HARMAN Unveils Harman Kardon® MAS 102, Delivers Stunning Sound from Space-Saving System

Lifestyle System Integrates Virtually Any Music Device without Compromising Audio Performance

For more information: www.harmankardon.com/MAS102

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE:HAR), today announced the release of the Harman Kardon® MAS 102, a four-piece integrated system that includes an amplifier, a CD player and loudspeakers boasting the familiar Harman Kardon signature form factor.

“We know that in today’s fast-paced world people are looking for convenience and ease paired with high sound quality”
Beautifully compact, the MAS 102 brings performance and style into the home for every music lover. True to the Harman Kardon brand, the integrated system features advanced loudspeakers that deliver a clean, powerful, room-filling sound experience discretely from a bookshelf or tabletop. The gorgeous speaker cabinets are easy on the eyes, with or without the speaker grille, and feature metal matrix waveguide-mounted tweeters that deliver big hi-fi sound from any location in the room.

Like its predecessors, the MAS 102 offers CD playbacks, FM radio, and a host of analog and digital inputs to playback music from external devices. New features to the system include digital audio connectivity, iPod/iPhone compatibility via a Bridge III dock (available separately for purchase) and a phono input that connects directly to a turntable. Integrating devices both old and new, the MAS 102 takes compatibility to the next level.

The speaker technology employs flat-panel mid-bass drivers and proprietary MMD® tweeters with integral waveguides delivering organic tones with enhanced stereo imaging. A 2 x 65-watt amplifier plays distortion-free sound at any listening level, and its sleek, pristine good looks integrate with any living environment.

“We know that in today’s fast-paced world people are looking for convenience and ease paired with high sound quality,” said David Slump, president, HARMAN Consumer Americas. “We engineer every system to employ the leading technologies to make music and entertainment experiences truly come alive, and the MAS 102 delivers that in a spectacular compact system.”

Features and Specifications

Complete integration using the performance of separate components with the ease of use of a single integrated system
Fully compatible with iPod/iPhone, MP3 and WMA, CD-R and CD-RW discs
Advanced loudspeakers feature custom 5-inch (130mm) mid-bass drivers and 1-inch (25mm) MMD® dome tweeters
Clock includes a sleep timer and dual alarms
Includes full navigation IR remote control
Phono input allows connection to turntables
Elegant and pristine design and compact in size
Pricing and Availability

The Harman Kardon MAS 102 complete, integrated audio system is available now for $999 at www.harmankardon.com/MAS102

It connects directly to your TV or A/V receiver, and there’s a wireless subwoofer that you can place wherever it resonates best. The soundbar isn’t underpowered, either, with two 3-inch drivers and one 3/4 tweeter for each channel, totaling 100 watts. Add the subwoofer and you’ve got, well, adequate sound for most shows and games.

I was just watching Star Wars last night on my laptop, and even with those tinny little speakers you can still get into a movie — but I’m not a surround sound connoisseur by any means. The thing is about this soundbar, though, is it costs $600, which puts it in competition with plenty of semi-budget surround systems. It’s got a nice, convenient design and (one hopes) decent sound, but it’s putting itself out there with that price. People may not believe it’s that much better than built-in speakers on some TVs.

At any rate, you can find out more over at HK — inputs, remote settings, and such.

The changes are minor, partly because the original design is so iconic. The new speakers sport a white LED light and black speaker feet to better match the latest iMac design. The 3rd generation also has a 3.5mm input, which allows for connecting audio players and other devices along with a computer. The controls are still built-into the mini-tower speaker and the integrated amp is still rated at 40W with 20W for the sub and 10W per satellite. The tl;dr is that if you don’t need an AUX-in or color-matching accents, save some cash and get the older one.

Short version: Harman/Kardon makes great speakers, and this set is no exception. If you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive home-theater speaker system, you can definitely do much worse then the HKTS 20BQ. This is a complete 5.1 system in a box, and includes everything you need to get your system rocking. The speakers have great response throughout the range, and the 8 inch powered subwoofer will definitely shake things up.

