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You are here: Home / 2016 / Archives for December 2016

Archives for December 2016

Moto Z Droid Review – A Verizon Exclusive

12/24/2016 By Hakan Can

Moto Z Droid review

Review: Moto Z Droid Smartphone

It feels like only yesterday when I purchased an unlocked Moto X Pure. Not even a year has passed from that date and we now see the latest offerings with the Moto Z moniker, this time from Lenovo. Within the Moto Z family, Verizon offers consumers the most choices: Moto Z Play Droid, Moto Z Droid, and Moto Z Force Droid. Lenovo didn’t stop there. They worked with third-party companies like Hasselblad and JBL to introduce complimentary products called Moto Mods. I had the pleasure of testing one such mod with a Moto Z Droid for a few weeks. How does the Moto Z Droid fare against its predecessor or the competition for that matter? Let’s find out in this Moto Z Droid review.

Moto Z Droid review

Pros:
• Beautiful, creative design
• Solid construction
• Top of the line specifications
• Moto Mods accessories
• Quick battery charging time + TurboPower™

Cons:
• Average battery life of 2600 mAh
• It’s water repellent, not waterproof
• No Moto Maker
• Some Moto Mods may be too expensive for some
• Wi-Fi drop issues

Read:   JAM Audio Xterior Max Speaker Review

Moto Z Design and Features

As far as top-tier phones go, this model is very similar to those from Google, LG, and Samsung. All have top of the line specifications with regards to the screen, CPU, and GPU. When compared to its predecessor, the Moto X Pure, there are mostly design improvements, but a few back steps. The Moto Z  is shorter in both height and width, and thinner in depth. The Moto Z is 0.91 mm thinner against the thinnest part of the Moto X Pure. If you recall, the latter has a curved back which consumers liked. The screen size has decreased from 5.7″ to 5.5″, which in my opinion is an improvement.

Moto X Pure:
• Height: 153.9 mm
• Width: 76.2 mm
• Curve: 6.1 to 11.06 mm
• Weight 179 grams

Moto Z Droid:
• Height: 153.3 mm
• Width: 75.3 mm
• Depth: 5.19 mm
• Weight: 136 grams

Among reviewers, there’s been much discussion about the placement of the Moto Z’s power and volume buttons. For you left-handed users, this won’t matter one bit, but for you right-handed users, this is where a dispute arises. First of all, the change in location is a plus from where it was on the Moto X Pure. Even though the size of the buttons has decreased, many right-handed users won’t like how their thumb rests on the volume up button. I would have preferred to have the power button up high, rather be in the third position. Anyhow, all of this discussion disappears when you use a case to protect your phone.

Most, if not all reviewers, failed to view this button placement in the following way. I use a Joby mobile phone holder (and flexible tripod) with my Moto X Pure. This allows me to take better pictures and video of Elmas the cat and my skateboarding. Because you want to balance your phone, you would place the Joby holder along the centerline of your phone. You see, on the Moto X Pure, the volume buttons are in the way, hence the problem. With the Moto Z, there’s no button interference; thus one of my biggest headaches disappears as the Joby correctly grabs the phone.

Concerning the design, the aluminum chassis is too slippery in my hands. The removable back panel adds some texture, but it isn’t enough. If you want to ensure the Moto Z stays in your hand, a protective case is a must.

Read:   Moshi Avanti Headphones Review

More Design and Features

The display on the Moto Z is a thing of beauty. Why this AMOLED screen didn’t appear on the Moto X is a mystery, especially when it appeared on its predecessor. I, for one, am glad it’s back. Like it’s predecessor, the display contains Corning® Gorilla® Glass. The only thing missing from this Droid is Shattershield™. If you want this feature, you’ll have to pay more as it’s only available on the Moto Z Force Droid.

Just below the AMOLED display, you’ll notice the fingerprint reader.

