Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 7 Review
When discussing the Harman Kardon company in the audio industry, I believe that many people’s first impression is that the product is fashionable and high-end. And so is the latest released Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 7 portable Bluetooth speaker.
The design is very unconventional. It combines a sense of science and technology with artistic beauty. However, the appearance is very recognizable, and the sound quality is also good.
It can be said that the product design and user experience give people a high-end perspective. Harman Kardon recently launched the ONYX STUDIO 7 Bluetooth speaker. What surprises will this product bring us?
Design
ONYX STUDIO is a classic series from Harman Kardon. A total of 6 generations of products have been launched before, and the previous 5 and 6 generations are all seashell-shaped designs.
The top of the speaker is made as a handle, which looks like a handbag. And this time, the brand-new ONYX STUDIO 7 has undergone significant changes in its shape design, making it into a ring-like style, like a satellite circling the planet to make a 360° revolution, drawing a clear trajectory path.
The logo of Harman Kardon on the front of Harman Kardon onyx studio 7 is clear and intuitive. The ring shape allows users to use the top or bottom, the two handle areas, to pick it up with one hand.
The ring is made of anodized aluminum, which is very strong and will not have rust issues after long-time use.
The body is wrapped in high-grade fabric. The positions of the body and the ring are fixed, cannot be adjusted by displacement back and forth. At the same time, because the speaker adopts the shape of the ring design, it has two supporting points in different positions.
The supporting base is also designed with anti-slip rubber pads. Therefore, the onyx studio 7 is more stable when placed on the table or the ground.
The overall weight of the speaker is 3295g. Although it looks heavy, it is pretty easy to carry. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a prominent portable Bluetooth speaker. There is no problem to take with it when you go out.
There are five buttons on the top area of Harman Kardon onyx studio 7. From left to right are the Bluetooth pairing button, volume down button, power on button, volume up button, and play button.
The play button also has the pause button function, and the volume up and down supports a long press to adjust the volume.
There is an indicator light below the button. When the speaker is turned on, a white indicator light will light up, and the unique sound effect of Harman Kardon will sound.
It is worth mentioning that the Bluetooth pairing method of Harman Kardon is different from many other speakers. It does not need to long-press the Bluetooth pairing button for the pairing operations. Instead, you can short press the Bluetooth pairing button, and wireless devices with Bluetooth functions such as mobile phones can search for it in the Bluetooth settings.
In addition, the pairing and shutdown sounds are also crisp and sweet. These sound effects are outstanding. Onyx Studio 7 supported Bluetooth protocol with version 4.2, and the audio is using SBC encoding format. But there are no higher encoding options such as APTX, AAC, and LDAC.
It’s a pity that Onyx studio 7 doesn’t support WiFi. It can only play music via Bluetooth or wired connection. Harman Kardon state the supported Bluetooth audio formats are A2DP 1.3 and AVRCP 1.6. Those are the most common SBC audio format.
Onyx studio7 does not support aptX and other high-quality Bluetooth sounding effects. Although the overall sound effect of the speaker is excellent, it will be better if it supports these Bluetooth formats.
There are three ports on the bottom of the back of the speaker. From left to right are the AUX port, the power port, and the maintenance port.
The speaker has a built-in 11.70Wh lithium-ion battery, which can play music continuously for 8 hours when fully charged. In addition, the Bluetooth speaker can be charged through the power interface.
Sound Performance
Harman Kardon onyx studio 7 has a built-in 120mm woofer and two 25mm tweeters. The rated output power is 50W, and the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than 80dB.
The bass is strong and powerful, especially when you put this Bluetooth speaker on the table and play the best rock music like “Boom”. You can feel that the table is also a regular shake along with the drum. You can feel its excellent bass effect very intuitively.
If Harman Kardon onyx studio 7 is used as a rhythm background music player for the party, it is also quite good.
In the mid-frequency vocal part, listen to the classic old song “Upside Down”, a male and female chorus. Again, the timbre of both male and female voices is quite mellow and clear.
For the high-frequency female vocal part, I chose “Endless Tears” as the test song. The tone reproduce of the high-pitched link is also very well done. There is no screaming due to excessive pitch and no glitch.
The human voice is also quite clear, and it also brings an immersive sound field. Different types of songs such as rock and female voices are very suitable for listening to. If one more ONYX STUDIO 7 is added, a powerful stereo system can be set up.
Users with higher requirements in terms of sound quality can also enjoy a better music experience through an AUX connection.
In the past, many Bluetooth speakers only supported wireless connection to one mobile device, while ONYX STUDIO 7 can connect two Bluetooth devices simultaneously.
In this way, when you and your friends are at the party, everyone can use their mobiles to play songs without reconnecting, which is very convenient. Of course, there must be a first-come-first-served song to play songs. Harman Kardon onyx studio 7 Bluetooth speaker will not have the problem of crosstalk when two mobile devices are playing simultaneously.
Conclusion
In general, Harman Kardon onyx studio 7 Bluetooth speaker still has unique and innovative craftsmanship in its shape design, and the minimalist style is just right. In addition, the sound quality also performed well.
It is not only a practical portable Bluetooth speaker but also a piece of art worth watching carefully and slowly. No matter where it is placed in a warm and comfortable home, there will be no obvious sense of violation. You can feel the elegant life outdoors. It is definitely a wise decision that you go to learn more about this novel artwork.
Harman Kardon onyx studio 7 Specifications
- Speakers: Woofer 1 x 120mm, Tweeter 2 x 25mm
- Rated output power: 50 W RMS
- Power supply: 19 V / 2 A
- Frequency response: 50 Hz – 20 kHz (-6dB)
- Signal-to-noise ratio: > 80 dB
- Bluetooth® version: 4.2
- Bluetooth® profile: A2DP 1.3, AVRCP 1.6
- Bluetooth® transmitter frequency range: 2400 MHz – 2480 MHz
- Bluetooth® transmitter power: ≤ 9 dBm (EIRP)
- Bluetooth® transmitter modulation: GFSK, π/4 DQPSK, 8DPSK
- Wi-Fi network: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz)
- Battery type: Li-ion polymer 11.70 Wh (equivalent to 3.6 V/ 3250 mAh)
- Battery charge time: 5 hours
- Music play time: up to 8 hours (dependent on volume level and audio content)
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 268.0 x 302.5 x 159.5 mm/ 10.55 x 11.90 x 6.28 “
- Weight: 3.295 kg/ 7.26 lbs