Features:

• Complete 5.1 home-theater speaker system
• Eight-inch, 200-watt, powered subwoofer
• Four identical, video-shielded, two-way satellite speakers
• Voice-matched, video-shielded, two-way dual-driver center speaker
• Includes all cables, satellite table stands and wall brackets for satellites and center
• MSRP: $799

Pros:

• Small speakers give off big sound
• All 5 speakers are voice matched and shielded
• Easy to set up and connect wires

Cons:

• Mounting brackets are a bit fiddly
• Includes wall mounting brackets, but not the floor stands
• Wires too short for some applications

Product page

Full Review: I want to start this out by saying that I’m not an audiophile. I don’t sit and obsess over frequency range, and until recently I didn’t even have a receiver that supported DTS. I do however love to watch movies and play games, and when I do I like to be able to hear everything that’s going on the way the audio engineer intended me to. I feel that the H/K’s definitely reproduce that sound quality. Of course, to test, I couldn’t just be scientific about it, the first thing I did was plug in the Blu-ray version of The Dark Knight, and ran it through the “Trip to County” scene. Absolutely stunning. The tonal range is perfect, and the balance between the four satellite and one center speaker is perfect. There are no obvious levels missing, and the subwoofer provided just the right amount of subtle bass tones.

For the not so subtle sound, I dropped Battlefield: Bad Company 2 into my Xbox 360. Again, the sound was what I expected from a company like Harmon/Kardon. Explosions were suitably window shaking, and the high tones from when a grenade explodes near your head are faithfully reproduced. The sound experience while gaming was excellent as well.

Music reproduction was good as well. There was no distortion at either end of the range, and the speakers performed well playing either Carmina Burana or Jump Around by House of Pain. All in all, no matter what the volume level, the sound reproduction was perfect. I’d say the only point that was really disappointing about the speakers was the wall mounts. Ideally, you want to point the rear channels at your optimum viewing location, and because of the way the speaker wire feeds into the bracket, that’s very difficult. It can be done, but expect to spend a little time thinking about how to mount the brackets.

Conclusion: Is the HKTS 20BQ worth the money? Well, I’m notoriously cheap, and I’m seriously considering buying a set of these for my house. The sound quality is amazing, and the speakers work well no matter if you are listening to music, playing games, or listening to your favorite explosion laden movie. MSRP is $799, but a saavy shopper can find them for $699 online.

You may need to have a pro – or at least someone who thinks he is a professional – install the device. The HK device has three main parts that must be wired together [pdf link]. The controller nob needs to be placed within arms reach, the screen installed in a convenient out-of-the-way location, and the iPod controller hooked up to 12v power and interfaced with the car’s stereo. Once installed though, it works like a high-quality HK product should.

I just got an email about Dolby Volume making its way into Harman Kardon’s latest receiver. That fact in of its self is news, but this receiver had yet to be announced and the email included most of the upcoming specs. We know now that the AVR 7550HD is going to be a 7.2, 110-watt receiver, capable of upscaling video sources to 1080p, and then shooting them over HDMI 1.3a. Plus, we also know that the new receiver is going to be the first unit powered by Texas Instruments newest dual-digital signal processor. This beast of a receiver should drop in January ’09, with a $2,799 MSRP attached.

Oh, yeah, the AVR 7550HD is equipped with Dolby Volume too.

Update: Added press pictures

WOODBURY, NY – At CEDIA 2008, Harman Kardon, Inc., becomes the first company to announce the inclusion of Dolby® Volume technology from Dolby Laboratories in an audio/video receiver. The new Harman Kardon® AVR 7550HD A/V receiver is a state-of-the-art home entertainment component that incorporates a host of industry-leading innovations, including Dolby Volume, which improves the listening experience by leveling the volume from any source and program material, while maintaining optimum sound quality at any listening level.  

