Harman/kardon - Onyx Studio Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Black

After multiple trips to several stores to demo every portable speaker in the $100-$300 range, the HK Onyx Studio and the Bose Soundlink III were the clear leaders in terms of sound performance and build quality. So I purchased both and brought them home for a side-by-side test. Here's a summary of my observations (scored on 10 point scale): Sound Quality: HK: 10 Bose: 8 Rationale: The HK sounds better than any other portable speaker I have listened to, by a substantial margin. The Bose doesn't sound bad, but its considerably smaller size significantly limits its ability to reproduce low frequency sound (bass). The HK will also play noticeably louder than the Bose. Battery Performance: HK: 9 Bose: 9 Rationale: Both provided hours of operation at surprisingly loud listening levels. Price: HK: 6-10* Bose: 8 Rationale: Both are relatively expensive, but the HK's MSRP is artificially high ($400). Because HK allows "sale" pricing, you can get it much cheaper than MSRP (unlike the Bose, where price is strictly controlled). If you can get the HK for $300 or less, then it's absolutely worth the price. I was fortunate enough to get mine for around $200, which makes the price a 10+! Portability: HK: 7 Bose: 10 Rationale: This is the strong-suit of the Bose. It is smaller, lighter, and has a shape more conducive to traveling. While the HK is also very portable, it's more awkward to carry and/or stow, and it seems more fragile (no data to prove this, just a hunch). Features: HK: 8 Bose: 10 Rationale: The Bose has a couple more features than the HK, such as direct connect. I didn't need them, but some might find them very useful. Bottom Line: Since sound quality was my highest priority and I have no plans to travel with the speaker (other than around the house & yard), the HK was the clear winner for me. Its sound quality is in a class of its own, battery life is very good, and connectivity is quick & easy. I've used it daily for about two months and continue to be impressed with its performance. If portability is your highest priority, then I would recommend the Bose Soundlink II or III. Both are much easier to carry/pack for travel and are more ruggedly designed for the occasional impact.

I'm VERY particular when it comes to sound. From headphones to in car audio, it has to sound the best. I was a Best Buy employee when I purchased this speaker. For the employee discount price, I couldn't pass up the opportunity, considering this is my first Harman/Kardon purchase. I had high hopes for this speaker, but boy was I wrong! This speaker surpassed every expectation I had by a mile! If you buy this speaker, I recommend taking the little plastic piece covering the Harman/Kardon logo on the back, because it will make a slight difference in the bass performance. Upon lifting the front lid, I quickly noticed this speaker was not here for the party, it WAS the party. This speaker (when placed in the right part of a room adjacent to your listening position) can easily blow you away with the clarity, bass performance, and loudness. The way the drivers are positioned, it can even slightly give you a "surround sound" effect, if the placement is right. This speaker packs a punch anyways, but it is a bit louder and more powerful if you use it while its plugged in the wall. Battery life is exceptionally good as well, considering this thing is powering 6 drivers. I listen to it pretty regularly, and I can easily get 2 1/2 weeks of charge out of this thing. It all also depends on the volume level. The only downfalls of this speaker is its only bluetooth. No aux input or Wifi Connectivity. Theres a micro USB port on the back for "software updates", but I've owned this speaker for over a year now and have never even used it. Lastly, the outer material can show oily/greasy fingerprints pretty easily, but its nothing that a cloth can't fix. I've really put this speaker through its paces, as I've played it loud in the house as I'm moving around, and a little bit louder outside in parties, and I can honestly say it still sounds as good as it did the day I pulled it out of the box. Harman/Kardon really did a FANTASTIC job building this speaker. I've NEVER regretted spending the money on this speaker. If you are on the edge about pulling the trigger and buying this, DO IT! I PROMISE you, that you will NOT regret it! This is one of the best purchases I've EVER made!

This thing sounds great for the size and price (if you get it on sale). I demoed it at the store and was very happy with the bass and overal sound. It was plugged in and it took my a while to get around to wondering if it had a battery built in (no I didn't read the box carefully HD the spec tag on the shelf did not mention it. I actually figured it would have a battery pack thinking it needed a good power source to sound so good (especially the bass). I unplugged the power cord anyway and sure enough, it stayed playing! That sold me on it. I wasn't concerned with checking reviews like I usually do as we were out of town for the weekend (DMB concert) and needed tunes on the back porch of our hotel room. Yes it was an impulse buy and haven't used it much since but it sure worked for us that weekend. It played for over two hours unplugged but it came back in and plugged in before it died so no idea how long the battery actually last. It connects easily to devices and the controls are simple and easy on it. Of course we mostly just control it of out phone where the music is playing from. It charges at a good rate but I think it needs to be on to do so. I have not checked this out but we had it plugged in and turned off for a few weeks and when I unplugged it and took it elsewhere to use, it was dead. Unless it was a glitch and just would turn on for some reason other than dead battery. I plugged it in and then turned it on. The power button started flashing which indicates it's charging but that always does that for a bit when first plugged in and turned on so no idea if it was really dead or just some glitch. I highly doubt they would design it that way but I'll have to tat that some other time. We did use it during Christmas on the back porch surrounded by family and everyone enjoyed taking turns at putting on their own music. This version doesn't have the AUX input and can only play through Bluetooth so that is something to consider but who doesn't have Bluetooth these days. I believe there is a more expensive unit that does have AUX input through mini phono jack. The only draw back is not including or offering a case for it. The front dome shaped speaker cover is pretty tough so far so no worries about damaging the front speakers but just concerned about the rear woofer diaphragm, I believe it's a diaphragm to help reproduce the bass from the internal facing woofer so it's not directly attached to the speaker. It still just seems like it could be damaged throwing into the backseat with other things around it. I would like to have a form fitting soft sided case but I'll just need to come up with that myself. I would have gave it 5 stars but even though the sound is really good it's not the highest feddelity spund device I have heard. Also the "retail" price is way to much and of course BestBuy has had it at a discount right off the bat but it regally needs to found on sale for nor more than $100 to be a good deal. You also have to keep in mind that Bluetooth alone caused slight quality loss and that most all music coming from phones and small players are super comprised music files that degrade quality even more. To me this is good quick fix to get some good sounds that beats most of those tiny Bluetooth speakers that are only more popular because of their size.