In case you haven’t heard or noticed, the 3.5 mm headphone jack and µ USB port were replaced with one USB-C connection. While I applaud this decision, I believe this change is premature and shouldn’t have taken place until the 2017 flagship model is released. You see, there are no headphones with a USB-C connection available just yet. To get around this issue, the folks at Lenovo include a 3.5 mm to USB-C port adapter with the Moto Z. Lose that dongle and you’re screwed, that is unless you have Bluetooth headphones. Charging and data transfer are done with this connection too.

[soliloquy id=”7068″]

Speaking of charging, the battery size on the Moto Z is 2600 mAh. I believe this is one of those step backs I referred to earlier. If I were in the business of designing mobile phones, I wouldn’t have gone below 3000 mAh, which is what the Moto X Pure has.

If you desire more battery life, you have three options. You can upgrade to the Moto Z Force Droid which has a 3500 mAh battery, or you can purchase one of two mods: the Incipio offGRID™ power pack or the Mophie juice pack. These two mods will substantially provide extra battery life. They’ll also add weight and thickness to your device. The Incipio product has the added feature of being compatible with a wireless charging pad. It would have been nice for the Moto Z to charge wire free mod free. I believe this misstep should be corrected in the next design build.

Storage and memory have stepped up with the Moto Z. Like other flagship mobile phones, this one incorporates 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. With storage, the phone is starting with either 32 or 64 GB on board with support up to 2 TB. Unfortunately finding micro SD cards over 256 GB is a laborious task.

Read:   Mr. Robot Season 2 Release Date Announced for DVD/Blu-ray

Moto X Pure versus Moto Z Droid

Moto X Pure:
• 1.8GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 808 processor with Hexa-core CPU and Adreno 418 GPU
• Android 6.0 OS
• 3GB LPDDR3 RAM
• 16GB/32GB/64GB, Micro SD Card support (up to 128 GB)
• 5.7” IPS TFT LCD, 1440p Quad HD (2560 x 1440), 520 ppi, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
• Battery (3000 mAh) TurboPower™ for up to 10 hours of power in 15 minutes of charging
• LTE Cat. 6 capable
• 21 MP Rear Camera ƒ/2.0 aperture Phase Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF)
• 5 MP Front Camera ƒ/2.0 aperture Wide-Angle lens
• Micro USB, 3.5 mm headset jack
• Moto Maker: 18 different inlays, colors, materials, and availability vary

Moto Z Droid:
• 2.2 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 processor with Quad-core CPU and Adreno 530 GPU
• Android 7.0 OS and Google Daydream VR ready
• 4GB LPDDR4 RAM
• 32GB/64GB, Micro SD Card support (up to 2 TB)
• 5.5” AMOLED, 1440p Quad HD (2560 x 1440), 535 ppi, Corning® Gorilla® Glass
• Battery (2600 mAh) TurboPower™ for up to 8 hours of power in 15 minutes of charging
• LTE Cat. 9 capable
• 13 MP Rear Camera ƒ/1.8 aperture Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) Laser Autofocus
• 5 MP Front Camera ƒ/2.2 aperture Wide-Angle lens
• USB-C port for headphones, charging and data transfer
• No Moto Maker

Read:   Libratone One Click Speaker Review

Built-In Camera

Now onto my favorite feature. So much has changed with the built-in camera that I’m not sure where to begin.

If you didn’t notice from the list above, the camera size has decreased to 13 MP but the aperture has increased to ƒ/1.8. The truth of the matter is this isn’t all bad news. How many of you were taking images at 21 MP with the Moto X Pure? I certainly wasn’t and part of my job description is to take photos for a living. The increased aperture on the rear camera is a plus, while the decreased aperture on the 5 MP front camera is barely noticeable.

If capturing 21 MP image is a must, then you’ll have to upgrade to the Moto Z Force Droid. It’s your only option.

With the Moto Z, we now get laser autofocus and optical image stabilization, both of which are increasingly appearing on all higher-end phones. Digital zoom has increased from 4X to 8X. Also standard is Google Photo integration. In my opinion, none of these is even the best feature. That’s reserved for ‘Professional mode.’

