Harman/kardon - One Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Black

I've tried just about everything out there — Bose SoundLink, Sony SRS-X2, a couple of off-brand Bluetooth speakers, and now this one. This one blows them all out of the water, and it's well-worth the money. Something to know about Bluetooth speakers: If you're a true audiophile and you like listening to music with complicated instrument tracks, Bluetooth technology is probably not for you. Even if you rip, or copy, your music to your phone or tablet at CD quality (AIFF or Apple Lossless), Bluetooth compresses your music so that it can travel wirelessly and seamlessly from one Bluetooth device to another. Bluetooth has evolved over the years, and the latest Bluetooth technology (Bluetooth 3.0 and higher) take into account that people want to listen to stereo music through portable Bluetooth speakers. It's good, but it's still not great. But for most people, it's good enough. Audio quality was a big issue for me. The Sony and off-brand speakers weren't very well-built, and it seemed like all were trying to overcompensate for bass at the cost of nice mids and highs ("trebel"). The Bose, on the other hand, compensated for everything, making everything sound worse and artificial in the process — a big letdown because Bose headphones are great. Where Bose engineers to make everything sound crisp, Harman Kardon engineers to make everything sound realistic. It shows in this little speaker Harman Kardon developed jointly with HTC. The One was designed to pair easily with the HTC One (Harman developed a version of the Android phone), but it works with any Bluetooth device. I use it mostly with my iPhone. Compatibility works well. Pairing is relatively simple. Wireless distance is unmatched. Battery life is OK — it's 5 hours, which is good, but not great. It charges via micro USB though, so if you're looking to use this at an all-day outdoor event like the beach or a BBQ, you might want to take an external battery pack along. But most people will only care about the sound. To that, I say, if you want your music to sound lifelike, a good mixture of lows, highs and everything in-between, this is the speaker for you. I'm so glad Harman Kardon is now selling their excess stock through Best Buy and online, and at $99, it's a steal (don't literally steal it, though, however tempted you might be). Aside from the battery, the only thing I'd change about this speaker is the volume settings. Even though it has volume buttons, it uses the volume settings of the device. At its lowest level, the speaker is VERY LOUD. Which, on the one hand, is great — means the device's battery won't drain as fast. On the other hand, if you're looking to use it in a quiet study, you won't be able to adjust the volume to a whisper. That having been said, if you've looked all over for a great sounding speaker, you've found it here in the Harman Kardon One. Buy it. Buy it now. Do it. Click the "buy button." Did you buy it yet? No? You should. Go for it.

Great sound, connectivity, design and craftsmanship, includes a sturdy Case, and at a good price point (BB Sale of $99). Upon unpackaging, you will notice the quality of the Speaker materials, very good. The design (aesthetics) also impresses; this will sit nicely wherever you place it. The sound is clear, even at high volume, with the different instruments distinguishable. The weight is proportionate to the size. The case is good and protective, but not (imho) from drops on hard surfaces, then again did not attempt to test it. The case only accommodates the speaker, not the charger or cable. The charger has the collapsible (into the charger body) prongs, and the cable is of decent length. Great Sound from a Small enclosure. The minors: 1) The BT LED kept flashing, even when I had the speaker wired to my source, could not turn it off. 2) Long charging time to obtain (at most) a 5-hr charge. Also, I noticed that when I purchased this on Sale at BB, the regular price claim was $199, which enticed me to snatch it right away. Therefore, afterwards, I didn't see the sale price as a "Must Buy Now". But, I've noticed that the price mostly can be had at @ $119, and that the price remains on sale at BB for $119 ("sale"). Would I have purchased this for $199(?), "No", but at $99 or even $119, "Yes". I did return this because after comparing to my Bose Soundlink II, I preferred the Bose even though it cost me twice as much ($199). However, if I did not already have the Bose, then "Yes" I definitely would have kept this unit.

I bought both the Insignia™ - Portable Bluetooth Stereo Speaker and the Harman-Kardon One Bluetooth speaker as a present for my husband so he could decide which one he liked better. Both sound good, both have microphones so you use it with a telephone call, both work well with FaceTime. This was important as the mic on his iPad doesn't work anymore. And both have a 5mm port that you can use with a non Bluetooth audio device. Music sounds great on both. However, the maximum volume on the Insignia is about ½ the loudest on the Harman-Kardon. That was ok by him, as he doesn't like really loud music. The Insignia came with a USB port so that you can also charge a device at the same time you charge the speakers. No, you can't charge a device while using the speakers. It's either on, off, or charge. But you can use the speakers while they are plugged in and charging (on both). The battery life of the Insignia is about 30 hours and the Harman about 5, according to their respective instruction pages. I haven't tested this yet. When using the speakers with FaceTime I heard muffled, windy, but soft, noise on the Harman but not on the Insignia. Since the Harman costs 4 times the Insignia, I thought I shouldn't hear any noise. So, because there is longer battery life, USB charging of an external device, no noise when using FaceTime, and ¼ the price, we kept the Insignia speaker. But if you want to have really loud music, like at a party, or outdoors, the Harman is a great choice.

