Customer reviews from harmankardon.nl
Harman Kardon - Over-the-Ear Headphones
Average customer rating
4.4
(41 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 41 reviews
5 Stars
26
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
2
1 Star
1
84%of customers recommend this product.
(
32 out of
38)
Customer Reviews for Harman Kardon - Over-the-Ear Headphones
Customer Rating
3
OK
on February 20, 2014
Posted by: Gerald
from USA
Gender:Male
fells like cheap plastic, nt comfortable o wear for any period of time
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl
Customer Rating
5
stylish,sturdy built,comfortable,great sound
on November 26, 2013
Posted by: brutalpanther
from Youngsville, NC, United States
Gender:Male
I have owned these for 3 months and they are the best sounding most comfortable BT headphones i have ever owned.The sound is perfectly matched from bass to treble.Sound is crystal clear.Great bass that mixes well with mids and highs without overpowering.I'm surprised they don't offer more BT headphones in thier headphone line.I would and have recommended these headphones.These are tuned for true audiophiles,unlike all those bass heavy headphones on the market.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl
Customer Rating
5
Wow! (The good kind of "wow")
on April 8, 2014
Posted by: KHLarson
from San Francisco, CA
Gender:Male
Wow. I just field-tested my new HK BT's, and I am amazed, and I am a headphone snob. The only headphones I have ever used which are better than these are wired headphones costing much more than the $200 I paid for these.
I tested the HK BT's today in two environments: Outside in an urban setting while roller-skating in traffic, and at home in a fairly quiet apartment. The phones were paired with a Motorola Droid 4 phone playing .mp3 files. (DISCLAIMER: No, it probably is NOT a great idea to roller-skate in traffic with full-enclosure headphones on, since they block out many sounds which can alert one to emergent traffic situations. All I can say is that if you are skating in urban traffic, you are almost certainly VISUALLY staying aware of every vehicle within eyesight)
These seem to my eye to be very well and sturdily-constructed headphones. There is a reassuringly-tough metal frame to which any non-metal parts are attached, so none of the main stress points are plastic, as far as I can tell. There is only one critical attachment which is plastic, and it looks to me to be fashioned in such a way as to minimize stress on that little plastic part. I am having a hard time imagining how I could break it unless I did it on-purpose. There is about three inches of exposed loose cable on each side, but it is not long enough to easily snag it on anything, and the swivel feature of the cans is limited so that you cannot turn them far enough to put strain on the cable. I am interested to see how the soft plastic material that contacts the skin will hold up over time. Sometimes that material can rot away, especially if you use it outside in the sun as I intend to, and it gets sweaty.
Some users may be annoyed that there is no way to adjust the size/fit other than to swap out the regular-sized over-the-head outer bar with the large one. Luckily for me, the regular one fits perfectly, so I don't need to adjust them. If you have a very small head, that could be an issue, but unless you are 12 years old or younger, I don't expect that would be an issue. The leather-covered band that actually contacts your head has its own tension to hold it snug. It has about one inch of range over which it self-adjusts before coming in contact with the outer metal bar. If you have a really big head, you switch to the larger metal frame, and then I assume the band is able to expand further.
I am comparing my experience with these to my experience with my Jaybird Freedom Sprint Bluetooth Headphones. ($129) I lost the Jaybirds and replaced them with these. (This isn't entirely a fair comparison because the Jaybirds are a whole different kind of product, delivering very small size as their main advantage, but hopefully it is still a useful comparison in some ways.) There is a certain amount of personal preference involved here; the HK's are full-sized, over-the-ear cans. Some people don't like all that hardware on their head. As an audio professional, however, I am just too aware of how much better full-size enclosures sound. Among other issues, I don't like the large amount of internal head noise one experiences when one closes off the ear canal with snugly-fitting ear inserts like those of the Jaybirds. (A matter of taste, I will admit) I also like to block out most of the external noise when I am listening to music.
The sound of the HK BT's is good. QUITE good. I have heard better, but not on wireless phones costing under $200. Compared to the Jaybirds, the high end is fully present; I felt like I got it back after not having it for a long time. There is nothing about the sound about which I have to say "Yeah, well... but, you know... they're wireless headphones and I can use them while skating, so I guess they're ok..." They are all-around great-sounding; close enough to how good my studio monitor phones sound. (Considering I am out in traffic and skating and stuff) And they go loud. NICELY loud. They still sound really good when at full volume. I am a performing musician, so I am used to hearing things probably louder than I should, and these do not disappoint. In summary: I wouldn't choose these for studio work, but they are fabulous for recreational use.
