Atec have put the wow factor back into speaker design. Their 'oh by tutondo' (OBT) series is extraordinary.
The speakers are spherical and can be fitted on walls, table tops or even mounted on stands. The fabric for the removable aluminium front grilles comes in blue, black, orange and white. Most important is the sound - it's amazing, considering the compact size.
The OBT series is built with home theatre in mind. The SX33 is a bookshelf speaker (80W rms, 8 ohms, 75 - 20,000Hz), and the SX31 is a floor standing version (mounted on a pole).
Atec has won numerous awards not only for its speakers but also for exhibition booths at design conventions.
Completing the package is the PC33 active subwoofer, which packs a punch, with an output of 200 watts per channel. The subwoofer (295x430x450mm) is designed to be a discrete component and can be put on the floor next to the television cabinet.
The speaker provides good depth, dynamic vocal range and a layered quality. But because it's so sensitive it will pick up background hiss on older recordings, so be careful which settings you choose.