[soliloquy id=”7065″]

After activating the camera, in this case, the rear camera, touch the camera icon in the lower right corner of the screen. This action pulls up a menu consisting of the following: Photo, Video, Panorama, Slow motion, and Professional mode. The latter is most exciting. You can choose to take a photo right off the bat or you can open any of the five manual settings: Scene, White Balance, Timer, ISO (100-3200) and Exposure (-2 to +2). By adjusting any of the five settings, you can perfect your skills in the art of mobile photography.

On the main camera screen, there are icons for switching to the front camera, HDR (High Dynamic Range), Flash, and Timer. Swiping your finger to the left and right yield different results. When you initially swipe right, another menu appears. It’s in this menu where you can adjust such items as photo and video size, along with quick capture. Swiping left takes you to the images you just captured. No longer do you need to go into Photos (or Gallery) to see them. If you don’t like the picture the camera just captured, you can modify it or simply delete it. It’s a time saver for sure.

To take a screenshot, press and hold the power and volume down buttons for three seconds or until the camera shutter clicks, whichever come first. Sadly, I couldn’t get this to feature to function the way I believe it’s supposed to work. This a discussion I’ll need to have with my Verizon contact. I’ll update this post if the outcome changes.

Read:   Catalyst Introduces Waterproof Cases for iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2

Moto Mods

Moto Z Droid review

What makes the Moto Z family of phones stand out from its peers–a little something Moto Mods. Actually it’s a big deal. Roughly a year ago, LG introduced the G5, their flagship phone. After spending millions of dollars launching the product with commercials starring actor Jason Statham, sales have been a disaster. And the reviews weren’t much better. The biggest problem with LG’s design was that their phone was modular. Who wants to take apart a phone?

Lenovo took a different approach. They kept the phone intact, only allowing for the back shell to be removed. With this no-nonsense approach, Lenovo was able to reap those rewards that eluded LG. Lenovo has introduced a handful of mods, two of which have already been described above. The remaining ones are the JBL SoundBoost speaker, the Insta-Share projector, and the Hasselblad True Zoom camera. For the past few weeks, I had the pleasure of playing around with latter.

Moto Z Droid review

The Hasselblad True Zoom camera is quite the exciting product. With its 10x optical zoom, you’ll be able to take better, clearer photographs than before. After removing the back panel, the True Zoom mod magnetically snaps on and comes to life. With this mod, you’ll be to take photos at 12 MP and video in 1080P at 30fps.

Previously with the Moto X Pure, when you took a photo in HDR mode, you only received one JPEG image. Now, with the Hasselblad True Zoom camera mod on the Moto Z, you have the option to receive two images, JPEG and DNG, a RAW format. This added functionality comes in handy when you’re processing images in Adobe’s Photoshop.

The downside to having this mod is that it doubles the size and weight of the Moto Z. It’s a good thing that Lenovo provides a convenient carrying case for the Moto Z + True Zoom camera. It’s not only easy to carry around by hand, but it fits nicely into a back pocket or purse.

Moto Z Droid review

After spending $624 (or less) on the Moto Z Droid, purchasing the Hasselblad True Zoom camera mod for $299 (or less) is something you’ll have to ponder. My suggestion is to try out the camera mod at your local Verizon store, then decide.

Read:   Caseco Shock Express Metallic Case, Core 360, and Mountie Car Mount Review

Final Thoughts

Not only is the Moto Z Droid a worthy successor to the Moto X Pure, but it’s also a contender for your dollars against other top-tier mobile phones from the likes of Google, LG, and Samsung. Plus, no other brand has modular devices like Lenovo’s Moto Z.

While the Moto Z comes with some unnecessary bloatware, it’s easily removable. Oddly enough, the phone doesn’t come with Google Now Launcher pre-installed. Adding this should be one of the first things you do when you purchase the phone.

With CES2017 approaching, here’s hoping we see some new Moto Mods available in 2017.

What do you think of this Lenovo Moto Z Droid review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

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The Moto Z Droid smartphone comes with a one-year limited end-user warranty. If you’re looking for the User Guide, it can be downloaded here. Don’t hesitate to head over to the Motorola website to see their latest Z family of phones.

FTC Disclosure: Verizon Wireless provided Beantown LLC with one (1) Moto Z Droid and Hasselblad True Zoom camera mod sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC © 2016.

