Harman Kardon - Onyx Studio 4

I've got 3 - a clip on my small disc golf go-bag, a flip (canister) on my main disc golf bag, and (not quite what is pictured here but) a Harman/Kardon Onyx 4 for home listening

Denon envaya 150/200/250, Sony srs x55, x77, Harman Kardon Onyx 3,4, Xiaomi Sound Move, Créative Sound Blaster Road 2, Marshall Stockwell, Marshall Emberton 2, Harman Kardon Go + play (the one from 2016), Riva S, Riva Festival, Bose SoundLink Max, Bogasing S8 Pro Max, soundcore x600, Doss soundbox XL, Jambox, Sony srs xb33. I made "widest immersive stéréo imaging soundstage" one of my first point when i buy a speaker, and i like to try the most possible. they have all différents sizes, from différents years ,but all of them have insane soundstage with great stéréo separation for the size. Seems that older bluetooths speakers was better on point than recents ones (except for somes).

i bought the onyx studio 4 for \~160 usd, about 8 years back and its still going strong, no need to replace. but i wouldnt recommend buying a 5 for 180, if you can hagle i down to like 120-130, might be worth it. try looking for newer models, you might find 7 or 8 or even 9 for around 180-200, and that will last you much longer with better battery and audio quality.

Interesting perspective. I’ve got two of these myself, and my main takeaway is that the volume just doesn’t live up to the 80-watt hype. I’ve been carrying a Harman Kardon Onyx 4 for the past four years while rollerblading, and that one puts out 30 watts on battery—or about 60 when plugged in. So when I saw the Boom 2 advertised as 80 watts, I was really excited. In practice, it’s about as loud as the Harman Kardon, maybe slightly more compact and easier to carry—but definitely not twice the output. That was disappointing. To their credit, the company worked with me and made things right, which I appreciated. But I still think the wattage claims are exaggerated. None of these companies seem to advertise real-world wattage or RMS specs accurately. For reference, I also own the Fender Teyfel Rockster Air 2, which is a 30-pound beast and also labeled as 80 watts—but that one actually lists RMS, and it feels like it peaks well over 100 watts, possibly closer to 150. That said, for a waterproof speaker with decent battery life, the Boom 2 is solid. It fits better in a backpack than my old one, and I ended up getting a second unit. If I need more power, I just pair them together.

It's often reduced to 129$. But I recommend you go listen to it at the store before buying. Don't believe the reviews, our top priority is + ease of use. For me, the best onyx is in this order: onyx 6 > 4 > 8, friend.

HK Onyk Studio should be good for you. It has a battery, good bass, fun to watch movies, and captures the sound of the atmosphere completely. When placing it, you don't have to place it next to your macbook. You can place it anywhere. The sound will jump onto the screen itself. Another thing is that listening to music is beautiful too.

Harmon Kardon Onyx Studio the original one. Bought mine 2013 refurbished on eBay and it’s still going. Bought a replacement battery and it was super easy to replace.

I’ve wondered the same thing. Even small Bluetooth speakers were always stereo originally. If you remember, the first few generations of the HK Onyx Studio, JBL Charge, JBL Flip, etc., were all stereo, then suddenly everything was mono. I can understand it for the very smallest speakers - Bose Micro, Tribit Micro, JBL Go, etc. - it wouldn’t make sense to try to cram dual speakers into those tiny housings or to try to create stereo sound in such a small space, but with the rest of them, I don’t get it. The only thing I can think of is the ‘race for the bass.’ After a while, it evolved to where all anyone cared about was ‘how much bass is there?’ and if companies could cram 1 large woofer into the same space that had once held 2, or even 4, smaller speakers, they could produce much more bass. The other possibility, as someone suggested when I asked basically the same question on another post a couple of weeks ago, is so that companies can now force you to buy 2 speakers instead of 1 if you want stereo sound.

HK Onyx Studio, thank me l8r.

The deep bass is fun, reminds me of the HK Onyx Studio speakers. I wish they limited it more precisely though, its easy to push it into distortion with custom settings.

Yeah, both the HK Go+Play and Onyx Studio series would blow away the Max. They are my go-to speakers when I want the music to really shine through. Incredibly deep bass and crystal clear mids and highs. None of my other 5 portable Bluetooth speakers come close. Edit - Just saw someone post the HK Go+Play 3 is selling on ebay for $132 right now. At that price, it's a no brainer.

The Onyx Studio series is in a class of its own. It’s the loudest most clear sounding bass portable Bluetooth speaker you can get at that price. I sold all my other “boombox” speakers and kept the Onyx. The Luna is nice, but it’s not in the same category. You’d need like 4 of them to match the Onyx.