The orbitsound T3 is a personal powered stereo speaker that gives an aura of sound around your head. The idea is to give the listener true stereo sound that envelopes them in the sound, as opposed to headphones that put it in the middle of your head. Headphones have the biggest fault with stereo sound since your left or right ear only hears the left or right speaker, where as with the orbitsound T3 you get a full stereo soundfield using their airSOUND speaker array. The T3 is designed to be worn around the neck and connect up to any device with a standard headphone jack. I took the T3 out for a spin, read on for the findings!
Box Contents
- USB charging cable
- AC adapter
- Stereo line to connect to the device
- Lanyard
First Impressions
To be honest, I was skeptical about the stereo soundfield and how much better it could be over my headphones. The T3 certainly looks nice with its polished black case (which is a fingerprint magnet), and is probably lighter than it may appear, considering it has a speaker and is powered by a lithium battery, which pumps out 8 watts of audio power, which is impressive for something of this size.
Before first use, you have to charge the T3 for minimum of a half an hour, but it is recommended to charge for at least four hours prior to use. You can charge this via the AC adapter or pretty much any USB port you have available. Now that I have it charged up, it is time to test it out!
Usage
I grabbed my iPod Nano and connected it to the T3, powered everything up, and went for a walk. After listening to a variety of music, including Rage Against the Machine and some classical Gustav Holst, I found that it sounded quite good. Once I returned home, I compared it to a few different pairs of headphones and then my laptop. Until this, I was pleased with the sound, but didn"t realize how much better it actually was. I then tested watching Transformers while using the T3, and again was surprised at how much better it sounded over my headphones.
I found you can easily sense the difference with the T3 by doing a little test. If you hold the T3 about a foot away from your chest, it sounds like a normal speaker, but as you get to around an inch from your chest, you can really hear the sound aura going over your ears.
Pros
Sound quality: Great! Far better than I had expected
Battery life: Seems to be excellent; I have yet to kill it after watching a movie and listening to a couple hours of music. The estimated battery life is 10 hours, which is pretty good when it only needs up to around four hours to charge
Rechargeable: No batteries and charges off of USB and the provided AC adapter
Simple: You have an on and off switch, and a switch to change the airSOUND off, normal, or max
Plus, doubles as a normal portable speaker
Cons
Speaker on your neck: everyone around you can hear it
Price: At £79.00 msrp, this one is questionable, if you don"t want to sacrifice your sound quality, the price is reasonable. For casual use, it may be a little too high
No charge complete indication: I left it on the charger over night, and the same red charging light remained lit in the morning, when it should have easily been fully charged
Overall
I was very pleased with the orbitsound T3. The sound is amazing and it looks sleek and feels sturdy. They deliver on their promise of making an aura of sound around your head, and it is definitely worth getting if you need portable, quality stereo sound with depth.
I give the T3 4 out of 5 stars
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