Reviews for Harman Kardon Bluetooth Wireless Over-Ear Headphones

I picked these up because I wanted a high end over ear headphone. I've had them for about a month now and am really pleased with them. The have a great sound that is crisp and clear and has a really nice tight bass response. While they may not sound quite as good as the Bowers and Wilkins P5's there close enough. I have found them to be fairly comfortable, but there are times where there is some discomfort with long listening sessions, but really those have been negligible.

I bought these because of HK's legendary quality, and in the stereo BT mode the tonal range is excellent. Yet, I returned this set to my apple store after a week.

In many ways they are a phenomenal set. And, if you wear a collarless shirt, you likely won't experience my first concern: the stamped brushed-metal frame that supports the over-the-ear cups is quite large and therefore hangs well below the ear. It brushes on my collar as I turned my head and creates buzz that resonates surprisingly loudly. It isn't quite as bad as a fingernail/chalkboard effect but is annoying nonetheless.

Concern 2: If you plan only only quiet, around-home use, ignore this concern: Over the ear doesn't necessarily block sound. In a quiet room, there's exceptional depth. But, I had hoped to use them in my commute and, when on the train, I still heard every conversation clearly. No attenuation of surrounding sound - good if you are home and need to hear the baby, not optimal if you want to tune out some of the noise around you.

Concern 3: If you don't plan on using these at a headset, skip this concern. But, using the mic in BT requires switching to mono BT. The tonal range vanishes, and mono BT introduces pops and fades. I'm not sure that's HK's fault, but the quality when using this headset on a phone call is surprisingly bad. And, to the person you called, you'll sound hollow and distant.

I rated at three stars because they really are well constructed and have great tonal range. I believe that they may be ideal for many folks, and really, most folks today do not wear starched collars. But I felt this review might help others who want to shut out extraneous sound or use the mic in headset mode know that this set doesn't do that particularly well. If none of my unique constraints apply, I suspect you'll be quite pleased with the quality and sound.

A buddy of mine had these while I was still slumming it with a pair of Skull Candy headphones. These blew me away -- I know, I know Skull Candy ain't hard to beat.. but these HK phones made me do some research, looking at all the usual suspects (Beats, klipsch, shure, bose, etc).. and I still settled on the HK BT. Much more reasonably priced than similarly spec'd headphones without compromising sound quality. The build also seems really sturdy, so I expect to have these for quite awhile…

Nice sound quality, but one major issue...
I am getting a great deal of amplified feedback from the metal framework on the headband and ear cup surrounds.
Anything that comes into contact with any metal frame or components, and there is a lot of metal, creates a racket.
Even walking triggers the feedback as the frame components twist.
This is a major problem for an otherwise lovely set of BT headphones.
I must say I am amazed this made it to market.

I've gone through two pairs (so far) of these headphones. The sound is fine, but the bluetooth pairing is a disaster. I get one or two uses (with my MacBook Air) and then it never successfully connects. (I can see in the System Preferences that it temporarily connects but then it immediately disconnects.) Not much fun to have to delete and re-pair the headphones every other time that I want to use them.

I was really considering btw this set of headphones and the Bowers & Wilkens P5s. Aesthetically, they BOTH look amazing but what made me go w/ Harman Kardon was:

1) The BT capability is AWESOME- I don't have to deal w/ ANY cords and the sound quality is amazing. Despite the fact that BT technology does somewhat diminish the sound quality, you wouldn't even notice it. The lows are strong, but not overpowering, crisp and clear and the mids & highs are bright and distinquishable. You wouldn't even notice you were using a Bluetooth headset.

The built-in mic is even clear when on the phone.

2) The battery is at a long-lasting 12 hours and even if it runs out, you can use a cord to continue using it. I just got back from a vacation to Hawaii & the Philippines- which totals up to a 15 hour flight and my headset never ran out of power. Plus when my wife & I wanted to watch a movie together on my iPad, I used my cord on my HK headset so I could use a splitter so we both watch along w/ her headset.- And all that time while watching the movie, I never lost power on my HKs!

3) Its SO comfortable- the padding is so soft, going around the ears that I could wear this set for hours.

4) The Bluetooth range is large- I'm able to go several rooms away in my house w/ no signal loss.

Downsides:
1) It can get uncomfortable in hot weather, especially humid weather.

2) The controls are somewhat hard to reach, but honestly once you get familiar w/ them, it wouldn't be a problem.

3) When you are forced to use the cord when the power runs out, you cannot use the controls on the headset- rather the controls on your device.

Overall- What I was looking for was a headset w/ GREAT sound and possibly BT tech w/ no need for a cord. I was basically BLOWN away by how well the audio was w/ the BT technology and NO CORDS! This satisfied everything, plus the price wasn't terrible at $250. I'm definitely satisfied w/ my purchase!

I have owned many different pairs of over the ear headphones, including Bose QC 3's. The sound quality is years ahead of Bose's claimed "Better sound through research." The lows are clear, and definitely audible while maintaining clear, crisp highs even at high volume. I am pleased with the quality of sound even while using Bluetooth, I was expecting a decrease in quality and was unable to notice any. I find them comfortable, and the build is great. The style is modern and I am a fan of it. Highly recommend these to anyone who has $250 burning a hole in their pocket, and even remotely likes music.

I've been wanting a pair of over the ear headphones, but everything I saw before was too bulky and expensive, I saw this ones on a design blog so I checked the Harman Kardon website and ordered them trough apple store.
The sound is really good but the cable provided for using them once you run out of charge (or on a plane) does not have a remote control , even while at the Harman Kardon website they show them with the remote on the cable. Basically you can control the music playback if you're using them on BT mode but once you use the cable you have to skip, pause ,play or rewind manually directly on the iPod, iPad, iphone etc.
Tricked!

I just sold my B&W P5's to buy these and I am not happy. I could not find an Apple Store that had these on display but had I played with them first, I don't think I would've purchased. They are a reasonable looking pair of over the ear head phones. And the Bluetooth (BT) works great. But, the build quality compared to my P5's is quite poor. They have a plastic feel all over from the outside covers which bear its logo to especially the buttons that control BT, volume, play, etc. The cheapness of the buttons makes me cringe a little. And the padding is no where near as luxurious as my P5's. The P5's have lambskin against your ear and brushed metal on the outside. The kinds of touches you'd expect on a pair of expensive head phones. This thing is made in china and it feels that way. I wouldn't make this comparison if they didn't cost $50 less than the P5's, i.e same ballpark, but I have to. If BT is a must, it's worth *considering*. Personally, I wish I could go back to my P5's.

I have a number of different headphones (Bose QC15, Dre Studio, Sennheiser, B+W P5) and I like them all for different reasons. I have to say that these HK's are right at the top of my list! They are incredibly comfortable even after wearing them for a while (which isn't the case for my P5's), and the sound is just great! I adjusted the EQ a little on my MacBook Air to push the treble up just a bit and now the range is incredible! The bluetooth sounds great, and I'm stoked they work just as well via headphone jack in the event your battery dies.

The only thing missing is noise cancellation, but I've used them on a flight and they did well. I would definitely recommend these!