As of December 2021, I will no longer import and sell Orb products.

  • Covid had doubled my shipping expense
  • Covid has significantly increased delays
  • The recently published favorable review caused a “run on” record flatteners from other dealers, where my delays are even longer, and I cannot get a straight answer on when I will receive a new order
  • They are huge and heavy and hard to store
  • It’s not fun having that much money tied up for 2~3 months at a time
  • I have been scammed by several buyers wanting to rent a machine, not purchase a machine
  • They generate more questions and confusion than any other product I sell 
  • The prices need to go up, but I don’t like raising prices, so someone else can do that

The record flatteners work.  They work very well.  They are very well built.  The huge number of “is it there yet” and “when will it ship” emails makes it a colossal pain in the ass that fills me with dread.  Maybe it’s because they are so damned big.  Maybe it’s because of the scammers.  Regardless, I cannot give customers an accurate answer on when I will have more.  My option was to charge them, and let them know “first come, first served”.  But that causes all kinds of anxiety for some people and it’s not good business practice to sell what you don’t yet have.  

My recommendation is to purchase from Japanese dealers on eBay.  They are reputable.  That won’t be attractive to people wanting to rent a machine because shipping back to Japan will be $300, but it is what it is.  

Whoever takes my place will jack up the prices, which is why I recommend just buying from Japan.  Sorry about that!

If you purchased a machine from me in the last year, your warranty is still good.  I’m just tired of the hassle and constantly shrinking margin, not quitting business.  If something happens to your machine (which has never happened yet) I’ll help you get it fixed or replaced.

Thanks,

Phillip Holmes

orb-logo

Orb: Feel Your Sound

Mockingbird Distribution is a dealer for Orb’s vinyl accessories.

ORB is the high-end audio brand in Osaka JAPAN. Our company was established in 1977 as an electronic equipment manufacturer. Since its founding in 1977, ORB Co. Ltd. has been designing, developing and manufacturing industrial machinery, such as metal detectors, home electric appliances, and electronic control equipment. We receive many requests for OEM products, from both domestic and foreign major companies, because of our technical development ability, and excellent quality control. 

For years we had an audio club within our company.  We started the ORB Audio brand in 2003 because of our passion for audio and music. The Orb Audio brand was born from the passion for audio, expressed in the form of unique audio equipment that we really wanted.  We develop and produce high-end audio products, made possible by experience in the industrial machine field.  This is ORB Audio.

 

Made in JAPAN – 

ORB products are all assembled at our Japanese factory.  We are constantly perform inspections, both objective and subjective, by sight and sound, and measurement by various precision instruments.  High quality, learned through the production of industrial equipment for use in harsh conditions, is combined with sensual beauty and excellent sound quality.   We aim for total quality, in every aspect, at high levels.  In the spirit of Kaizen, we will continue to advance and progress day by day.

ORB’s activities started with audio accessories, but are growing more diverse.  We are a manufacturer closely related to music.  Not only familiar accessories like cables and power outlets, but also unique products such as disk flatteners, portable static eliminators, and high-end audio reproduction from JADE Quartet, JADE Next amplifier, and DAC Series. 

Besides home audio, a number of prominent artists use ORB Professional for musical instruments and PA. ” ORB Music ” releases works of artists  anry,  Unlimited tone, and  Watanabe Yu.  Held in Osaka, we promote ORB Premium Music Festival.

We go beyond the boundaries of typical manufacturers.  Staying closer to music, walking with music, sharing the joy of music with more people, ORB ‘s journey will continue with those who love music.

ORB Master Craftsman, Takamoto, comments:

We are constantly aware of maximizing the quality of materials, making it the starting point. 

With cables, we carefully connect each of the core wires.  If one strand is cut, the surface area is reduced correspondingly.  There is a possibility that deterioration in sound will occur, so we strive to waste not even one strand of wire. 

In the termination process, even for the crimping terminal, we tightened again from 1.2 Nm, to widen the contact area.  And the ground contact is not a point, but a broad/flat area.  There is also the problem of making the structure very durable, so we are working to improve the reliability (just as important as the sound quality). 

Regarding soldering, since silver solder used for sound quality has low melting temperature, it is easy to be oxidized at the time of soldering. So soldering is performed slowly, twice, at regulated temperatures, to prevent oxidation. 

We aim to make products that can convey the goodness of the original materials, to the utmost, to preserve what music originally possesses.

 
 
 

 

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