The Torres kids.

Adorable.

Sound quality so good, it's out of this world.

Orbitsound T9

As a someone who frequents all manner of pubs to watch matches, little and large, one thing that I always find is that, depending on where you stand in relation to the speakers (pubs usually have two or four speakers around the corners of the room), you rarely experience the optimal sound experience due to being further away from one speaker than the other. Furthermore, from my own experience of handling sound systems, I have noticed that the size of the speaker is by no means any kind of indication of the quality of the sound it produces; bigger most certainly does not equal better. And indeed, the adage of good things coming in small packages is epitomized with Orbitsound’s T9 creation, an absolutely charming and canny little sound bar of dimensions merely 300 x 94 x 94mm. Looking at the thing, (you can gauge the size of the sound bar in relation to the TV, it’s very compact and stylishly designed), you would be amazed at the quality of sound produced. I had the pleasure of watching it in action for the England vs France match, and the quality of the sound produced by one tiny Sound bar would trump that of any modern large speaker that you see in pubs. I was seriously taken aback by the flawlessly dynamic and clear quality of the sound produced – and by such a small machine!

The Orbitsound T9 is more than just a pretty face, with practical features, allowing the user to charge iPod as well, thus doubling up as an iPod dock too. The exciting thing about the Orbitsound T9 sound bar is that it allows small TVs and portable screens to generate an astounding quality – matching that of a cinema speaker. The small size means that the sound bar is also easily portable – meaning you can bring such fabulous sound with you all around. As a student who knows a thing or two about the importance of minimizing clutter when free space is sparse, the Orbitsound T9 soundbar is one of the most impressive and useful inventions to have come out for a long time.

(The T9 soundbar will be on retail from mid July this year. Go along to John Lewis and other selected stores to test it out, and you’ll see I wasn’t exaggerating!)

10 Players I'm Looking Forward to Watching in the Euros.

01. Petr Cech (Czech Republic, Chelsea)

Cech’s start to the season for Chelsea was rocky under the clueless tutelage of Andre Village-Idiot and the Portuguese’s fondness for the high line, which left Cech hopelessly exposed. Lo and behold, AVB was sacked and Chelsea re-found their swagger, and one of those who’s performances contrasted most (Tony) starkly with that of their earlier ones is Petr Cech, who finished the season on the highest high possible, making three fabulous penalty saves in the Champions League final. An intelligent, measured man (easily the smartest of the Chelsea squad no matter what Lampard likes to think :p), Petr Cech is one of the few of the Chelsea team who actually keeps himself out of trouble. However, in times of diversity this season, Cech has showed a lion-hearted gutsiness one wouldn’t have expected from a man so soft-spoken that has cemented himself in fans’ hearts, he has captained the team eight times (mainly due to injuries to Terry and AVB’s continual feud with Lampard) and his flawless performance in the CL final is a redemptive example of good things coming to those who wait.

02. Juan Mata (Spain, Chelsea)

Unlike his Chelsea teammate Cech, Mata did not cover himself in glory in the penalty shoot-out in the CL final, being the only Chelsea player who missed his. That he went first purely heaped pressure onto his teammates. But fortunately, that saved penalty did not mata. Juan Mata did not deserve that kind of anguish, for his has been Chelsea’s shining light this season; often when our performances have sucked (and there have been plenty of those), Juan Mata still conjured moments of magic to make our performances seem passable. The diminutive Spaniard has settled into the Chelsea set-up fabulously, being the only one who can coax semi-decent turns from his compatriot Torres, and it makes me mouth water to contemplate how he and Chelsea new boy Eden Hazard will link up when the premier league starts again.

03. Ashley Cole (England, Chelsea)

The player that football fans love to hate, it has been suggested that hecklers simply spur Ashley Cole on to train harder, and play better. A stupendous performance in the CL final that was only blighted by his momentarily lapse of concentration to allow Muller to score (though an argument could be made that he did so because he had half an eye on babysitting David Luiz, who was nursing a hamstring injury throughout), Ashley Cole was the epitome of concentration, agility and skill. He made tackles and interceptions with considerable ease and in the absence of John Terry, had the dual task of marshalling a Chelsea defence that included both centrebacks recovering from long-term spells out injured. He did all these jobs – and more – scoring a crucial penalty that bought the scores level to 3-3, meaning that whilst the haters wept, Cole merely smirked smugly and strutted around on the pitch with his CL medal. As Jamie Foxx and Justin Timberlake might say, you lookin’ at a winner.

04. Luka Modric (Croatia, Tottenham)

05. Joe Hart (England, Man City)

06. Shay Given (Ireland, Aston Villa)



07. David Silva (Spain, Man City)

08. Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine, Dynamo Kyiv)

09. Scott Parker (England, Tottenham)

10. Richard Dunne (Ireland, Aston Villa)

And 5 players who will sorely be missed :

01. Peter Crouch (England, Stoke) Hodgson didn’t pick him #Hodgsonout

02. Frank Lampard (England, Chelsea) injured himself in training :(

03. Gary Cahill (England, Chelsea) Injured in a collision with Joe Hart after being pushed by Dries Mertens. URGH

04. Marko Marin (Germany, Chelsea) Not selected. Hmmm.

05. Adam Johnson & Micah Richards (England, Man City) Hodgson didn’t pick them. #hmmmm