Here is the deal. I have purchased the bose mini sound link nice speaker packs a nice punch at $200. I took it back because I wanted a longer battery life and purchased the sound link nice speaker $300 dollars. I was in the store walked by the magnolia section and heard the the best sounding speaker ever for that size. It was the B&W A5 Awesome speaker. Problems with it though only works wifi or with a cable to the source No Bluetooth I have since purchased a Bluetooth adapter for $40. It also is not really made to be portable because it has no battery must be plugged in at all times. Which leads me to the Harman /Kardon Onyx. If I close my eyes sometimes I can be fooled in to thinking that I am listening to the B&W A5. Pros great sound. Large volume Bluetooth has a battery that says it can go six hours between charges. The real kicker is BestBuy is selling it right now for $199. Only cons I can see is it is not wifi and no remote but I can live with that. Turn down for what!!!!

I found the product to put out decent sound only. It sounds much better if somewhat enclosed such as under the dash in a car as I had placed it there on the floor when cleaning my car's interior. This helped the bass quite a bit. Overall, I found the highs lacking. The bass was reasonably sufficient given the type of unit being reviewed. What I found astonishing was the lack of a power level readout. As such, you have no measure of how long the device will run -- it just cuts out when the battery is depleted. Likewise, the speaker is awkward as a portable unit. The shape does not lend to packing well for trips, and it is larger and heavier than I imagined it would be. It looks reasonably nice, but I found it too awkward and too lacking in features to recommend to others or to keep it as I returned it shortly after receiving the unit. I believe I will focus on the Bose Soundlink Mini II as it just debuted with additional features over the original model. It has phenomenal audio output and doubles as a speakerphone -- the Harman Kardon does not. The Bose is much more portable, sounds better in my opinion, and comes with with additional features. Please know that I am not affiliated with either manufacturer. I am simply presenting my perceptions and opinions on the product purchased. The best suggestion I will offer is to educate yourself. Give them both a try as each person likely has different audio preferences.

I went to BB yesterday to pickup the JBL Charge or Charge 2 for my garage. I figured I couldn't go wrong with all the good reviews. I also had the TDK Trek Max A34 and Sony SRS X5 on my list. Good thing I went in the store to test them all out, because I walked out w/this beast instead. Granted it's not as compact as the aforementioned devices, but the quality & design's what blows all of them all out of the water. The above devices certainly have their place and are decent purchases in their own right I'm sure; but if you want something that'll be pleasing to the ears (decent mids & highs# with some good bass behind each track #tested w/multiple genres of music# and will mostly be used as a permanent fixture indoors (kitchen/garage#, this is it. The only other thing that came close was the Marshall Stanmore #$400), which I also liked for the adjustable bass and treble controls. But for $250 less the HK Onyx is pretty much a steal of a deal. Looks like I'll be finding more excuses to hang out in the garage.

It took me over a year to decide which Bluetooth speaker to get. I was originally debating between the Bose Soundlink Mini and the UE Boom. I read countless reviews and listened to both speakers in the store. One day I was at BB and came across this speaker on sale for $150 (reg. price $399) and when I heard the sound that came out, I forgot the other two contenders, went with this one and bought it that same day. It connects easily with Bluetooth and has a good range. Not only is this speaker LOUD, it has great sound quality, clarity and awesome bass. When I say this speaker is loud, I refer to the fact that in a normal-sized room, volume at half is almost too loud, so if you like loud music, there's plenty of volume. Even taking this outside, the volume is great. It boasts a 5-hour battery life, which must be true because I've used it outside for hours and have never run out yet. It's got a classy-looking design and thick, rubber-padded feet to cushion all the bass. It has a scoop on the back near the top for easy carrying. I would definitely recommend looking into this speaker if you are in the market for a high-quality, loud Bluetooth speaker. Two thumbs up from me!

These speakers are incredible! They're on sale for $150 at that time I'm writing this review. They're a steal at this price. By comparison the Bose Soundlink Mini is $179 and I think these way outperform the Bose ones. Based on my in-store testing the bass is great on both speakers. However, the Soundlink Mini can sound muddy since the highs/mids are overshadowed by the bass. The clarity on the Onyx Studio is superb without sacrificing that nice strong punchy bass sound. Also the Onyx Studio can get incredibly loud without getting fuzzy. Bose, by comparison is fine on its own if you're using it for a small room, but is nowhere near the volume/power of the Onyx. Pros: - AMAZING sound, great clarity of mids/highs along with fantastic bass power - Minimalist controls and design, sleek-looking - Bluetooth capability has good range, easy to sync - Price - Seems to be sturdy and of good build quality Cons: - Not very portable, it's quite heavy and large (Bose Soundlink Mini would definitely win on portability) - Does not contain USB charger cable although there is a port for it - No 3.5mm audio jack -- it can only sync to bluetooth devices If you're looking for a great sounding compact speaker, look no further!