• 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Incredible sound, spotty AirPlay

    • Written by from Toronto

    Before buying this speaker, I wasn't convinced that one speaker could replace multiple. However, I was utterly convinced once I played the very first notes of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature". The Harman Kardon Aura fills the entire room with sound with little indication that it's coming from just one speaker.
    The bass is very deep and smooth without any distortion. It creates a very rich sound unlike any speaker I've owned before. I listen to it at just 1/3 the volume and it gives quite the punch. I have no doubt that you could fill a very large space with sound with the Aura at near full power.
    The Aura is an absolutely gorgeous modern design show piece. Everybody who sees it is taken aback by its unconventional, almost alien design.
    That said, I purchased the Aura to join my AirPlay ecosystem and I'm often frustrated that it has fallen asleep and no device will wake it up as is expected. I often have to restart it which takes some time because the touch sensitive buttons aren't very responsive. I will say that once AirPlay connection is achieved, it sticks with it with no interruptions, but not knowing if it'll connect is a real downer. I don't want to have to think about it. Select it on AirPlay on any device and it should just connect and start playing. That's unfortunately not the case.
    So despite paying a hefty premium for AirPlay in the Aura, I'm convinced that I'm better off just plugging it into an AppleTV via optical link. At least the AppleTV is reliable in waking up when any device selects it for AirPlay. I'm still hopeful that Harman Kardon will rectify the issue with a firmware update.

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