Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

An excellent Bluetooth speaker system with very, very good sound that's full of bass with well rounded mids and highs. It looks gorgeous just sitting there and blends well with most decor without looking pedestrian like all of the competing rectangular bricks on the market. Harman went out of their way to distinguish this speaker's looks so I'm not going to ding it for "not being portable enough." Here are a few pros and cons: Pros -Price. Well worth $199 -Sound is AWESOME -Rubberized housing -Built in battery for portability -Looks gorgeous Cons -No Line-in input. Seriously an oversight but mitigated that almost everything has Bluetooth today...except my still working iPod -Fabric front cover will likely pique easily. I like it but wish the fabric was less scratchy/catchy. -Battery is only rated at about 4hrs Last comment...there is a clear plastic cap/cover over the metal speaker (rear passive radiator) on the back. The cover must be removed for proper speaker operation. An image of it being removed was in the enclosed operating instructions but I missed it and only discovered the plastic cover after reading a professional review on another website. ** UPDATE 9/8/2014 ** I bought a Bose Mini to compliment my Harman Onyx Studio. I love how well it's made, plus it has line-in input. The sound is very, very good and it's super portable BUT it does not sound nearly as good as the Harman...I remain a HUGE fan of the Harman! ** UPDATE 7/27/2014 ** I spent an hour at Best Buy recently looking at all of the Bluetooth speakers there and came away even more impressed with the Harman Onyx Studio. Why? Because you can completely control the speaker's volume from your cellphone! Press the unit's volume buttons either up or down and watch your cellphone do the same in real time. And vice versa...slide your cellphone's volume up or down and Onyx Studio complies immediately. This is so much more convenient than having to walk up to the speaker and control the volume by pressing the buttons directly. The Bose Soundlink Mini, by contrast, won't sync and respond to volume changes directly from your cellphone. Bose's suggestion, keep the Mini turned all the way up (full blast) then control the volume down using your cellphone. Super silly suggestion and an easy fix, Bose, with a firmware update. More annoyingly, this should not even be the case as the Bluetooth standard(s) have been out for years. In 2013 (when the Mini came to market) why oh why would Bose not have included direct sync for remote volume on their cool little product? Get this, in 2014 Bose introduced their larger Soundlink III and it too does not have volume sync. Absolutely ridiculous. The Big Jambox at least received a firmware update in 2013 to sync volume among other improvements such as AAC. Bose does not include AAC or aptX support, but that's fine with me because these small speaker systems really don't have the resolution necessary for these codecs...but the convenience of Bluetooth connectivity is lost by not having volume sync. Bose could have really saved some money per unit and skipped Bluetooth altogether by only providing a line-in input. :) Best Buy gave me a chance to listen and rate the following products: Best Sound 1. Harman Onyx Studio. Why? It's a big speaker with several drivers and dual passive radiators. This is old fashioned engineering inasmuch as big speakers make big sound and that requires a lot of power to move air. It's no wonder the Onyx Studio is only rated at about 4-5 hours of battery life. 2. Bose Soundlink III. Sounds awesome, is slightly smaller with a more convenient shape, and is better constructed as compared to the Onyx Studio; however, it costs about $100 more and lacks volume sync. 3. I think it's about a tie between the Big Jambox and Soundlink Mini sound wise. The Big Jambox is a win based on firmware updates, LiveAudio DSP, and overall louder volume with sync. *If you read this review Jawbone, the overall sound of your Big Jambox is a bit too bright/harsh...a neat future firmware update would be to offer two or three "sound profiles," such as standard, warmer, cooler, etc.* The Soundlink Mini is a win based on OUTSTANDING aluminum construction, portability, and great sound from such a tiny speaker. Sony's SRS-X5 and SRS-X7 are awesome (I actually preferred the smaller X5) but for the money, I'd go with the above based on slightly better bass. IMO, the Beats, JBLs, Logitechs, just don't come close.