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DF: What's the Reader's Digest background of Orb Audio (history, location, size, etc.)?

ES: We build our speakers in Sherman Oaks, CA, and have an office in NYC as well.  We are about 5 years old and have about a dozen full time employees and upwards of 100 local American vendors for steel, metalwork, etc.  We pride ourselves in spending a lot more on parts and labor than most other companies, and using our direct business model to keep our prices LOWER than the plastic, Chinese stuff.

DF: How'd you get your name, and are there any other common references (OA, Orb, Orb-its...)?

ES: We took the name Orb because our speakers are round.  The speakers themselves are called Mod1, Mod2 and Mod4 because they are MODular. They are the only speakers on the market where you can actually upgrade the speaker over time by adding the additional modules. This is great for cost-conscious buyers, since they don't have to waste money on a cheapo system and then toss it down the road when they can afford better. Instead, they can start w/ Orb and build it up over time.  It is also great to be able to double up the system if you move it from a small room to a big room, for example.  Each speaker can be 1, 2 or 4 Orbs, so there is almost unlimited flexibility.

DF: What product is currently your pride and joy? Any products win any awards?

ES: We have just announced our UBER TEN subwoofer, which is a new, made in USA/Canada product for us.  Our original Super Eight subwoofer (150 watts, 8" driver) is famous for being as good or better than most 10" subwoofers.  Now, we have reinvested a lot of Orb's money into developing a Monster 10" sub that is still compact and sounds as good as many 12" subs.  And again, our direct business model means our stuff competes w/ other brands that cost 2-3x as much.  This sub has a state of the art BASH amplifier (BASH/Indigo is the "Mercedes" of sub amps) that is made in Canada.  The rest of the sub is made and assembled in Oregon and California.  So, it is one of the only mostly American and fully North American subwoofers made right now.

Our Mod4 is also finally available (the 4 Orb speaker), and we have a new bronze finish coming out this month as well.  Lots of new products here.

Our current pride and joy is our Mod2 system with our Uber Ten Subwoofer...it is extremely compact and attractive, and at $1500 will blow away most $3,000+ systems.

DF: I see a People's Choice speaker system...why is that your most popular system?

ES: We have one the Editor's Choice award from DigitalTrends.com (Classic Two system). We have also won the 100 best products of 2006 from Avrev.com (Mod2 system). The People's Choice is our most popular system because it's the best combination of price and performance.  You get the double Orbs up front (Mod2) and the singles (Mod1) in the rear channels, plus the Super Eight.  It is $1,049 and is routinely ranked ahead of $2,500 systems. People can buy the Orbs AND a TV for the same price as Bose, etc.

DF: What kind of materials do you use in your speaker construction (woods, connectors, cables, cones, etc.)?

ES: Our speakers are all hand made from American steel.  The binding posts are solid brass, gold plated custom posts.  The speakers use neodymium magnets, polypropylene cone and santoprene sound (stays same flexibility at almost all temperatures).  The subwoofers have custom high excursion drivers and BASH amps.  These are all super high end components, no fake wood, plastic, etc.  Our business model lets us use the best components and charge the least.

We also have our own brand of cable out now, called Uber Cable.  Our $74 HDMI cable is way, way better than the $249 ones in Circuit City, etc. It's all about the direct business model again.

DF: Your stereo systems have component subs.  Is any part of the audio spectrum neglected (I'm thinking in the low-mids)?  Is the crossover fixed?  If so, where?

ES: The round satellites are designed to get as much midrange and upper bass as possible in a sub/sat design.  Most sub/sat systems have sats that can play down to 250-350hz, ours can play down to 80hz, although 100-120hz is really the sweet spot.  The result is the biggest sounding compact speaker anyone has ever heard.  We sell thousands a month, have a no questions asked return policy, and many months we don't get any systems back.