On paper at least, the Orbitsound T12 v2 soundbar is an ideal compromise for those who want booming sound for their home entertainment in cramped digs. Surround sound may bring movies to life, but it can’t half clutter up your living room. Enter the soundbar – a single unit that houses an array of drivers designed to replace the need for multiple speakers. The Orbitsound T12 v2 doesn’t try to recreate the five-channel sound though, instead blasting the stereo sound of your iPod or TV into overdrive. But is this a soundbar of gold? Find out in our Orbitsound T12 v2 review.
If great big home cinema speakers aren’t the right fit for your living room – or just something your other half won’t abide by – the Orbitsound T12 v2 may be just the aesthetic ticket. The main speaker bar unit is classy and simple, while the separate subwoofer looks more like a little designer stool than a sub. It doesn’t take up much room either, and should be able to slip between a sofa and wall with no trouble.
The veneer of class blows away if you remove the speaker grille though. An exposed LED circuit board means the Orbitsound T12 v2′s soundbar really isn’t designed to be displayed this way. If you like the ultra-macho look of exposed speaker cones, you’d best look elsewhere.
This main Orbitsound T12 v2 unit houses a whopping eight drivers – a pair of tweeters and six normal speaker cones. The last two are on the sides of the soundbar, supplying that ultra-wide sound dispersal.
There’s a switch on the back that lets you select how many of these drivers are engaged. At the narrowest setting, the Orbitsound T12 v2 uses just the one driver and tweeter on each side – what you’d get in an average 2.1 system. Flick it all the way across and all the drivers start rocking, and the effect is impressive.
If you have an awkward-shaped room and find positioning speakers to get a proper stereo image difficult, the Orbitsound T12 v2 is most certainly a solution to your woes. Given this effect is achieved with speaker overkill though, we can’t get away from the feeling that it’s still something of a gimmick. The Orbitsound T12 v2 produces a larger, more detailed sound than most iPod docks, but at £300, we’re left wondering how much better it would sound with a pair of ultra-high quality drivers and tweeters rather than a whole army of card-coned speakers.
Still, we’d be perfectly happy with the Orbitsound T12 v2′s sound if it wasn’t for one, shiny black, immaculately stylish thing – the subwoofer. Like a drunk blathering away loudly in a sophisticated restaurant, averting gazes with occasional inappropriate expletives, it just doesn’t know when to shut up. Even when the bass is turned all the way down, it sticks out like a bulbous sore thumb, booming and poorly integrated with the rest of the sound.
For movies, this level of bass will make explosions all the more thrilling, but it robs music of its subtlety and throws sonic cohesion out of the window. Ratchet-up the bass level to the max using the supplied remote control and the Orbitsound T12 v2 turns into a sure-fire way to get evicted from your home, even if you live in a detached house in the countryside, with not another human soul in sight.
It’s a pity there’s no effective way of reining-in the hyperactive bass fully – you only have control over bass and treble, no mids, so your EQ power is limited – because otherwise the Orbitsound T12 v2 is perfect for hooking into virtually anything that doesn’t demand full surround sound. There’s an iPod dock up top, you can fully navigate your iPod’s menu with the remote and around the back of the main bar are optical and coaxial digital inputs, plus phono and line-in (3.5mm) analogue inputs.
You can switch between sources with a press of a button on the remote too, making the Orbitsound T12 v2 far more versatile than the vast majority of iPod docks. All it’s missing is a DAB radio and the kitchen sink.
With an RRP of £300 though, you’d better love the look of the Orbitsound T12 v2, because it can’t compete with top-end iPod docks like the Fatman iTube, B&W Zeppelin or the now-ancient Klipsch iFi. The sad truth though is that the T12′s sound is that it’s let down more by the tuning of the sub than the quality of the drivers used. But if you really want to feel those explosions in Die Hard 4, and don’t mind the lack of true surround, this is a decent buy.
