New Harmon Kardon headphones won’t clash with your iPhone

The Gadget Show  Wednesday 13 June 2012

Harmon Kardon has unveiled five new sets of headphones inspired by the Apple iPhone’s industrial looks, with sound quality Harmon Kardon promises will impress music lovers. The new range includes two sound-isolating in-ear models, a couple of tasty-looking over-ear styles and a wireless Bluetooth model fitted with the latest noise-cancelling tech. More details this way…

Each of the Harmon Kardon headsets and earphones feature an almost minimalist design similar to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, purposefully designed to pair with either – note the blasted steel hinges and black leather headrest and pads for the over the ear headphones seen above.


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Here’s the lowdown on all the new models: 

The Harmon Kardon NI is an in-ear model that has a housing shaped like the back of an iPhone. Those are Harmon Kardon’s words. It has a three-button remote with a built-in microphone for taking calls, and features noise isolation technology. The Harmon Kardon NI will retail for £90.

Second of the in-ear models – the pricier Harmon Kardon AE (£130) has noise isolation and a silver aluminium casing for better acoustic dampening for better low-frequency sound reproduction, and 9mm drivers designed for better bass. Like the NI, it also has a three-button remote and built-in microphone.

The Harmon Kardon CL (£170) is an “on-ear” headphone with metal hinges and a sand-blasted metal finish to mirror the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S’ design. You get 40mm drivers designed for better low frequency sound and meaty bass. The cables are made of tightly woven fabric for better durability, Harmon Kardon says.

You’ve also got the BT model (£220) – the wireless Bluetooth headphones come with an integrated microphone for taking calls, playback buttons and a cable for wired playback once the battery runs out.

Finally, Harmon Kardon’s NC (£280) is an over-ear pair of noise-cancelling headphones fitted with “slow-retention” foam for a more comfortable fit, also said to improve its noise-canceling abilities. A 30-hour battery life offers plenty of musical stamina. Should they run out of stream, Harmon Kardon says the headphones will continue to play when the battery runs dry.

The iPhone-inspired Harmon Kardon range is now available exclusively from Apple retail stores and Apple.com says Harmon Kardon. So be sure to look out for them. Have any of the above tickled your earbuds? 



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