Orbitsound Debuts Portable Personal Wearable Speaker

By John Laposky On Aug 18 2008 - 6:00am

Orbitsound has made available a miniature powered speaker that can be worn around the neck while delivering stereo sound from a portable media player or music phone.

The new T3 personal powered stereo speaker, being marketed as an alternative to headphones, incorporates Orbitsound's Airsound single-point stereo technology, which delivers a fully balanced stereo soundfield, the company said, by allowing both ears to hear the left and right channel to perceive all of the spatial cues, as is the case with stereo speakers.

Orbitsound claims that with Airsound technology, an identical stereo balance is heard everywhere, in effect providing an infinite sweet spot, rather the limited fixed sweet spot within which it is possible to hear an accurate stereo balance with conventional two speaker stereo.

Orbitsound also is touting what it calls the "bodysound effect" which, when switched on, uses the wearer's chest cavity as a resonator to reinforce the sound from the unit.

The T3 also has a headphone jack in for private listening. In headphone mode the bodysound effect switches to "a deep sub sensation" that gives the physical sense of a full range sound system, the company said.

The T3 doubles as a portable speaker system for a laptop or digital music player.

Measuring 4 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.75 inches and and weighing just more than 4 ounces, the T3 is powered by a lithium rechargeable battery, providing up to10 hours playing time per charge. The amplifier supplies 8 watts of total audio power to the Airsound speaker array within the miniature enclosure. Audio input is via a 3.5 mm stereo jack.

It has a suggested retail of $149 and is available now from the orbitsound e-store at www.orbitsound.co.uk/shop.

The T3 is company's first portable product to incorporate Airsound technology. Orbitsound announced two in-home products earlier this summer, a $599 iPod -docking sound bar and a $349 iPod-docking speaker system.