Harman Shows Breadth of Wireless HD Reach With Adapter That Extends Listening to Car
LAS VEGAS -- Harman gave the U.S. market its first look at the company’s Omni HD-enabled multiroom wireless speaker system, which it bowed at IFA last summer with the Omni 10 ($199) and Omni 20 ($299) speakers that fall under the company's Wireless HD multiroom music system. The company also launched the Adapt wireless adaptor ($129) for use with non-Omni speakers. At its offsite CES exhibit at the Hard Rock Hotel, Harman showed us its 2.1-channel soundbar due in stores in April or May at a suggested retail price of $799. The Wireless HD lineup is Harman's challenge to Sonos and other multiroom audio systems on the market, a company spokesman said.
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The Omni speakers are controlled by the Harman Kardon Controller App and pack Bluetooth connectivity for streaming from a smartphone or tablet. The Omni Bar has a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button used to connect to a router with the Wireless HD system via a one-button sync process, a spokesman said. For routers that don’t have a WPS button, users can set up the system through the app, he said.
Harman’s unique touch in the multiroom Wi-Fi music world is a feature called One Touch Follow Me Audio, which allows users to continue the music when they move to another room at the touch of a “Link” button -- even when streaming via Bluetooth, the company said. Up to seven speakers can be connected at once in an Omni system, the spokesman said, with independent audio zones available for each speaker. Speakers can be set up as mono speakers or in stereo pairs, he said.
Harman extended the Omni story to the car through the Adapt module that can be built into a car’s infotainment or aftermarket system, Jeff Brockmole, principal software engineer at Harman, told us. In a demo customized for CES, the company mounted the Adapt module in a Subaru with a Harman infotainment system to “bring the same home experience into the car,” Brockmole said. “When you’re getting ready in the morning, listening to music, you can now have that go out to your car,” he said. The module could be mounted in the car or embedded in an aftermarket amplifier, he said. Harman also is working with OEMs and is “actively pursuing” adding the technology to a vehicle’s electronic infrastructure, he said.
Matt Fisch, Harman vice president-global engineering, automotive, said Harman is in “very active discussions” with some OEMs on bringing the wireless HD audio solution to vehicles. The technology is ready to integrate into the product development cycle of an OEM product line, but it’s “up to them” to announce availability, Fisch said. “It’s very mature technology,” he said, saying the infotainment system adapted for the Wireless HD demo at Harman’s CES demo is the “same exact system” currently available as the Harman Kardon premium option for Subaru vehicles. Fisch asked the Harman engineering team 30 days ago to make Wireless HD work for the CES demo on the Subaru demo car, “and he was able to do it within a few weeks with some software changes,” Fisch said. Brockmole said on the aftermarket side, Harman could bring the technology to market within one or two years “because we own the cycle.”
Harman also announced at CES that its Clari-Fi is now a part of the Cirrus Logic Smart Codec platform. Harman calls Clari-Fi “music restoration technology” that’s designed to enhance music playback across hardware segments including car, mobile devices and home. The Clari-Fi algorithm “identifies which music sources have been compressed and, in real time, restores playback to the full listening experience,” Harman said. The Cirrus Logic WM8281 is a low-power audio system that combines a quad-core digital signal processor with a codec that includes Always-on Voice, multi-mic wideband noise reduction, acoustic echo cancellation, speech enhancement and advanced media enhancement, according to a statement.
In the JBL line, Harman launched its lowest priced Bluetooth speaker to date. The $30 JBL Go Bluetooth speaker, thicker than a deck of cards but small enough to carry, has a five-hour battery life and comes in 10 colors, according to specs. The device has a built-in microphone that can be used to answer smartphone calls and includes an auxiliary in jack. The previous entry point for a JBL Bluetooth speaker was $50, a company spokeswoman said.
A new gesture feature in JBL headphones allows users to operate basic music controls of a smartphone -- track advance and reverse, volume and pause, for example -- with hand movements. The JBL Reflect Response headphones use a behind-the-head design. Suggested retail price is $150, a company spokeswoman said.
Harman also said at CES it's collaborating with Neil Young and his PonoMusic service to “expand their reach into the car and let people hear music as the artist intended,” long a pursuit of the singer-songwriter and rock legend who has been an advocate for high-res audio. The parties didn’t give details about what the partnership entails but said Harman’s Omni system supports 24-bit/96-kHz audio streaming.