Read:   Silicon Valley Season 3 Release Date Announced for Digital HD

Moto Z Droid review

Filed Under: Phones Phablets Tablets Tagged With: Moto Mods, Moto Z, Moto Z Droid, smartphone, Verizon 09/19/2017

Libratone One Click Speaker Review

12/14/2016 By Hakan Can

Libratone One Click speaker review

Review: Libratone One Click Bluetooth Portable Speaker

Unless you’re a close follower of all things ‘Sound,’ you’ve probably never heard of Libratone before, and that’s a shame. As a company, Libratone is barely seven years old. But based on what they manufacture, they’re growing up quick, and about to enter adulthood. It’s been one heck of a busy year for this brand, introducing half of their current product line in the past six months. With the end of year approaching, they kept their right foot on the pedal and launched new products like the Q ADAPT in-ear and on-ear headphones. This brings us to the One Click Bluetooth portable speaker. So how does this product stack up? Let’s take a closer look in this Libratone One Click speaker review.

Libratone One Click speaker review

Pros:
• Beautiful, creative design
• Solid construction
• Powerful sound with exceptional bass
• Four attractive color options
• Great battery life ≥ 11 hours

Cons:
• Bass may be too strong for some folks
• While it’s splash proof, it’s not waterproof
• $200 price tag, may be too expensive for some

Read:   JAM Audio Xterior Max Speaker Review

One Click Design and Features

If you couldn’t already discern, the Libratone One Click is one engaging speaker. First off the design.

It’s hard to decide what makes the Libratone One Click Bluetooth speaker stand out the most.

  • Is it the attractive color choices and fabric scheme?
  • Is it the solid construction and the rubberized metal bumper?
  • Or is the multi-functional touch interface with the birdie on it?

Even I can’t narrow it down to one.

As I just stated, the One Click is surrounded by a most durable rubberized metal bumper. While I don’t recommend testing its sturdiness for yourself, just know that it can handle a fall from your desk. It’s also splash proof with an IPX4 rating. Now be careful with this speaker around say a swimming pool. If you drop it in water, it’ll sink like a brick. It does not float.

Like most bumpers, it’s adjustable/removable. You can attach the enclosed short strap or U-shaped lock through the bumper. Both options are shown in photos below. So if you want to connect your One Click to a backpack or just hold it like a purse, you can easily do so.

Read:   The New Case Logic Urban Commuter Laptop Backpacks for Men and Women

The fabric on the front/back surfaces of the One Click is not only eye-catching, but it’s also durable. The speaker is available in four colors: Cloudy Grey, Graphite Grey, Cerise Red, Caribbean Green. How cool would it have been if Libratone called the last color Caribbean Queen in honor of singer Billy Ocean? Just a thought.

I suspect that in a majority of people’s opinions, the touch interface is the coolest design feature. Through this interface, you can adjust volume, start and stop operation, as well as take and end calls. Adjusting the volume is a matter of circling a finger around the interface whereupon you see the backlit indication.

[envira-gallery id=”6983″]

On the rear of the speaker is the on/off button and splash protected area for the mini-HDMI and Aux ports. Charging the battery is handled via the aforementioned mini-HDMI jack. Should you want to listen to music or a podcast via a cabled connection, that’s what the Aux port is for.

I inquired about the TDH and wattage of the speaker, but the answer is more complex than I imagined. The word according to the Libratone’s Tech Department was “we do not provide THD and wattage specifications as these typically only express performance of single elements of the product, rather than the end result.” I can live with that response.

One thing I’d like to be able to do with the speaker is comfortably set it on its long edge. Although it’s possible, the speaker is not exactly stable.

The speaker has overall dimensions of 2.8″ x 6.6″ x 10.8″, and weighs in at 3.3 lbs.

What’s In The Box?

