60 MacDirectory
CLOSER LOOK
mSTATION > BRIGHT, COLORFUL, AND PORTABLE SOUND
ENHANCEMENT FOR IPOD USERS
WORDS BY JONE DEVLIN
When you first go to mStation's Web site
your eye is immediately
captured by the array of bright colors
displayed. A closer look shows that what
you are seeing is not merely a highly
decorative addition to your home, but an
artistically designed, visually pleasing,
subwoofer known as the Orb.
Yes, I know, subwoofers aren't generally
artistic or visually pleasing. Worst of all,
most of them don't deliver anything close
to the kind of sound quality most people
want and expect. This is where the Orb is
truly different, because the Orb is a
desktop docking station and speaker
system made especially for iPod.
Because it is designed with the iPod (and
iPod users) in mind, the Orb comes with a
10-key remote that provides users the
ability to easily navigate through their
playlists – even from a distance – along
with treble, bass and volume settings. Only
eight inches in diameter, the Orb is a true
little wonder, providing sound quality and
volume well above what you would expect
given its diminutive size. Or, as they put it
on mStation's site, the Orb "gives you that
room filling "thump" that's missing in most
other iPod speaker systems.
Or to put it more bluntly, gone are the
days where you attach your iPod to a
subwoofer for a party only to find that the
system just doesn't have what it takes.
The Orb also puts to rest the image of an
ugly, unwieldy subwoofer that is difficult
to transport, hard to control, and takes up
too much space in your home or office.
And that brings me to perhaps the most
appealing feature of the Orb. That is the
way its design screams "fun." While both
the Orb and its designers at mStation
obviously take the product seriously – as
seen by its aforementioned superior sound
quality – they also haven't forgotten that
at the end of the day, music is, ultimately,
about taking you away from the daily
grind, or at least making said daily grind
just a tad bit more entertaining.
They also haven't forgotten that the
majority of iPod users are creative
individuals who love color – which is why
the Orb comes in six bright bursts of it,
including red, lime green, neon blue, hot
pink – and – for the purists among us –
black and white. This gives users the
option of having this smart little accessory
match your iPod, your home or office
decor, or both.
And because the Orb is as light as it is
colorful, it can also be easily transported
to wherever you take your iPod. The
remote, meanwhile, fits neatly into the
back of the design, minimizing its likeli-
hood of getting lost while travelling, while
your iPod rests easily and securely on the
Orb's top.
Funky, fun, and way more powerful than
it looks, the Orb proves that it really is
"the dedicated subwoofer that makes all
the difference."
