ALTHOUGH Harman Kardon strikes ....

ALTHOUGH Harman Kardon strikes ....

Harman Kardon HD Omni 20 wireless speaker with Bluetooth and Fire Cast (Electronics)

Customer Review

I'm already a little longer wunderfitzig on the Omni series and wanted me eh times to build up a multi-room speaker system, which is why I have today just bought to top times an Omni 20 in retail, after I have there heard it via Bluetooth to the sample. Actually, I wanted to replace a Heco Ascada 300 BTX Bluetooth Box. Actually ...

About Bluetooth, everything was perfect. No disconnections or the like. Was also to be expected.

As the source device I use stored locally at the remaining channels a HTC One M7, what music mainly made up of the Amazon cloud music library previously streams exclusively via Bluetooth, or via the SoundCloud app, or on the phone.

First things first; the sound:
From the sound of her picture I find my Harman Kardon Go & Play wireless much better (and visually more attractive). Furthermore I would have actually should not be surprised, because the go & play wireless has two powerful woofers. In addition, the woofer and tweeter are separated amplified (bi-amping), and that with a Bluetooth Speaker. Nevertheless, or perhaps because of the price, I would have 20 promised by Omni something more. But I think its network functionality is intended to stand in the foreground. And probably sees the Harman Kardon also so .... Anyway, swallowed the Omni 20 very many details in the bass but also in the high frequency range. Time as an example of the title "Friends" by Solomun (chilled); there is from the beginning a rhythmic accompanying sound, which usually accompanies the entire piece in the background. This is almost no longer perceive in the Omni 20 from Minute 1:05 while it is still very nice to hear on the go & play wireless, and also on the Heco Ascada 300 BTX. Next, the title "aisatsana [102] by Aphex Twin (a quiet piece, mainly piano, with very discreet birds chirping in the background; the piece does not sound as clear as on the Heco Ascada 300 BTX or go & play wireless on the Omni 20. The whole is accompanied by a noise that one hears only the Omni 20 ... And the louder you turn the Omni 20, the more it roars, at least in the play.

Although the Omni 20 is not a bad speaker, but if you know Harman Kardon, you know that it could have been better. Nevertheless, he plays in a satisfactory quality. And when comparing the professional market with the Sonos Play 1 and Sonos Play 3 I found the sound of the Omni 20 comfortable, which is why I bought it to me also.

The built-in speakers and the power consumption at the Omni 20 we learn not much, because you really have to look at the manufacturer's site and look for the product specifications laboriously together. As if that were not so important in a wireless speaker ... (at the bottom I have added the specs, which can be found hiding on the publisher's website in a PDF).

At first I had the Omni 20 situated at its intended place with us in the kitchen and again over bluetooth listened a few songs, and the go-and-play wireless taken as compared with this. For further comparison, is a Bluetooth home speaker called Heco Ascada 300 BTX, and a Bose SoundLink mini available.

Then the attempt to set up a network speaker via WPS:
That should thanks WPS function actually quite simple; Press a WPS button, there is one not a lot. But it did not. Thought at first that the Omni 20 is too far from my router away; the Omni was displayed in the app once briefly, and has sometimes streamed a song for 2 min. I then repeatedly described in the app instructions, the Omin reset and the WPS device restarted. What has annoyed me animal, was that the Omni 20 could no longer be found after each Disconnection from the app, and you could start the WPS setup again. Bin then the Omni in the room where the router is and have the Harman Kardon Controll app tries to set up the speakers again. The app displays a yes to what you should always do. But here constantly disconnections after the WPS device was annoying performed several times. The manual setup did not work at first, because neither side appears in the app where you could enter a wireless key, WTF ....... So, pulled mains plug from the Omni, and all over again from the beginning (seemed meaningful to me as to press the reset button no longer responsive to the Omni every time). The app again started and the same started with the manual configuration. The Omni 20 appeared then finally again in the app, and the WLAN key is now also queried. Rather by accident I discovered in the app a firmware update function is something of which neither in the app itself, nor in the product instructions, even on the homepage. If the app you look so, this so-called Harman Kardon upgrade feature is not obvious enough. Under Upgrade I understand at least something like a first upgrade / expansion, but no update. Very misleading 1: 1 translation (there goes the dog in the pan crazy :-)) One click to the app on its corresponding Omni or space in the right groin and there on a stand-alone device, under the Products tab you click again on its Omni and the update is run. When I configured the Omni via WPS, I have also been there typed it, but an update was not initiated ....

Current firmware version of the Omni 20 should then be 0.1.3.0.

The update will be downloaded and transferred to the loudspeaker. The Omni will then start its own new. I had a fear that I can give the whole thing again from scratch me. That was then but thankfully not so.

According to the status of the link button Wifi streaming is active (ring and slash light is solid white and and the connection is finally stable, thus since then no longer be canceled. Now the app test should stand in the way hopefully nothing more.

I wonder now has only, with which device the Omni now built up a network connection, the phone or the router? When WPS device one must press the WPS button on the router and on the Omni, which has not functioned. My smartphone is still connected to my router, and on the Configuration page from the router does not appear Omni, and all other network-compatible devices in my household, no more Omni is reported. Nevertheless transmitted locally on the smartphone music stored on the Omni via wifi, which is why I'm first happy. I can not quite understand at the moment, with whom the Omni is now connected, because this is nowhere to be seen, not in the app itself. If the WiFi turned off on your smartphone, even playback at Omni switches off and in the app a corresponding message appears.