Admittedly I only found this speaker due to a sale advert by my local store - I am very happy with my purchase. Some have complained of its relatively short lifespan, this speaker packs quite the punch, to be expected from a Harmon Kardon product, I suppose. A full metal casing, and soft rubber shielding on either end, provides not only a very sleek look but also a decent sense of security in the fact that if dropped (which I have only done once, thus far) minimal damage will be sustained. Additionally, as previously mentioned this speaker has a short life span of roughly 5 hours time, from full charge at constant usage, till battery death, but the entire time will offer a crisp, and if you so desire, quite LOUD bang for the buck. I was able to grab this item on sale for 79.99 USD but even at full retail of 199.99 I would still consider the purchase. As an aside - this speaker also offers NFC chip functionality (meaning you can just "tap" a similarly NFC chip equipped Bluetooth device to connect), 1 Auxiliary 3.5MM port and includes the charging cable required to power the little beast.

I have listened to beats pill 2.0 in store and Sony models currently on display in store and decided to take home a few and try in their likely permanent location. I have tried fugoo style (excellent sound, features, definitely recommend), Milwaukee's m12 Bluetooth speaker for jobsites ( ridiculous battery life, great sound, price for battery and speaker way high for what you get), and Harmon kardon one. The clarity is on par with all of them. The mids and highs are amazing even at high volume. By the way, all the speakers mentioned have to be turned up all the way to be acceptable. This speaker does what they do turned to half way volume. This thing is the undisputed champ so far for loudness and clarity. However very much like you will find out, this speaker wasn't built to knock itself off the desk with bass. None of the others so far that I've heard can either. I was upset when finding that out. Especially the ones that clearly claim they're much better in this field. You're not going to get that in this category of speaker. If I'm wrong let me know. Battery life is ehhhhh. I have it making about 3 or so hours before it shows 2 bars on the status indicator. Great build, looks smooth and if you can catch it on sale for $100 it's a steal. I still want to try the ue boom 2 and the Jbl charge 2+ but am hesitant because I'm closer to considering that to all be a waste of time. This speaker plays particularly well classic rock and Metallica type metal. Hip hop sounds great but is just missing that thump you want for bass. That's no deal breaker for me. Just get this speaker. You'll be impressed. Bonus: for ultraportability get the Jbl clip. I got it on sale for $40 and I can't believe the sound quality from it. Super awesome little speaker.

I purchased this speaker as a means of upgrading/replacing my first generation beats pill. It initially caught my attention when i saw it during a sale taking it from 199.99 all the way down to 79.99. Unfortunately i missed that sale, but it still brought me to the page to read the reviews about it. For me, it was between the Harman Kardon One and the Bose Soundlink Mini 2, but the harman kardon one simply based on the fact that it constantly had a couple sales going for it to lower the price, although not as low as i initially found it at. Going off of prior reviews, it appeared the harman kardon was favored by many users over the bose soundlink mini 2. Bang for the buck, the harman kardon does sound amazing even at full volume with no distortion; it even does have a higher volume output than the bose. Unfortunately there was not a demo set up for this specific speaker at my local store so i went on a wimb and purchased it. It left me slightly disapointed in the lack of deep bass it delivered, and that was primarily what i was looking for. I found myself returning it to pony up a little more money to purchase the bose soundlink mini 2. Overall, if you want an amazingly clear and loud speaker that is both compact and extremely well built and do not want a full deep bass sound, the harman kadon one is the better buy. In my scenario i specifically was looking for bass and swapped out for a different speaker, but both are fantastic products. The bose seems to never have any sales as far as i have seen, and the harman kardon does. if you are fortunate enough to find the harman kardon one while it is on sale, it is absolutely worth the purchase.

I purchased this HK One trying to find a great compact bluetooth speaker without spending $200. I have been using it for a month or two and finally wrote a review because I had a chance to compare it to what I thought was the leader in portable speakers: the Bose brand. I was always blown away by this speaker; the clarity, the lack of distortion even at max volume (which is very loud for a speaker this size). I recently had the chance to stream music from Pandora on my iPhone 6s to a Bose Soundlink Mini 2. (Another $200 speaker). The HK One's clarity is amazing compared to the Bose. The HK One sounds crystal clear while the Bose sounded muffled and not clear, in comparison. The HK One totally blows the Bose away in volume. The HK One easily doubles, probably triples the volume of the Bose with minimal distortion. The only disadvantage the HK One would have would be battery life. The max battery life is about 5 hours, but don't expect more than 2 or 3 with any higher than half volume. Based on sound quality alone I would give this 5 stars, but considering it is a portable device and needs to be cordless, 2-3 hours doesn't cut it in that department. Even though this speaker is selling for $200 again, I bought it on sale for $80. So glad I didn't pay $200 for the lesser quality Bose.

I had a Bose Bluetooth speaker in my hand and was ready to purchase it when I was urged by my sales associate to listen to the Harman Kardon Bluetooth speaker. I was VERY doubtful, but he was VERY confident that I would agree with him if I just listened to it. I am a Bose fan from way back, so I automatically went to it without even listening to any of the other speakers. My sales guy hasn't steered me wrong in the past, so I gave him the benefit of a doubt and listened to the Harman Kardon speaker. I was literally blown away. I had the opportunity to listen to them side by side and the Harman Kardon was the obvious winner,. The cost, of course, was far less that the Bose. I saved $40 and had a superior speaker, in my humble opinion. I was buying it to take on vacation with me and loved that it was small enough to pack in my suitcase, but powerful enough that many people stopped by our pool-side cabana to comment on it. It held a charge for about 5 hours before I had to plug it in. I have not been disappointed in this speaker at all.