  • One Click Speaker
  • One Short Strap
  • One U-Shaped Lock
  • USB Charging Cable
  • Quick Guide
Read:   Preview: JAM Voice Portable Speaker featuring Amazon Alexa

Audio Performance & Playlist

• Lady Gaga – Joanne
• Lana Del Rey – Born To Die, Paradise
• Emeli Sandé – Our Version of Events
• Ellie Goulding – Halcyon

• The Black Keys – El Camino
• 30 Second To Mars – 30 Seconds To Mars
• John Coltrane – The Ultimate Blue Train
• Rush – Clockwork Angels

As we often state here at Beantown, when reviewing speakers and headphones, the most important performance factor is the quality of sound. Using the playlist above, the OneClick was tested across a broad range of music. Songs within each album were sampled against comparable $200 speakers selected from my collection. The results were noted, and quite kind to the reviewed speaker.

[envira-gallery id=”6974″]

Last week in a review of the HK One, I described that speaker in the following way, “It’s a sad moment when the only positive thing you can write about a product, in this case, a speaker, is its ability to deliver strong vocals.” I’m so glad I can’t make that statement two weeks in a row. You see, the One Click produced excellent vocals, which were warm and inviting. The One Click didn’t stop there. The speaker took a balanced approach with sound quality. For a speaker of its size, bass reproduction was excellent. In fact, it was too good thanks to its 3″ woofer. In my opinion, the bass sounds could have been dialed down a notch along with the vocals being dialed up one. I’m not complaining; it’s just personal preference.

Like the HK One, I tested the Libratone One Click against ten albums. When I say I haven’t heard better playback of John Coltrane, Rush, and 30 Seconds to Mars from a $200 portable speaker, it’s not an understatement. Say what you want about actor/musician Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds to Mars, but the Libratone One Click just played that album perfectly. It’s like the speaker was engineered for their sound. And I can’t wait until I listen to John Coltrane’s The Ultimate Blue Train again.

When the One Click was compared song-to-song against the HK One, the former delivered superior sound quality across all the sampled artists. Lana Del Rey’s vocal reproduction on Paradise was impressive. The same was said of the other female artists: Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, and Emeli Sandé.

The one negative takeaway from this Libratone speaker was that on Emeli Sandé’s song Wonder, I could barely hear the finger snapping which I know is in the song. If I weren’t familiar with the song, I wouldn’t have noticed that particular sound was missing.

Libratone One Click speaker review

I stood in different spots in my 300 ft² entertainment room, as well as adjacent rooms, and the sound quality did not disappoint. Then I placed the one Click around the room. What I heard out of the 1″ tweeter, 3″ woofer, and dual passive drivers was terrific. Thanks to the upfiring tweeter, you get what Libratone refers to as 360° FullRoom™ sound. I highly suggest placing the portable speaker (in a more central location) on a coffee book table should you have one.

The One Click’s sound quality was matched with excellent battery life. While I’m not certain of its lithium-ion battery size, although I suspect it’s around 5000 mAh, its life approached 12 hours. As a consumer, this is what you want from a $200 portable speaker. One night while testing, I had the speaker volume near its maximum for four straight hours and there was no drop off in sound output. What more can I say?

Read:   Harman Kardon One Speaker Review

Libratone App

While the speaker has received a 5 out 5 rating in Amazon reviews, the same cannot be said for the app. Reviews posted on the Google Play Store give it a rating of 2.9. Feel free to read them to get a better understanding. I too have had issues using the app, in particular two dropped calls in one night over Bluetooth, but none since that date. I can’t explain why it happened, it just did.

Since that time, I’ve had zero problems with updating the password, connecting via bluetooth, visiting internet stations such as BBC 6 Radio, or adjusting SoundSpaces. You can view the battery charge remaining and adjust volume via the app. Sadly, I couldn’t attempt pairing two Libratone speakers as I only have one available.