Regarding the phone-call performance: I called my wife and asked her how it sounded. Her response: "If you hadn't pointed it out, I might not have noticed it." On my end the call was easier to hear and understand than when using the phone, most likely because of having both ears enclosed and fed a nice signal.
The Bluetooth connection works MUCH MUCH better than on the Jaybirds. To be fair, the Jaybirds specialize in being tiny. They are pretty awesome, really, but one of the corners you have to cut is the ability to pull in the Bluetooth signal. For example, I had to keep my phone (the .mp3-player) on the same side of my body as the Bluetooth receiver because my body would block the signal enough to make the Jaybirds fail fairly often. (Resulting in gaps in the audio) Today with my HK BT's, I was able to put my phone back in my belt pouch where it belongs, on the other side of my body from the Bluetooth receiver. In about 40 minutes of skating around, I experienced not one single gap in the audio. The reception range in the house is about double that of the Jaybirds.
It may annoy some users that the charging cable is somewhat non-standard: Standard USB to three-conductor 1/8-inch audio. This is not a cable that you can easily pick up at the airport if you forget yours, and your mom won't have one at her house. No power adapter is included; you must plug the USB end into a device like a computer or use a separate power-adapter.
What I can't say is how this product will hold up over time. Is there a small plastic part somewhere which, when it breaks, renders the phones unusable? Will the power-connection/aux-audio jack fail the first time someone snags the cable? Will the battery fail in two months? What about these tiny, tiny buttons on the cans which turn the phones on and off, adjust volume, skip songs and answer phone calls? Will they fail? I don't know. My guess is that no, they will hold up just fine. I say this because these phones are tangibly well-made and examining their construction, I get the impression that these are built to last and probably don't have any weak spots of that nature. We'll see. Those are usually caused by companies getting... shall we say... "creative"... when looking for ways to bring the price down. In other words, you get what you pay for. These phones list at $250 and were $200 when I bought them on Amazon. Why buy three pair of low-quality $80 headphones in five years when you can buy this ONE $200 pair that sounds great and will probably last much longer than five years? (Unless Bluetooth goes out of style, which is always a risk...)
Lovin' them, and hopin' they last a long time!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl
Customer Rating
4
Easy to Complicated Use
on May 2, 2014
Posted by: Moozie
from Columbus, OH, United States
Gender:Male
Favorite music genre:Indie rock
The "more than 12 hours battery" really is more than 12, the three buttons on the left side are ubiquitous and required in contemporary headphones, the cord functionality is also needed, and the design is quite beautiful but unique. Might I suggest some slight issues however: the bottoms of the metal discs rub onto the plastic when stored in the case, Bluetooth disconnects regularly, and the three buttons on the left phone lose functionality with the cord. I have enjoyed my BT headphones more than any other headphone, I imagine.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl
Customer Rating
3
Cumbersome
on May 2, 2014
Posted by: jimvlv
from Las Vegas, NV, United States
Decent sound, but can't wear them more than an hour at a time. Too heavy
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl
Customer Rating
5
Strong as the Weakest Link
on May 9, 2014
Posted by: Stratselmer6
from Crystal River, FL
Gender:Male
Favorite music genre:Jazz
Great headphones! So what do you do? Provide puny, cable. So I have to replace the cable to get Left & Right. Ridiculous!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl
Customer Rating
5
Beautiful Sound
on May 24, 2014
Posted by: dpattayath
from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Gender:Male
Best audio quality I ever experienced, loved it. Design, easy of use, quality all high class
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl
Customer Rating
5
The best wireless heddphone on the market
on May 31, 2014
Posted by: BrockDenker
from Chicago
Gender:Male
First I do not understand the complaints here. I have had these headphones for about 8 months and could not have been more pleased with the construction, quality, performance, and comfort of these cans. Elegant, unique design provide a comfortable listening experience while providing rich balanced sound through bluetooth or wired options. Bluetooth is simple to connect to and never drops unless you wander too far (hey all technology has limitations!) The build of the headphones is solid and gives me the confidence that i will be enjoying these babies for years to come. Keep up the good work HK! I bought these on sale from this site and for the price I paid I was a little hesitant as there are many options in the headphone world but after using the product I am confident I made the right choice. The 3.5 to 2.5 cord is the one thing I would change but you can find replacements easily for just a couple bucks on the web.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting harmankardon.nl