Jackonicko
11-28-2006, 07:54 AM
The Audioblob 2 is a sub-and-two-satellite speaker set up, and I got a set this morning. I anticipate using it in the study, with the computer and with my iPod, of course. It doesn't offer a docking or charging facility, simply dual line inputs, with an included 2:1 3.5 mm input jack cable. Eg you can plug an iPod or computer or cd player straight into it.
Functionally, it's a pretty direct alternative to JBL's Creature Speakers, or the Harman sub-and-soundsticks, or indeed, to any number of similar speakers. It's not as cheap as the Creatures, nor as pricey as the Soundsticks, but I was advised that it did a better job, sound-wise, than either, and that if I could live without docking, it would be a better alternative than Bose Companions or Jamo i300s, or an Apple iPod Hi Fi.
When I was looking at buying Jamo i300s, and wanting to save money to invest in a Fatman iTube, the £119 price tag of the Audioblob was appealing.
I've been wondering how they can achieve such a low price tag since the speakers arrived earlier this morning, days before I'd expected them.
I cannot over-state how classy the black Audioblob looks. The company do also do a white version, but I haven't seen that.
Before actually seeing the 'Blob' in the flesh, I'd thought (from photos) that it looked fairly conservative, and thought that it would be something that would justify its £119 price tag through its audio performance. I'd had some recommendations from people who'd heard it, but I would have been far more confident had I actually seen it in the flesh.
On seeing the Audioblob in the flesh, I was staggered, and immediately thought there had been some mistake in the pricing, and that I was looking at a MUCH more expensive system.
The satellite speakers have an impressive piano-like gloss - I'm not a production engineer, so I don't know how they've achieved it, but it looks almost as though they have been sprayed. The sub has a different, eggshell/matt finish - and in the flesh this difference is much more logical than it sounds 'on the page'.
The detailing is exemplary - from the speaker cable anchors to the cables themselves, while the mesh on the covers looks well done, while even the backplate of the sub is well printed and gives an impression of 'proper' engineering.
The funky Creatures look great in any photos because their 'wow factor' is more in the shape than the finish, but they don't look half as great in the flesh.
But looks are, of course far less important than sound, and here, the Audioblobs score high.
They sound great to my ears, with a really nice, well balanced, slightly warm tone, and with the ability to pump up the bass to bone-quaking levels. The maximum volume seems to be about equivalent to that of the Creatures, and the speakers reach it without shrillness or distortion.
I learned that though they are built in China, these were developed by a former big-wig at Harman (Mr Roth!) in association with Tannoy (a very, very reputable Scottish speaker company) and that the Chinese factory is one that is associated with Tannoy. It would not be unfair to compare these to the entry level Tannoy that Tannoy themselves should be making!
I wouldn't want to directly compare the Audioblob to Apple's iPod Hi Fi or to the Jamo i300 (which have impressed me when I've played with them 'in store') because I don't own them and can't compare them back-to-back. But at £119, compared to £220 or £299, the Audioblob seems to represent fantastic value for money, and it's certainly well worth a look.
Functionally, it's a pretty direct alternative to JBL's Creature Speakers, or the Harman sub-and-soundsticks, or indeed, to any number of similar speakers. It's not as cheap as the Creatures, nor as pricey as the Soundsticks, but I was advised that it did a better job, sound-wise, than either, and that if I could live without docking, it would be a better alternative than Bose Companions or Jamo i300s, or an Apple iPod Hi Fi.
When I was looking at buying Jamo i300s, and wanting to save money to invest in a Fatman iTube, the £119 price tag of the Audioblob was appealing.
I've been wondering how they can achieve such a low price tag since the speakers arrived earlier this morning, days before I'd expected them.
I cannot over-state how classy the black Audioblob looks. The company do also do a white version, but I haven't seen that.
Before actually seeing the 'Blob' in the flesh, I'd thought (from photos) that it looked fairly conservative, and thought that it would be something that would justify its £119 price tag through its audio performance. I'd had some recommendations from people who'd heard it, but I would have been far more confident had I actually seen it in the flesh.
On seeing the Audioblob in the flesh, I was staggered, and immediately thought there had been some mistake in the pricing, and that I was looking at a MUCH more expensive system.
The satellite speakers have an impressive piano-like gloss - I'm not a production engineer, so I don't know how they've achieved it, but it looks almost as though they have been sprayed. The sub has a different, eggshell/matt finish - and in the flesh this difference is much more logical than it sounds 'on the page'.
The detailing is exemplary - from the speaker cable anchors to the cables themselves, while the mesh on the covers looks well done, while even the backplate of the sub is well printed and gives an impression of 'proper' engineering.
The funky Creatures look great in any photos because their 'wow factor' is more in the shape than the finish, but they don't look half as great in the flesh.
But looks are, of course far less important than sound, and here, the Audioblobs score high.
They sound great to my ears, with a really nice, well balanced, slightly warm tone, and with the ability to pump up the bass to bone-quaking levels. The maximum volume seems to be about equivalent to that of the Creatures, and the speakers reach it without shrillness or distortion.
I learned that though they are built in China, these were developed by a former big-wig at Harman (Mr Roth!) in association with Tannoy (a very, very reputable Scottish speaker company) and that the Chinese factory is one that is associated with Tannoy. It would not be unfair to compare these to the entry level Tannoy that Tannoy themselves should be making!
I wouldn't want to directly compare the Audioblob to Apple's iPod Hi Fi or to the Jamo i300 (which have impressed me when I've played with them 'in store') because I don't own them and can't compare them back-to-back. But at £119, compared to £220 or £299, the Audioblob seems to represent fantastic value for money, and it's certainly well worth a look.