You’ll already be very familiar with Orange and its incredibly cool line in amps. Founded in London in 1968 by Clifford Cooper – who’s still chairman of the company today – its is a Great British gear story. To this day, nothing really says classic and stylish quite like an Orange guitar amp.
But recently the brand has been expanding into the consumer hi-fi market, a move that’s being cemented with the launch of its new Orange Pyramid audio system, a “revolutionary” compact hi fi system which it promises will deliver “powerful sound” and “exceptional connectivity”.
Granted, it’s not huge - it weighs around 20 lbs and the amp itself is just 6.3 by 6.3 by 4.6 inches. But then it’s been designed for the smaller spaces many of us live in these days. Rather than dominating a front room, this will fit snugly onto your existing bookshelf.
We’re talking a pair of speakers, each 40 watts per channel, with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity to link up to smartphones, tablets and laptops. Plus it’s got RCA and 3.5mm aux inputs for physical sources such as turntables and CD players. You can even link it up to your TV to boost its audio performance.
The speakers themselves have been designed to provide a “clean, warm sound”. At the top end are 1-inch soft silk dome tweeters, whilst at the bottom end specifically designed reflex speaker cone excursions aim for smoothness amongst the lower frequencies. The sound has been engineered to limit ear ‘fatigue’, a problem you often encounter with many modern sound systems.
As you’d expect from Orange the design is sleek and modish. As the name suggests, the amp itself is pyramid-shaped, ensconced within a beautiful wooden cabinet with a white piano finish. And the cherry on top design-wise is the prism that glows to indicate the mode of operation. Very cool.
While it's been known for its iconic guitar amps for decades, hi-fi equipment is relatively new territory for Orange. But in recent years we have seen Orange headphones, Bluetooth receivers and valve testers so in many ways a hi-fi system would appear to be the logical next step.
The Pyramid Audio system will set you back some £795. For more details go to the Orange website at orangessentials.com
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