Design & Construction

If there is one speaker Harman/Kardon is known for, its their Onyx series of speakers. And this time, they are returning to pay tribute to one of their earliest design. The Onyx Studio 7 looks nothing like its predecessors, the Onyx Studio 6. But instead, it takes on the Onyx Studio 4's design. This year, they updated the iconic Onyx Studio 7 with a Saturn planet design aesthetic and a refreshed design language. We have a solid anodised aluminium ring holding the speaker body unit in a slightly tilted angle, while also adding a great carrying handle for the speaker that weighs a sheer 3.25 kg. When positioned to be angled towards the side at 45°, it gives a very 3D look to the product, enabling it to become a great complimentary furniture for any style of home interior. The entire unit itself is wrapped with a full fabric which gives off a classy look. Unlike the Onyx Studio 6, the new model now loses the IPX7 waterproofing capabilities. Moving to the top portion of the speaker is where you will find all your controls. From left to right, we can first see our Bluetooth pairing button, the volume buttons as well as the power button in the centre. Towards the right, we have our multi-function play/pause button. A single press on the power button will turn on/off the speaker and a single press on the Bluetooth button will enable pairing to a new device. To play/pause, simply press the play/pause button once, or twice to skip tracks. However, a triple tap does not enable for skipping backwards to the previous track. Next, there is a missed opportunity of this speaker which is a lack of an app to control the sound signature and potentially the various settings of the speaker as well as the sound signature. Fortunately, there is an option to stereo pair another Onyx Studio 7 for dual wireless sound.

Sound Quality

Moving on to sound quality, the Onyx Studio 7 now adds a second transducer to the audio set-up and finally made the output stereo. Featuring a front-firing speaker set-up of which 2 x 25mm transducers directs the mid-range in stereo mode while a 120mm woofer in the bottom half handles the bass, together with a passive radiator near the top of the set-up. This in turn helps the speaker deliver up to 5oW RMS to nicely fill up a medium-sized room at a mere 30% volume. Having a frequency range between 50-20KHz, the bass response is deep, tight and punchy. It never manages to distort or bleed into the mids even if you turn up volume. It hits deep and much more than the Aura Studio 3. The highs sound bright with small details being heard clearly from the songs I tested it with. The mids, on the other hand, are very crisp and filled with clarity. The instrument separation and soundstage are excellent when compared to speakers of its size. However, since there is no app support, there is no equaliser to change the sound signature of the speaker for different genres. Going third-party or simply using your phone's equaliser does alter the sound signature to your preferences if there is a need. Overall, I felt that the sound signature was the best and cleanest in its default setting out of the box without the need to even alter it with any equaliser settings. The sound signature can be best described as being energetic with a strong emphasis to the bass. If you are looking to use the Aura Studio 3 as a speakerphone, it does not support it as well. It also does not have Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa integration for your smart home needs.

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Connectivity & Portability

In terms of connectivity, Bluetooth 4.2 is offered and not Bluetooth 5.0 unfortunately in late 2021. Harman/Kardon did not disclose the audio codecs used in the speaker, but I can confirm that the basic SBC and AAC is included only as the speaker does have a little latency when watching movies or videos on both a laptop and smartphone. On the bright side, you can connect two Bluetooth devices to the Onyx Studio 7 at any one time to enable you and your friends to play DJ. A 3.5mm audio-in port is available for wired use and the speaker will automatically switch input settings when a 3.5mm cable is connected. On the back, there is a USB-C port for service use only which was a bummer since the speaker can get its power through the USB-C port but instead the old and proprietary barrel style charging port. Harman/Kardon seems to be adamant about adding a larger battery into the Onyx Studio 7 too, as the battery life is still rated to be around 8 hours of playback with a slow charging rate of 5 hours to get from a dead battery to full. 

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Next Generation Wishlist

In the next generation, I hope to see Harman/Kardon include these features to continue to stay relevant to today’s market demand. First, the inclusion of a speakerphone function. And secondly, app support for equaliser settings and smart assistant integration with Wi-Fi built in to become a truly smart speaker.

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PROS​

• Energetic Sound Signature

• Iconic Design

• 3.5mm Audio Input

• Stereo Sound

• Dual Pairing

• Bluetooth Multi-Pairing

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CONS

• No Equaliser Sound Customisation

• No Speakerphone Function

• No Bluetooth 5,0 Support

• Proprietary Charging Port

• Low Battery Life

• No App Support

• No Wi-Fi Smart Home Integration

 

The Bottom Line

All in all, the Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 7 is still that iconic home speaker that stands out with its excellent design and instantly elevates the interior of your home. It will definitely help boost your home’s ambience if you are looking to get a elegant audio-visual immersive listening experience. On the design end, it stands as one of the top choices to choose from but from a technology standpoint, it has a lot of catching-up to do to stay relevant in the years to come. With a energetic and bass-focused sound signature, diffused ambient lights as well as easy to use controls. it is worth the buy if the speaker goes on sale.