Harman Kardon Aura Studio 2 Bluetooth Speaker System

I have bought 8 PC speaker sets from Amazon since 2006, I have reviews in my review history of some of those as well. The way people listen to music/movies/games has changed a lot in the last decade or so. For example, I go to one of my friend's houses and their surround sound is rattling the walls. I don't know if people want to come as close as possible to recreating a movie theater in their home or what ... but, I find it annoying. Everything in audio these days is going for louder and don't forget, more bass.I bought this Harman Kardon Aura Studio 2 with the hopes that it would be enough for my home office's PC. I had been using a set of Harman Kardon Soundsticks (wired) for the last 5 years. They stopped working around Christmas. Since then, I've bought a Logitech Z625 2.1 set, an Edifier Prisma 2.1 set and a set of Bose Companion 3s. Needless to say, despite being very impressed with the Edifier, impressed with the power of the Z625 and feeling indifferent to the Bose, have had 3 sets of Companion in the past, I have returned all of them.I had one major concern with the HK Aura Studio 2, the clarity of vocals. Coming from the Soundsticks, nearly identical subwoofer and design as the Aura Studio 2, I really didn't expect the vocals to be very good since there are no satellites like with the Soundsticks.There's good news and not the best of news. The bass (especially very low frequencies, say below 40hz) is very strong, deep but the bass does lack punch. The vocals are not as crystal clear as the Bose Companion but the treble isn't as screechy as the Companion either. A word that's not always seen as positive in speakers and audio, "muted" even "muffled" could be used with the Aura Studio 2. Don't take that wrong. This speaker is very loud if you turn it up. I believe it has more bass than the Soundsticks had.Here's a couple of source songs I use with any new speaker set:Crosses is the band - songs "Thholyghst", "Trophy", "The Epilogue" and "Bermuda Locket". This is not typical bass music but the song, "Thholyghst" has a strong, low bass that rumbles throughout the song and the Aura Studio 2 is shaking bottles off the desk it's on. The song, "The Epilogue" brings a nice, balanced sound and will show the lack of punchy bass. But overall, on 35% volume master volume, the sound is near perfect to my ears. It's not as lively as some but it's balanced and has a warm feel to it.Plus, it's one speaker with one wire (power cable). I think everyone knows with this product or the Soundsticks, you're also buying it for the look and design. I have clients that stop by my house to make design changes (new house construction, remodeling, custom designs) and here I have this very unique speaker that's filling the room with sound at a low volume. I prefer the lighting in this one to any I've seen. It's not in-tune with the music, it pulses at times, it goes off and lightly comes back on, there's a rotation to it too but it's not bright at all. It's more of a subtle light. All of the controls (volume, power, bluetooth) are around the base of the Aura Studio 2 and are the light touch buttons where you really just need to move your finger across them.I also like the darker color than the Soundsticks. This is more of dark, smoky, charcoal color which looks great beside my dark oak office desk.A few more parts, the 360 sound isn't fully selling me on it. The speaker sits just to the left of me and faces me. I can tell I don't have stereo sound going on. I thought this would be a major problem for me. But here's the trick, don't look at the speaker while testing it. Look straight ahead and really it's going to get as close to stereo sound as I've heard from one speaker. I've read that it might be possible to sync it with another one but I'm happy with the one for now.I have had no problems with the bluetooth connection to my PC or to my phone. I'm using an Asus gaming PC, about 2 years old and an iPhone 6s (about 3 years old). The power cord does come with a small brick and there are 3-4 plugs you can attach to use it in different countries. Last, an opinion/comparison to the closest speaker I have to the Aura Studio 2:I have a Bose Soundlink Mini II, it was a little more expensive than this Aura Studio 2. The Bose is almost exclusively used for playing music I listen to while sleeping. Playing it side by side with the Aura Studio 2 really shows how good this Aura Studio 2 sounds. The bass in the Aura Studio 2 is 3-4 levels deeper and lower than the Bose. The Bose also struggles with crisp vocals. It's why I rarely use the Bose except for ambient, instrumental music. This isn't to be negative towards Bose. I have 3 sets of their headphones and generally love Bose but if you put this Aura Studio 2 in a head to head with the Soundlink Mini II, you too will see how good this Aura Studio 2 is. Give it a few days, equalize it, if you're not happy with the initial sound. It took me about 1 night to get it to sound how I prefer and after that there did seem to be a warm-in period where the sound became better than it initially was. Should have mentioned the auto-off feature. I don't like it but I've learned to not let it bother me. It shuts itself off, which disconnects the Bluetooth but all you have to do is touch the power button on the side and it picks up where it left off.

Although I give the Aura 5 stars, I believe it comes down to personal preference. In comparison to the HK Onyx and HK Go Play, this one seems to have the deepest bass and great highs. I liken the Aura to a stereo having a "rock" setting of a preset equalizer. The Onyx is great, and has decent bass, but compared to the Aura, the Aura just "hits harder." However, if it came down to easily hearing vocals, I'd have to go with the Onyx or the Go Play. The Onyx has more of a "pop" setting, for lack of a better term. It still sounds great with good bass, just different.The Go Play seems to have the best of both worlds, in my opinion. Maybe the Aura sounds like it has more bass because of the "rock" setting type sound, whereas if you could have a "rock" setting on the Go Play it would sound just like the Onyx. It's kind of like the bass with the Go Play gets covered by the great mids and highs, but it's still there and you can feel it. One thing I just remembered, with songs with heavy bass, the subwoofer in the Aura has made a clicking sound (clipping) a few times. The Go Play I have has rarely done this, and it's pretty old.The Go Play does not get the visual attention that the Aura gets. The design of the Aura is quite impressive.The bluetooth connection distance was really nice. Changing from one phone to another was really nice and hassle free. However, if you are connected via bluetooth and then turn off your bluetooth, or step out for a while, you'll have to press the bluetooth button on the stereo again.Great stereo, and I'd buy one again, especially since you can get one for only $182 right now. I believe the HK Go Play is quite a bit more right now, but I could be wrong.

I'll get straight to the point...I purchased both and they are pretty different in their listening experience. The Aura looks amazing with they lights, the base is ridiculous...sitting in the same room with the Aura, you'll feel the base in your chest. I can't even put into words how the base feels with the Aura, just take my word for it...you will feel the base in your body even while in the other room. The only negative is that the highs aren't as clear as the Go + Play, but isn't a deal breaker. However, once you've listened to both Go + Play and Aura, you'll know what I'm talking about.The Go + Play also has a lot of base, it will shake the walls on 30% volume. However, the Aura will preposition all your body's internal organs...the feels is so unsettling.Another thing...internal microphone system. The Go + Play does a bad job at phone calls, the micro phone has a hard time picking my voice clearly. However, the Aura does this seamlessly.The Aura looks very stylish and space age when the lights are on. So it will definitely get a lot of complements even when it's on and not playing any music. The Go + Play just looks like a speaker with a handle.As to which one to get...well it all depends on where it will be used. The Aura will be best in a smaller area since you'll be able to feel the base for miles, but the vocals will be drowned out by the base the further you walk away from it. So you won't be able to hear it as clear if you try to listen to it from the second floor of your house.The Go + Play, you'll hear clear vocals throughout the entire house, it truly is the ultimate sound system. I still can't wrap my head around how the size of the Go + Play and the sound it produces. I have never been able to turn the Go + Play up beyond 50% volume, it's just way too loud.