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Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 – Iconic elegance

It’s a wireless home audio system where acoustic perfection meets iconic elegance, that’s how Harman International Industries describes the new Harman Kardon brand solution, available in the form of the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400.

Harman Kardon Radiance 2400, this is supposed to provide an audio system that is still supposed to offer first-class sound and flexibility with a downright minimalist design. The manufacturer HARMAN International Industries even speaks of an iconic elegance in combination with acoustic perfection in this context.

The fact is, the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is a solution that is probably ideally suited to the current trends in consumer electronics. You could hardly make such a solution more compact.

Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 – Wireless home audio system

Harman International Industries calls its new Harman Kardon branded system a wireless home audio system, essentially relying on a really very stripped-down setup.

At its core, the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 consists of a so-called digital hub, which is supported by two ultra-slim floor-standing speaker systems, and which is supported at the bottom by an active subwoofer. In principle, this is a 2.1-channel system, if you want to put it so profanely in a nutshell.

Harman Kardon Constant Beamwidth Technology

According to the manufacturer, the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is the first system for end users that is equipped with the so-called Harman Constant Beamwidth Technology. This patented technology was originally developed for professional use in sound reinforcement solutions, it said. The goal of this technology is to ensure that every listener in the room can enjoy an appealing sound experience, and this is to be achieved through precisely tuned beamforming components.

The manufacturer refers to this as a revolutionary technology, whereby in the specific case of the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400, no less than 24 precisely calibrated 1.25 inch speaker drivers are used in each of the two floor-standing speaker systems for this task. Harman Kardon is convinced that this will guarantee outstanding sound coverage in all corners of the room.

Sound columns as stand speaker systems

Since the company relies on a large number of drivers that only measure a few centimeters in diameter, the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400’s floorstanding speaker systems could also be designed very slim.

In fact, the manufacturer talks about slim columns around the speakers of the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400, which have a height of 1.8 m, but only a width of 51 mm and a depth of 58 mm. The speakers also taper towards the bottom, relying here on a base in the shape of a champagne glass. This base, as far as the practical side is concerned, houses all the electronics of the active speaker systems, including the receiver unit, because the speakers are controlled “wirelessly”.

Harman Kardon Digital Loop Amplifier Technology

The slim floor-standing speaker systems of the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 are driven by the so-called Harman Kardon Digital Loop Amplifier Technology, which, according to the manufacturer, corrects the natural errors and distortion anomalies that occur during digital amplification. It is thus said to restore the original sound quality and allow for high-level playback.

Active subwoofer

Clearly, such slim speaker systems are of course not designed to penetrate down into low frequency ranges, Harman Kardon thus equips the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 with an active subwoofer that takes over this task.

This is said to be a 10-inch wireless subwoofer with 200 watts of power, giving the Harman Kardon Radiance speakers the freedom to use their minimalist, elegant form to deliver stunning midrange and treble reproduction, as the manufacturer puts it.

  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400
  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400
  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400
  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400
  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400
  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400
  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400
  • Harman Kardon Radiance 2400

Open for the most diverse sources

The new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is said to be open to a wide variety of sources, with the manufacturer talking about a solution that acts as a flexible AV system. From streaming to connecting analog and digital sources, the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is supposed to be the central interface.

Here, the digital hub of the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is supposed to live up to its name and offer the connection from TV sets to game consoles and streaming. In addition to four HDMI interfaces as input and one as output, the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 offers an optical S/PDIF interface as input for digital, and a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack as input for analog signals.

It is obvious that streaming is primarily done via Wi-Fi according to IEEE 802.11ac, and both Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2 are supported. Music streaming via Bluetooth is also possible, although Bluetooth 4.2 is still used here.

Basically part of the Harman Kardon Citation Series for multi-room audio

It is interesting that Harman Kardon does not consider the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 to be part of the versatile Harman Kardon Citation Series, but does envisage a direct integration of the new audio system into it.

The new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 can thus be part of a multi-room audio streaming system in conjunction with the solutions of the Harman Kardon Citation Series, whereby it is known that Google Chromecast is used.

Consequently, it is clear that there will probably not be a separate app for the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400. The manufacturer already relied solely on the Google Home app for Apple iOS and Google Android for the aforementioned Harman Kardon Citation Series.

Harman Kardon Radiance 2400

The manufacturer also states that the new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 comes with a Bluetooth remote control and that the setup is almost child’s play. The wireless connection between the digital hub as the central interface with the speaker systems as well as the subwoofer is supposed to happen automatically immediately after the first switch-on and the system is ready for use right away. The aforementioned Google Home app is relied upon for the remaining few installation steps, though the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is also said to feature a multifunctional LCD touchscreen.

“The Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is a truly unique product from Harman Kardon, and after many years of development, we are very pleased to now offer this such an exceptional home audio system to the world. This is a milestone for Harman Kardon, bringing Harman Professional technologies to a consumer audio product, demonstrating the wealth of experience of our product designers. At the heart of all our products is the user experience, and we believe that it is only worthwhile to introduce new technologies if they bring tangible benefits to the user. By implementing our Constant Beamwidth Technology in Harman Kardon Radiance, we have created a flexible, multi-functional home audio system with an impressive design.”

Dave Rogers, President, Harman Lifestyle Division

By the way, the Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 was presented for the first time at CES 2021, but now the final product could be launched at Harman ExPLORE 2021 EMEA. It is to be found already these days at the recommended retail price of € 3,999, – in the specialized trade.

Getting to the point

The new Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 is supposed to be a streaming-focused, yet versatile audio system that can justifiably be called a lifestyle solution. The speaker systems present themselves particularly slim here, which, according to the manufacturer, can still come up with room-filling sound, especially since they are supported by an active subwoofer, which, like the actual speakers of the system, is controlled “wirelessly”, wirelessly.

Manufacturer: Harman International Industries Inc.
Distribution: Harman Deutschland GmbH
Price: € 3.999,-

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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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