The AVR 7550HD is also the first receiver to utilize Texas Instruments Incorporated’s (TI) newest DA710 audio digital signal processor (DSP) in a dual-DSP implementation, which provides unprecedented processing capability and multichannel audio performance.

Making its debut at CEDIA 2008, the 7.2-channel Harman Kardon AVR 7550HD is the brand’s new top-of-the-line A/V receiver. In addition to Dolby Volume, the AVR 7550HD offers a wealth of leading-edge features and technologies, including Dolby TrueHD lossless technology developed for high-definition media, HDMI V1.3a functionality, 1080p upscaling, an exclusive, high-definition full-color graphical on-screen menu system, 7 x 110 watts of power output (into 8 ohms), and many additional enhancements. It offers the ultimate in audio and video quality, home-entertainment system flexibility and ease of use – as well as striking, distinctively elegant styling.

Dolby Volume is an innovative approach to delivering consistent volume levels across a wide variety of content, channel programming or input sources. Using a psychoacoustic model of human hearing, Dolby Volume analyzes, measures and controls perceived volume levels. Dolby Volume complements the Dolby range of audio technologies, including Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.  
 
Mike Giffin, senior vice president for Global Brands, noted, “In designing our new AVR 7550HD receiver, we considered Dolby Volume to be an essential element of its feature set. It provides an important new benefit to consumers, and perfectly complements our design philosophy of making the most advanced audio and video technologies easy for people to use and enjoy.”

Craig Eggers, senior marketing manager at Dolby Laboratories, said, “Harman Kardon, Inc., and Dolby Laboratories are committed to innovation and excellence in audio reproduction. Thanks to the exceptional fidelity and resolution of the AVR 7550HD and the capabilities of Dolby Volume, listeners will be able to get an amazing experience from their entertainment.”

The Texas Instruments DA710 digital audio processor is the latest in the Aureus family of multichannel-audio encoding and decoding digital signal processors from TI. It is designed to provide exceptional high-quality audio processing and to deliver unsurpassed multichannel sound quality. The 32-bit processing performance of the DA710 enables it to optimally support the AVR 7550HD’s advanced audio software, which includes Dolby Volume, Dolby TrueHD, proprietary Logic 7® surround sound-enhancement technology from Harman International, and other applications. 
   
The Harman Kardon AVR 7550HD 7.2-channel audio/video receiver will be available in January 2009 at a suggested retail price of $2,799.

Indiana Jones or Superman prop; classy or just plain tacky? I can’t decide but I’ve to give the boys over at Harman Kardon for suck a clever name: GLA-55. ‘Cause it’s made out of glass. Get it? 

Anyway, getting down to the details. Only two to three thousand are going to be made and priced at £500. Within the crystal speakers lay a 56 watt per speaker digital amplifier, DSP equalization all traveling out to a 3.5mm output. So yes, sadly, these bookshelves will be found on your desk, tied down to your computer or iPod. H/K announced these speakers at IFA, so naturally, there isn’t any mention of a US launch just yet. What does it matter, you’re not going to get ‘em anyways ’cause they would clash with your drinking bird so badly. 

via ShinyShiny

Hardman/Kardon’s Drive + Play 2 is a mobile media manager that can be installed into your car. It features a 3.5-inch customizable full-color display, five-button wireless controller, a power adapter that connects to the car’s lighter, digital expansion hub and allows you to fully browse through your Apple iPod or Microsoft Zune.

If you don’t have an Apple iPod or a Microsoft Zune, no biggie. Drive + Play 2 will support any music/flash players also as they are USB-based. The bad part is, Drive + Play 2 will not charge anything but an iPod. The other downside to this product is its suggested retail price, which is a whopping $399. Why would you pay $399 for a media manager when you can pay less and get a whole new CD/DVD deck w/ LCD screen that supports the iPod? Sorry HK, it’s a cool idea, but it’s just not worth biting.

Harman Kardon Present Drive + Play 2 [product page]