A stream directly from the Amazon cloud out does not work yet, although that is advertised here on amazon so. In the HK Controller app only locally stored music is displayed. How to create playlists with the Controller app, is beyond me. Nowhere to be found in the App appropriate options to do so. I would, however, the burning interest, so how to play from the Amazon cloud music without first having to upload to your smartphone. Using Bluetooth that works so easily, why not have wifi ?! And also how to create playlists with the app, I would be interested. Stream with the SoundCloud app would also be desirable.

Level technical, I mean that you can turn on the Omni over wifi much further than when connected via bluetooth. So to 100% I do not trust me yet, because first of all the equipment is new and second wobbles the Omni in bass-heavy pieces already at 40% volume so on its circumferential soft rubber shelter around that you should keep an eye on him first before him hinstellt somewhere where he could fall.

Also two small threaded holes in brass are located on the underside of the device with two to three millimeters in diameter. Probably intended for a type bracket. Whether these holes are of sufficient size but, dare I first doubted.

Addendum:
found today only at amazon the PDF manual which extensive precipitates as the instruction manual supplied.

Something disadvantageous I feel that the Omni has no USB charging socket, because the HK Controller app already neatly pulls the battery from HTC One. When go & play wireless and the Heco Ascada 300 BTX I think that's quite handy that you can charge your phone through the speaker.

I have the appliance disconnected from the mains and brought back to its intended place in the kitchen, and did not have to re-perform the manual setup. In addition I was very happy.

Streaming with the built-in controller app Mixradio app now works properly.
It would be highly desirable if the Omni would be able to stream music from SoundCloud or from the Amazon music library over WiFi. So the whole Omni-system makes no sense at the moment.

And a single Omni is always useless, because you can stay with his Bluetooth Speaker, if you anyway not before having to build a multiroom system.

I'm going in spite of the currently predominantly negative characteristics to buy a second Omni to see how reliable the Omni system works as a multi-room system, and sincerely hope that Harman Kardon the app better equip and not only to the development of the app by other Developers leaves. It is good that the Omni 20 has an integrated power supply, while the Omni 10 has an external power supply. Can I somehow do not understand why that was done so again, probably for reasons of space ...

Addendum II:

Life more than one person in the household and want to use the Omni system must be limited to this Bluetooth streaming. My smartphone is paired with the Omni and only which can control the Multiroom system with the Controller App. If I ever am not at home, for example, my girlfriend will only playback on a single speaker through Bluetooth. Whether for yourself can also use the controller app, we have not yet tested. I'll possibly grudge. (Correction: you can drive up to four loudspeakers with each other to build a Bluetooth network)

Addendum III:

instead of another Omni I ordered two Omni Adapt, so I can continue to operate the Heco Ascada and the great go & play wireless. The go and play for the balcony (as always) and the Heco's Bad for. So I can use the two speakers on and would not need to buy an additional 20 Omni. Actually awesome ..., wait ... According to the manual, it should also be possible to music on up to four Bluetooth speakers (not via WiFi) to be able to stream at the same time. I hope that equally applies to the HK Adapt and not only for the Omni's. Thus, the speaker would then run in a Bluetooth network, only one can then probably no longer use the app to controll and a channel allocation for the 2.0 Stereo operation is via the Bluetooth network will also not be possible. Again, this is a good feature, so that the whole Omni's and other speakers can be used as a multi-room solution with third-party apps for the time being.

Addendum IV:

The Omni Adapt arrived and I have of course started with the same setting. The seizure by the WPS setup I have not even done. Maybe it's indeed on my router. Manual setup worked but properly. I have a Adapt connected to a Harman Kardon Go & Play Wireless, which is connected via an auxiliary cable with the Adapt. The AC adapter that gives a very nice tangling. But everything is working properly. Both speakers are synchronized and if you control the volume on the app in party mode, all speakers are controlled simultaneously.

I very much hope that the app is still significantly improved. I leave it for the time being, therefore, at three stars. The Omni system is not bad, but it runs just almost everything about the app that lets you nothing else can continue to hear about the Omnis in a network / stream except Deezer, Mixradio and its stored on the smartphone / tablet albums.

Here are the missing information / Specs:

Signal converter: 2 x 75mm woofer,
2 x 19mm tweeters
Rated power: 4 x 15W
Frequency range: 53Hz ~ 20kHz
Noise Ratio:> 80dB
Input connections: Bluetooth, Aux-in, WLAN
Dimensions (W x D x H): 260mm x 164mm x 166mm
Weight: 2125g
Power supply: 100240 V ~ 50/60 Hz
Frequency range for Bluetooth transmission:
2402 2480MHz
Bluetooth transmission power: Bluetooth transmission Modulation:
GFSK, / 4 DQPSK, 8DPSK
2.4G wireless transmission Frequency range:
2412 2472MHz (2.4GHz ISM band, 11 channels USA,
Europe and other countries 13 channels)
2.4 G wireless transmission power: 2.4G Wireless Modulation: OFDM, DSSS, DBPSK, DQPSK,
CCK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM
2.4G wireless network Compatibility: IEEE 802.11b / g / n

Bart Care Deluxe - I like very Rank: 5/5
March 11
Couture Rank: 3/5
February 27
improvement achieved Rank: 3/5
March 17
296 not working Rank: 1/5
May 11

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