Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

20-year-old design lives on in Harmon Kardon’s $300 Aura Studio 3 speaker

By

Wireless speakers that offer an extra-wide soundstage, like Apple’s $299 HomePod and Amazon’s $200 Echo Studio, are becoming increasingly popular as people look to get the most audio bang for their buck from a single speaker. Now buyers have another choice when it comes to expansive sound: Harmon Kardon’s $300 Aura Studio 3 Bluetooth speaker is now available for pre-order and is expected to start shipping July 1.

Harmon Kardon Aura Studio 3
Harmon Kardon

The Aura Studio 3 is the third generation of Harmon Kardon’s transparent-domed wireless speaker, which uses a design the company has been refining ever since it debuted as the bass module enclosure for its Apple iMac companion Soundsticks speakers in 2000.

Recommended Videos

Previous versions of the Aura speaker have looked visually similar to the Aura Studio 3, but the latest model is a departure from the past in a few notable ways. Older Aura models included an LED light source to provide a visual element along with the music, but the Aura Studio 3 uses an “elegant ripple effect,” which makes the light display more dynamic.

It’s also considerably more powerful than its predecessors. Previous versions used a pair of 15-watt amplifiers to power six circularly arranged midrange drivers (for the 360-degree sound field), while the down-firing woofer was equipped with a 30-watt amp. The Aura Studio 3 uses a similar midrange configuration, but its woofer is now powered by a 100-watt amp, which should give the speaker a much better presence and low-end kick.

However, it’s not all upside for the Aura Studio 3: unlike previous versions, it can’t be used as a speakerphone for making calls.

Perhaps the most surprising omission considering the Aura Studio 3’s price is the lack of Wi-Fi. Virtually all other wireless speakers at this price — and even some previous Aura models — have the option of Wi-Fi connectivity, which is a requirement for voice assistant functionality. It’s also the only way to stream higher-quality music to a wireless speaker.

While some companies, including Harmon Kardon’s sister brand JBL, have been working on providing multi-speaker support via Bluetooth, Harmon Kardon makes no mention of this possibility with the Aura Studio 3’s specs.

Given these considerable drawbacks and the Aura Studio 3’s steep price, it will have to offer truly exceptional sound in order to compete.

Want more news, reviews, guides, and features from Digital Trends? Follow us on Apple News, Google News, and Flipboard.

Topics
Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like spatial…
These bone conduction headphones just got a $40 discount
A runner wearing the Shokz OpenRun Pro bone conduction headphones.

If nothing stands out among the headphone deals that you've come across, you may want to try bone conduction headphones. If you're interested, you're in luck because the Shokz OpenRun Pro, originally priced at $180, are on sale from Best Buy for a more affordable $140. That's amazing value for these bone conduction headphones, but you need to hurry with your purchase if you want to take advantage of the $40 discount. The offer is available for now, but we're not sure how much time is remaining before it gets taken down.

Why you should buy the Shokz OpenRun Pro bone conduction headphones
Unlike traditional headphones that cover your ears and blast sound waves through your eardrums, bone conduction headphones like the Shokz OpenRun Pro use transducers that sit next to your ears to send vibrations through your cheekbones and deliver sound directly to your inner ear, according to our guide on how do bone conduction headphones work. The benefits of this technology include leaving your ears open so you can still hear what's going on around you such as when you're commuting or working in the office, and improved stability as the Shokz OpenRun Pro features a wraparound titanium frame that stays in place compared to the bands of traditional headphones.

Read more
The best Samsung The Frame TV deals — from just $600
Samsung's 65-inch Class 'The Frame' QLED 4K Smart TV displaying a famous oil painting.

One of the more unique TVs out there is The Frame TV by Samsung. It’s a fan favorite designed to slip anonymously into almost an interior design style, as it’s made to seem as much like a piece of art as a piece of tech. The Frame often places among the best TVs and offers superior image quality with QLED picture technology. More recently The Frame is a good TV lineup to turn to if you’re looking for some savings, as it also often appears among the best TV deals and QLED TV deals. Deals are currently taking place on multiple sizes of The Frame TV as part of Samsung TV deals and Best Buy TV deals, and we’ve pieced them all together below.
Today's best Samsung The Frame TV deals

If you're looking to save big on Samsung's iconic The Frame TV, you've come to the right place. Here are all the best deals available:

Read more
Wait! Don’t update your Sonos app until you read this
Music Library in the updated Sonos app for iOS.

As promised, Sonos has refreshed its app for mobile devices and has launched a web app that replaces native Mac and Windows apps. But before you update your older version of the Sonos app, you may want to hang back a bit -- especially if you use Sonos to play music from a personal library of digital albums and tracks.

The redesigned app feels like a breath of fresh air, with an interface that removes the bottom tabs for an all-in-one approach. The new Home screen has become a universal destination of sorts, with easy access to your preferred streaming services, a one-tap search option, and a pull-up (or pull-down) overlay that shows you all of your Sonos products at a glance. And you can rename your system, which is fun.

Read more