full for small drivers. I don't notice any loss of a tweeter. Also the Super 8 sub does hit the low notes, as others have noted before. It's not boomy, which cheap subs usually are. Lastly, they look fantastic, fit unobtrusively into my small room, and my wife loves them (critical). They are as gorgeous to look at as they are to listen to. The Hoss stands are a good buy, are sturdy well constructed things, and are equally beautiful to behold. Orb's customer support is also phenomenal. They really do want to create a following by great support. Bottom line, for the price they are a tremendous value. Recommended.

The look! The sound...no missing ranges at all!

I guess if you're reluctanct to buy something that you can't listen to ahead of time...join the club. But that isn't exactly a weakness of the product...give them a try with the 30 day home trial.

After being reluctant I finally broke down and bought the Orb Mod1 with center channel upgrade to Mod2 for my husband for Christmas. It was a great decision! My brother who is probably closer to the audiophile type took a brief listen before I wrapped them up to make sure they were ok...he was blown away by them. We now have them hooked up at home paired with an Onkyo TXSR502 receiver and they sound perfect...I would definitely recommened them!

compact, poweful stylish,

design a center channel box

Been looking for some time for a high end and small stereo system. Stumbled upon Orb Audio. Bought it LOVE it. You get to interact with the owners... guys with a vision who love what they do, and are happy to share a wealth of information with you on line and on the phone. No hard sales, they love what they do and it is reflected in the quality of the product. The way the website takes you thru the process of decision making is what sold me initially, and although i have not had a chance to test or hear the actual performance in advance, I still took the chance.. ( i am a sceptic by nature too ) and I am happy i did.. and NO i dont work for the co... never even heard of them till 3 weeks ago.

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Full sound No midrange hole Upgradeable speakers Price Look/Style

Only available online

This is the best sounding small speaker system out there. The Orbs make you forget that they are not floorstanding speakers. You will be impressed by the full, three dimensional sound. Very crisp, clear sound and tight, snappy bass. A tremendous value with the direct internet business model. You get much better speakers, and a much better subwoofer, than your money would get in the store. Plus you get great looking, American made satellites and a small powerful sub that is nearly worth the price of the system on it's own. I have the Hand Polished Steel satellites and the HOSS floor stands and the system is as beautiful to look at as it is to listen to. I was hesitant to buy these without hearing them, but I read all of the reviews here and on other sites and I spent a lot of time with the company on the phone. With the 30 day home trial, I gave it a shot and I'm about to buy a stereo system for a second room. I listened to a lot of sub/sat systems and was never that enthralled with the sound. The Orb speakers are different...we hear details in soundtracks we've never noticed before and both my wife and I listen to more music than we did before getting the Orb system for the holidays last year. If you are interested in industrial design, the Orb speakers make a very interesting study. They are well made, and the grill is made from stamped metal and looks very clean and sleek. The hand polished steel finish is a swirl pattern of fine grain that emanates from the rear center of the sphere, underneath sturdy, clear powder coat (no fingerprints or scratches!). Binding posts are the only other exterior component, and they are a custom gold-plated brass post that depresses to reveal an opening for speaker wire (looks like the opening holds at least 14 gauge). This system is used about 50/50 for home theater and music, and it sounds great in both modes. We've really put the system through a variety of moves at this point -- action movies, classical music, everything in between -- and my wife and I always joke about how good the speakers sound. We wound up with Orbs the way a lot of people probably do -- not a lot of room but still a desire for quality sound -- and we are absolutely as pleased as can be. I am a PICKY listener and always seem to have buyer's remorse but the Orbs blew my mind from day one and at least 3 or 4 of my friends have already picked up sets for themselves after hearing mine. In sum, this is a great system from a company with strong service. The use of quality components is apparent from even a cursory inspection, and the imaging of the speakers and the integration of the sound as a whole is truly an accomplishment. The Orbs eliminate the midrange hole of other sub/sat systems. Throw in their great subwoofer and you have a winner. Highly recommended!

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Soundstaging Price Clarity of the satellites Great subwoofer Look great Upgradeable

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I really couldn't believe my eyes and ears when I first heard these speakers. In one second, they changed my opinion of sat/sub systems. They are the only sat/sub system that I've heard that can compete with big speakers. My story is problem similar to most Orb customers. I was looking for a system that was good at both music and home theater, which is not as easy of a task as it might seem. After reading all of the positive reviews, and calling the company and getting some more information (and comfort about buying speakers on the internet), I took a chance and took them up on their 30 day home trial. What did I have to lose, I figured? The idea of cutting out a couple layers of markups was attractive to me, especially if that meant I could get much better speakers than I originally could afford. Long story short, the speakers showed up in 3 or 4 days after ordering, they blew me away with their "big" sound from the second I turned them on, and I've definitely found myself listening to more music than I ever have before. The satellites themselves are absolutely gorgeous (I sprung for the steel in all channels, except the center channel that sits on top of my black TV, which I bought in black). Both finishes are very luxurious looking. The grill is constructed of stamped metal instead of the usual fabric. There are gold-plated brass binding posts on the rear of each speaker. My initial impression was of very high build quality (they are built in the USA) and they have held up well so far. As for the subwoofer, it was a great brother to the satellites. Orb happens to package a great sub with their systems, and this sets them apart from other companies as much as the satellites do, in my opinion. It is a small but very powerful sub with a beefy looking driver and amplifier that has gold plated binding posts and inputs. I replaced a very basic but decent (Parts Express) 10" subwoofer and the Super Eight definitely is louder, tighter, and best of all, smaller. Wife factor wasn't a real big issue for me, but I can imagine these speakers save a lot of relationships because they are decor friendly without compromising on the sound. All in all, my Orb experience was totally positive, and I'd happily recommend them to anyone looking for crisp, full sounding speakers. I upgraded my front 3 channels to Mod2 speakers after seeing how good the speakers were, and can honestly say the system is louder and clearer than many much larger and more expensive speakers that I've heard. I think the upgradeability of the speakers is also a unique, very useful feature. The system provides a very full, immersive sound, with a sharpness and detail that I really appreciate. These are the type of speakers where you even hear the breath of the singer as he or she inhales into the microphone.

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Amazingly full sound from a small system. Imaging, clarity and detail. Tight, musical bass. The first small sub/sat system that can really replace floor standing speakers and bookshelf speakers. Wxcellent customer service. Prices that would be 2-3 times as high if they were sold in stores and had retail markups.

They did not have wall mounts when I first ordered my speakers, but they now have a full line of them.

I was initially drawn to Orb because the direct business model meant I could afford a system with high-end performance on a tight budget. I've had the Orb Mod1 system for a while now and recently upgraded the front 3 speakers to Mod2 speakers. These speakers blew me away when I first heard them and I've only been more impressed now that I've had an extended period to test them out. The imaging and detail is top of the line. Soundstage is excellent. The other major thing that sets this system apart from others is the seemless musical integration between the satellites and subwoofer. There is no localizaion of bass, nor any "boom and sizzle." Instead, you get a broad, detailed soundstage that is great for both movies and music. I think a lot of sub/sat systems are really only meant for home theater, with music performance a secondary consideration. The Orb system excels at both by using really good satellites and not skimping on the subwoofer. In terms of quality, the satellites are beautiful (I splurged for the hand polished steel), and the HOSS stands are pretty much a work of art. The subwoofer is a nice compact 12" on all sides. The Orb customer service was very good, too. Very knowledeable and helpful, and most of all, available for and responsive to my setup questions. All in all, I've had a great experience and would recommend them to anyone. I've heard speakers that cost 3-5 times as much that don't have as much clarity, accuracy and range as these.

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