Harman Kardon
Harman Kardon
Also known as: Harman/Kardon, Harman-Kardon, HK
UnclaimedHarman Kardon is an American audio equipment company founded in 1953 in Westbury, New York, by Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon. The pair, who had previously worked together at the David Bogen Company, set out to make high-fidelity audio more accessible to consumers. Their early catalog established several firsts in home audio, including the Festival D-1000, marketed as the world's first integr...
$299.95
in Smart Speakers Rank
$199.95
in Portable & Party Speakers Rank
$349.95
in Bookshelf Speakers Rank
Harman Kardon is an American audio equipment company founded in 1953 in Westbury, New York, by Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon. The pair, who had previously worked together at the David Bogen Company, set out to make high-fidelity audio more accessible to consumers. Their early catalog established several firsts in home audio, including the Festival D-1000, marketed as the world's first integrated hi-fi receiver, and the Festival TA230, an early stereo receiver. The Citation series of tube amplifiers, beginning with the Citation II, became a touchstone for audiophiles, and the CAD5 cassette deck brought Dolby noise reduction to home recording.
The brand expanded beyond home stereo into car audio in 1992, when Harman Kardon systems first appeared in the Land Rover Range Rover. That partnership grew into long-running OEM relationships with automakers including BMW, Mini, Subaru, Volvo, and others. Harman Kardon is now part of Harman International, which sits within Samsung Electronics alongside sister audio brands such as JBL, AKG, Mark Levinson, Lexicon, and Infinity.
The consumer lineup centers on home and portable audio: the Citation family of wireless speakers and soundbars, the Aura Studio and SoundSticks (the latter a transparent desktop speaker designed in collaboration with Jony Ive's team at Apple in the early 2000s), the Onyx and Go + Play Bluetooth speakers, and a range of headphones and AVR receivers. The brand is associated with industrial-design-driven products — glass enclosures, exposed transducers, and minimal control surfaces — alongside its longer engineering heritage in tuners, receivers, and amplification.
Harman Kardon has 10 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Speakers & Accessories, Active & Passive Monitors, and Keyboard Amplifiers.
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