SoundSpace Settings:
• Neutral
• Easy Listening
• Soft & Comfortable
• Rock the House
• Jazz Club
• Movie Mode
• Live Concert
• Classical
• Speech

Read:   Catalyst Introduces Waterproof Cases for iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2

[soliloquy id=”6968″]

Upon downloading and installing the app, it will be able to perform the following:

• Retrieve running apps
• Approximate location (network-based)
• Reroute outgoing calls
• Read phone status and identity
• Access USB storage filesystem
• Read the contents of your USB storage
• Modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
• View Wi-Fi connections
• Allow Wi-Fi Multicast reception
• Connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi

• Allow Bluetooth pairing by Application
• View network connections
• Pair with Bluetooth devices
• Access Bluetooth settings
• Change network connectivity
• Full network access
• Run at startup
• Prevent device from sleeping
• Modify system settings

Read:   Mr. Robot Season 2 Release Date Announced for DVD/Blu-ray

Final Thoughts

Our results surpassed our expectations on the One Click portable speaker. It was a clear winner in features and performance over compared speakers such as the HK One. As I’ve stated, the Libratone One Click is not only a wonderful speaker with a range of attractive color options; it’s a true performer.

It takes up only a small footprint on a flat surface while delivering solid sound quality and battery life all at a reasonable price point.

With CES2017 approaching, here’s hoping we see some new products available in 2017.

Normally, the Libratone One Click speaker can be purchased directly from the Libratone website for $199.99. Fortunately for you, it’s $50 less right now through January 30th. At $149.99, this speaker is worth taking a long look at.

What do you think of this Libratone One Click speaker review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to follow Libratone on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as well as this very blog on Twitter and Facebook.

FTC Disclosure: Libratone provided Beantown LLC with one (1) Libratone One Click Bluetooth speaker sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC or Libratone © 2016.

Read:   Triby Review: Alexa Smart Speaker

Filed Under: Mobility, Speakers Tagged With: bluetooth, Libratone, One Click, Speaker 12/15/2016

Harman Kardon One Speaker Review

12/05/2016 By Hakan Can

Harman Kardon One speaker review

Harman Kardon One Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Harman Kardon is one the best-known brands in American consumer technology. Whether it’s for the home or auto, it’s an earned level of respect after decades of business. I first heard of Harman Kardon as a child when my father purchased one of their renowned solid state stereo receivers. Now that we’re a more mobile society, they have a footprint in the headphones and mobile speaker space. Whether it’s audio/video receivers, speakers, or headphones, they battle in a competitive landscape. So how does the HK One Bluetooth portable speaker stack up? Let’s take a closer look in this Harman Kardon One speaker review.

Harmon Kardon One speaker review

Pros:
• Handsome aluminum grill design
• Solid construction
• Power rating of 2 x 6W
• HTC Connect technology
• Comes with carrying case

Cons:
• Lack of color options
• Not water resistant
• Small 2000mAh lithium-ion battery
• Poor battery life ≤ 5 hours
• $200 price tag

Read:   JAM Audio Xterior Max Speaker Review

HK One Design and Features

The HK One is a fine looking speaker. First off the design.

A dark, gray aluminum grill covers the HK One on top, front, and rear. A “harman/kardon” logo is placed dead center on the front. The grill pattern is covered end-to-end with a zigzagging grid to disperse sound. Not only does this addition enhance the speaker’s grip, but it also causes the aesthetic to be more dynamic and robust. The speaker’s underside is solid aluminum. Edges are beveled revealing a bright aluminum finish. Directly underneath the grill is a lighter gray material.

Be careful with the speaker. As it’s shaped like a brick, it too will sink like a brick if you drop it in water. It does not float

A black, rubbery material adorns the sides. On the left side, there are five buttons: Power, Decrease Volume, Increase Volume, Bluetooth, and Speakerphone. On the right, there are Aux and mini-HDMI jacks along with the LED indication for the battery. Play time is approximately five hours on a full charge, around two hours at maximum volume. Charging time was slightly more than two hours. Charging the battery is handled via the aforementioned mini-HDMI jack. Should you want to listen to music or a podcast via a cabled connection, that’s what the Aux port is for. The one issue to be mindful of is that fingerprints shine on the rubber material.

The speaker has overall dimensions of 68.2 x 68.7 x 180 mm (2.68″ x 2.71″ x 6.09″) While not a perfect rectangle; it’s only 0.5 mm off. Not enough for the human eye to notice the difference. The HK One weighs in at 2.06 lbs.

