Orbitsound BAR A70 Sound Bar With Air sound (aptX Bluetooth)

Product Information

It would have been nice to have a display on the front to show the input/mode currently in use. There are telltale lights on the top of the unit, but you need to be very close to see which one is lit. In terms of drivers, two 2-inch midrange drivers flank a tweeter behind the central speaker grille with side-firing neodymium drivers at each end delivering spatial detail. They’re driven by digital amplifiers with a hi-fi analogue crossover, offering a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario, according to Orbitsound. Power output is quoted as 300W. Spin some music over Bluetooth or through the auxiliary input and the speakers display a fine sense of rhythm and timing. Rihanna’s Don’t Stop the Music flows with pace and a decent sense of panache.

So, you’ve found a good place – a potential sweet spot even. Now you need to get the soundbar connected. How it works is by mixing the audio produced by the drivers with spatial loudspeakers positioned at 90 degrees to them and 180 degrees from one another – in the case of a soundbar that means they are at the ends. Their interaction primarily takes place in the mid frequency band and is reduced at higher frequencies to ensure sound fidelity. When combined with a separate subwoofer the effects can be startling and with the T9 they most certainly are.

Compact & powerful Airsound soundbar

As for airSOUND, its effect is subtle most of the time but as promised it does widen the listening area considerably – you can walk around the room with very little drop in treble clarity. But the technology works best during scenes with lots of surround information. As the dwarves make their way through the woods in a downpour, for example, the hissing rain feels like it’s falling around you, spreading far and wide into the room. It’s no match for true surround sound but does provide a more immersive listening experience than most soundbars. There is HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC. The former is supported by practically every TV on the market; the latter not as much. You can read more about ARC here, and get your head around eARC over here. To counter this and keep real-time audio, Orbitsound has installed hi-gain antennas in the soundbar and subwoofer, which has allowed it to reduce the size of the digital transmit and receive buffers. The result is that sound is delayed by less than 10ms, so there are no problems with lip sync. You’ll also want to consider whether you need a Dolby Atmos speaker or not. Dolby Atmos is surround sound technology, placing sounds and voices all around you so that whatever you’re watching or listening to is more immersive. The thing is, Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbars tend to be more expensive. You’ll need to weigh up whether Dolby Atmos sound is worth it for you. Otherwise, consider a capable but cheaper option, like the Yamaha SR-C30A, our choice for best cheap soundbar. All in all then the T9 is exceptional value for money and this provides the finishing touch to an already exceptional device.

Setting up the A70 couldn’t be easier, one of the benefits of a single-cable optical connection. The bar nestles nicely in front of our 55in set, although the size difference did look a little odd – aesthetically, it’s better suited to TVs between 32 and 42in.If all else fails, consult the manufacturer’s manual on what they think is best. For Atmos soundbars you’ll need to sit at a certain distance to get a sense of height in the sound, and this measurement can be found in the manual or online.