Harman Kardon is an iconic hi-fi brand, renowned in particular for its high-performance home cinema amplifiers. It is also a major group in the sound industry, which has a portfolio of prestigious brands. JBL, AKG, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are therefore part of the Harman group. It is certainly no coincidence that the Luna houses the same technical solutions as the famous JBL Flip 6, a benchmark in the compact Bluetooth speaker segment. It is thus one of the rare speakers of this format to have a tweeter for finer reproduction of high frequencies, where – except JBL – most manufacturers are content with the minimum, for the sake of economy, with one or two full-range speakers. You will have understood, little Luna was born well.
Harman Kardon Luna Technical sheet
The enclosure used for this test was loaned by the manufacturer
Harman Kardon Luna A flattering finish
Elegance is the word that seems to have governed the sketches of the Luna during its genesis. If the speaker has a fairly classic cylindrical shape, its assembly is unique, the shell curved on all its sides and entirely covered with an acoustic fabric impeccably joined at the level of the sides. The speaker is compact, with 21 cm in length and 8 cm in height and depth.
The aluminum top side houses the control buttons, as well as a series of small inlaid LEDs, which indicate the battery charge status. These buttons are made of grippy, raised silicone, which allows them to be manipulated with your eyes closed. And that’s kind of the goal, the Luna is intended to be used at the beach in the middle of summer and even at night. The front side houses the Harman Kardon logo and an LED, while on the back there is the USB-C charging port. The latter is not protected by a hatch, which does not prevent the enclosure from being perfectly waterproof. Its IP67 certification even allows total immersion.
So don’t worry, by the pool or in the bathroom, the Luna won’t worry about getting wet. The only precaution to take is not to recharge the speaker after it has just been immersed in water. Finally, the lower face is made up of a silicone base, which prevents the speaker from sliding or transmitting too many vibrations.
Internal design of the Harman Kardon Luna
The two transducers are installed on the front panel and broadcast the sound straight ahead. The main one diffuses low and medium sounds thanks to a 9×5 cm membrane, while the tweeter dedicated to high frequencies is a 2 cm diameter dome model. These transducers are larger than those of the Flip 6 and therefore promise more powerful sound.
To produce low frequencies despite its very compact format, the Luna is equipped with two passive radiators, in practice membranes which amplify the bass sounds produced by the main transducer. Here again, the connection with JBL portable speakers is obvious and welcome.
Harman Kardon Luna Five buttons and that’s it
The Harman Kardon Luna speaker does not have a mobile application to adjust the settings. An absence that is not very detrimental, as no need for equalization is felt when listening to it. The only criticism that we can level at Harman in the absence of an app is that it deprives the user of the possibility of deactivating the Luna’s power-up music. When starting up, the speaker emits a loud chime. On the other hand, and fortunately, it does not emit any sound when switched off; you won’t wake anyone up by turning it off at night.
The control buttons allow you to adjust the volume, control playback (pause, change track), initiate Bluetooth pairing and associate the speaker with a second Luna speaker, to listen in stereo and above all obtain a louder sound volume.
The Bluetooth controller is multi-point compatible and the speaker can work with two devices simultaneously; switching from one source to another is instantaneous. The radio link is solid up to 10 meters, even through a thin wall or wooden floor.
Streaming latency is moderate, but noticeable in video games, with sound arriving with a slight delay on the image. No synchronization problems however when watching video, the synchronization of sound and image is perfect. We can therefore calmly use the Luna to watch films and series. As for the supported Bluetooth compression technologies, HK has settled for the SBC codec.
Harman Kardon Luna Audio
The Harman Kardon Luna is a two-way speaker and that is its strong point. The term 2-way means that the sound to be broadcast is divided into two frequency ranges – here low/mid and high – by the speaker’s processor. Each range of sound is transmitted to an amplifier then a separate transducer. For bass/midrange sounds, it’s the large 9×5 cm transducer, while for high sounds, it’s the tweeter. The latter has a smaller dome-shaped membrane (2 cm) that is infinitely lighter and capable of oscillating up to 20,000 times per second with much more precision. In addition, each transducer is powered by a dedicated amplifier, which brings more dynamism and transparency to the reproduction. The benefits to the ear are obvious: the sound is softer, more fluid and natural, thus not forcing the listener to strain their attention.
Sound signature and response curve
Unsurprisingly, the Luna sounds remarkably good, its balance between the three frequency registers being close to perfect. We don’t hear one register more than another and what comes out of the speaker is always melodious. To bring up its cousin the JBL Flip 6 again, the differences are slight, the JBL being a little more responsive, but slightly behind in terms of storage. The Luna can therefore play a little louder and is also equipped with slightly more powerful amplifiers (40 W in total compared to 30 W).
A look at the three response curves shows a nice presence in the bass – for such a small speaker – and good stability for the rise in frequency; the variations are thus kept within a narrow range of 6 dB. It is only at full power, at a very excessive volume, that the bass is placed back to avoid damaging the transducers. The bass extension is necessarily limited by the measurements of the speaker, but it produces enough volume up to 60 Hz to bring generosity to the low end of the spectrum. Both female and male voices are expressed adequately. As for the instruments, they benefit from the good balance of the rise in frequency and sound true. La Luna thus does not color the music it broadcasts.
Dynamic behavior and soundstage
The Luna is alert and reproduces a whole bunch of small details, especially in the high frequencies. You can thus listen at low volume and hear well, at least when the speaker is close to you. The Harman Kardon Luna also surprises with its power/size ratio; she has quite a chest. On the other hand, as the speaker broadcasts in mono (a single channel), the soundstage is narrow and shallow. However, it is difficult to criticize Harman Kardon for having preferred a tweeter to a second wide-band transducer to offer a little stereo, as this tweeter brings refinement to the reproduction.
- Bass: small extension, but generous volume considering the size; the balance is pleasant
- Midrange: quite a bit of detail, with vocals coming through well and no acidity
- Treble: soft and precise, flattering to the ear
Harman Kardon Luna Autonomy
Harman Kardon announces up to 12 hours of battery life, without specifying at what volume this measurement was carried out. At 50% volume, the Luna lasted almost 7 hours, which isn’t too bad, because by then it’s already playing loudly. To hope to get 10 hours of battery life, you will have to listen at 25% maximum.
For prolonged evenings with friends, it is better to provide an auxiliary battery to keep the speaker afloat. Allow a good two hours to recharge the battery with a Power Delivery charger (not supplied).
Harman Kardon Luna Price and release date
The Harman Kardon Luna speaker is available in black or light gray, priced at 189 euros. A considerable price, which makes it noticeably less attractive than the JBL Flip 6, which is also a little more expressive. In this niche, we also find the efficient JBL Charge 5, certainly more voluminous, but more durable and powerful.
Where to buy
Harman Kardon Luna at the best price?