Harman/Kardon BT Pro Reviews

The cool design of the Harman Kardon BT is paired with excellent performance, making it a compelling addition to the crowded Bluetooth headphone field.

The Harman Kardon BT offers excellent sound quality for a pair of Bluetooth headphones, with an impressive fit and finish. Like with the NC, my only reservations about them concern their design. While it's distinct and eye-catching, it won't appeal to everyone, and the headphones will seem heavy to some folks. While I found the Harman BT comfortable, I suspect that some people won't be totally enamored of its fit. In an ideal world, of course, you'd get a chance to try these before you buy them and compare them with competing products. The alternative is to try them and return if you don't like them (stores like Amazon and Crutchfield have a window to return the products without incurring a restocking fee). I think most folks will like them a lot, but each person's ears and head are different, so there are no guarantees. Still, as far as premium Bluetooth headphones go, the Harman Kardon BT is one of the top models available today and is comparatively well priced at less than $250 online.

There is a great deal to like about the BT. Harman Kardon has created a superb piece of industrial design that manages to deliver sonically as well. Hi-fi is as much about how it makes you feel to use as how it sounds (which many well engineered but less than ergonomically sound brands have discovered over the years) and these go some way to feeling “high end” at a far from high end price. On a purely subjective level, they are a pleasure to use. The competition is fierce though. An extra £80 buys you the PSB M4U2 which is one of the most complete headphones I have had the pleasure of using at or anywhere near the price. The BT has to give ground to the useful features of the PSB including that excellent switchable noise cancelling system. Whether the BT is a viable challenger to the PSB comes down to whether you want Bluetooth and if you are as attracted to the styling and materials as I am. The PSB is the logical choice but the BT is a wonderful piece of industrial design that puts up more of a challenge than you might expect.