[envira-gallery id=”6950″]

Bluetooth Specifications

  • Bluetooth® core version: 3.0
  • Support: A2DP V1.3, AVRCP V1.5, HFP V1.6, HSP V1.2
  • Bluetooth® transmitter power: 0–4dBm
  • Bluetooth® transmitter frequency range: 2.402–2.480GHz
  • Bluetooth® transmitter modulation: GFSK, π/4-DQPSK, 8DPSK

What’s In The Box?

  • HK One Speaker
  • USB Charging Cable
  • USB Adapter
  • Manual
Read:   Preview: JAM Voice Portable Speaker featuring Amazon Alexa

Audio Performance & Playlist

• Lady Gaga – Joanne
• Lana Del Rey – Born To Die, Paradise
• Emeli Sandé – Our Version of Events
• Ellie Goulding – Halcyon

• The Black Keys – El Camino
• 30 Second To Mars – 30 Seconds To Mars
• John Coltrane – The Ultimate Blue Train
• Rush – Clockwork Angels

As we often state here at Beantown, when reviewing speakers and headphones, the most important performance factor is the quality of sound. Using the playlist above, the HK One was tested across a broad range of music. Songs within each album were sampled against comparable $200 speakers selected from my collection. The results were most surprising, and not kind to the reviewed speaker.

It’s a sad moment when the only positive thing you can write about a product, in this case, a speaker, is its ability to deliver strong vocals. Upon reviewing the HK One against ten albums, I can definitively say that this speaker directs much of its sound to vocals, a bit too much to be exact. I’m not sure why it’s designed this way or even how the engineers at Harman Kardon would release a speaker without more of a balanced sound profile. The downside to that statement is that while strong, the vocals don’t come across the way I wish to hear them. While I liked Lana Del Rey’s vocal reproduction on Paradise, I wasn’t all that impressed. The same is said for Lady Gaga and Ellie Goulding.

When the HK One was compared song-to-song against the Libratone One Click, the latter delivered superior sound quality across all the sampled artists. The HK One underperformed against other $200 speakers. Bass drum and guitar sounds were almost non-existent with the HK One. Other drum sounds were flat. At this point, I thought there might be something wrong with my HK One. So I turned to the internet, comparing my findings against that of others. Upon reading over 30 reviews, the consensus was that the HK One was deficient in producing bass sounds. A $200 speaker that has 12W of total power shouldn’t be weak in this area.

Harmon Kardon One speaker review

At the maximum volume setting, the music sounds messy. For example, the jam sessions on Clockwork Angels were not pleasant to listen to. I can’t make such a statement with the Libratone One Click. I stood in different spots in my 300 ft² entertainment room, as well as adjacent rooms, and the sound quality did not improve. What I heard across the 100 Hz – 20 kHz spectrum was not ideal.

Adding insult to injury was the HK One’s poor battery life. Not to be repetitive, but a $200 speaker shouldn’t have a small 2000 mAh lithium-ion battery. It should have a battery with twice the capacity. The HK One has an overall battery life of close to 5 hours. At the maximum volume setting, it only yields a paltry 2 hours of life.

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Final Thoughts

In our testing, we had high hopes for the HK One. On the one hand, the HK One is a handsome speaker with an appealing design. It takes up a small footprint on a desk. On the other hand, the sound quality and battery life are disappointing for a speaker at its price point.

Harman Kardon has a handful of other speakers on the market like the Go+Play and the Onyx. And with CES2017 around the corner, we should see some new products available in early 2017. Maybe they’ll have the right speaker at the right price point for you.

Usually, the Harman Kardon One speaker can be purchased directly from the HK website for $199.99. Fortunately for you, it’s sold out, but it’s available at Best Buy often for less than half list.

What do you think of this Harman Kardon One speaker review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to follow Harman Kardon on Twitter and Facebook as well as this very blog on Twitter and Facebook.

FTC Disclosure: Harman Kardon did not provide Beantown LLC with a speaker sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC © 2016.

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Filed Under: Speakers Tagged With: bluetooth, Harman Kardon, HK One, Speaker 12/30/2016

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