Regardless of whether you’re stuck in an abode with no room, or you’re simply too lazy preoccupied to run eight miles of cabling to six separates in your home cinema room, soundbars are definitely a preferred alternative to in-home surround home here at Engadget HQ. Harman Kardon’s got a new option in the mix, with the classy SB 16 offering two-way, dual-driver, left and right soundbar speaker channels, each with two 3-inch midrange drivers and a 3/4-inch dome tweeter. 9.99 also gets you a wireless 100-watt ported subwoofer, while the soundbar itself gets pushed by a 25-watt x 2 amp. Head on past the break for the full release, and feel free to grab one prior to hosting your Super Bowl party. You are hosting one, right?

Continue reading Harman Kardon’s SB 16 soundbar ships with a subwoofer, 0 price tag

Harman Kardon’s SB 16 soundbar ships with a subwoofer, 0 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If money is no object and you are looking for a sleekly designed piece of kit to wow your mates with, the GLA-55 speakers are certainly an eye-catching proposition. £749.99 is a hell of a price tag, but you can sit smug knowing that there are only 3,000 units currently in the world, and that you’ll be one of the exclusive few who can afford them.

By Shane McGlaun

There are gobs of Blu-ray players on the market today. I still think one of the better players is the PS3. I like that it has all the features you want from a Blu-ray player, can be updated with new features and plays great video games all for less than many other high-end Blu-ray players.

If you don’t want a PS3 there are certainly enough options available in the Blu-ray market and now there is one more brand to consider. Harman Kardon has announced its first Blu-ray player called the BDP1. You may recognize the Harman Kardon brand from the line of speakers the company has sold for years.

The BDP1 supports BD-Live and BonusView along with LPCM, MP3, Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio and WMA audio formats. Internet connectivity is provided via an RJ-45 connector and the player has IR-remote in/out jacks for system integration. A front panel USB jack allows for direct play of MP3 and image files and can act as additional memory for BD-Live. The player will be available this month for $499.

[ Harman Kardon ]

Harman Kardon has long been a respected brand for AV receivers, but the company hasn’t stepped into Blu-ray until now. The BDP 1 ($500 list price) is Harman Kardon’s first Blu-ray player, and it has a basic feature set, eschewing the streaming media services that are becoming common …

The H/K BDP 10 was announced almost a full month ago and the company finally went live with its US intentions. Thankfully, us here in States will not have to spend $940 like the Europeans. Nope, it’s coming Stateside with a $499 MSRP and all it’s Profile 2.0 goodies.

Toshiba is remaining pretty tight lipped as to the exact technical specifications of their new laptop range but we do know that all models will feature an eco utility management system that allows users to reduce the amount of energy being used. And remember, green is good kids. Here’s a quick look at what we do know about the four models that have been announced: A500

This looks like being the more multimedia based one of the litter. A 16-inch TruBrite HD screen, 16:9 aspect ratio and a 1366×768 resolution will be perfect for movies and games, particularly on the premium version which will have a flush screen – i.e. an edge to edge picture. The impressive picture will be assisted by equally impressive sound – all versions will ship with Harman Kardon stereo speakers. A HD webcam that records in widescreen will also be a welcome addition to web-video creators. The premium version is the only one which will contain a DVD drive, sadly, though. Available on all versions, however, is the Multi-Touch control pad that provides the ability to use fingers to pinch, swipe or rotate using just the trackpad – a bit like you use the iPhone screen I imagine. Looks wise, it doesn’t look too dissimilar to the A350, which we previewed back in January although there will also be a silver version available. Also, looks like there is a little remote control in there which would be a nice touch for a multimedia machine. U500

This looks like a scaled down version of the A500 to be honest, this time with a 13.3-inch screen which isn’t quite HD but 1280×800 WXGA instead. Again, they’ll be a premium and a standard model with, again, only the premium containing a built in DVD drive, to go with its edge-to-edge (or “chrome-trimmed” as they’re calling it) screen. Interestingly it will be available in “Luxe Brown” in order to “give a big impression” whilst “on the move”. Can brown ever give a big impression on the move? Err, well I suppose…… L500 and L550

I’ve lumped these two together because Toshiba has done the same in their press-release. And if they’re going to be lazy then so am I. These are the wide screen versions, both HD, the L500 is 15.6-inch and has a resolution of 1366×768 and the L550 is a mammoth 17.3-inch and has a resolution of 1600×900. That’s about all I know on these ones, apart from the fact that the keyboard is available in silver as well as the black as shown in the picture. Keep your eyes peeled for further details of this range on Tech Digest, as always we’ll do our upmost to keep you all in the loop.