Soundbars are fast becoming the sound upgrade of choice for people that are looking for a better home theatre experience. They are relatively cheaper than a full surround, and more importantly easier to set up too. So we are quite pleased when Harman/Kardon set us the Omni Bar + for review.
Unboxing
The Omni Bar + comes in a rather long box that weighs around 15kg overall, so it’s a good idea for two people to carry this thing around. Inside the box, you will find all you need to get started with your new soundbar. And we are quite happy that Harman/Kardon had included all kind of connectors that you would ever need with this soundbar, namely HDMI, an RCA to 3.5mm cable, as well as an optical cable.
Minimalistic Design
Both the soundbar and the wireless subwoofer are black, and covered in a rather coarse matte black finish. While it does make the speaker looks premium, it tends to get scratched or even collect white plaster dust. The overall design of the both the soundbar and wireless subwoofer is quite minimalistic, which gives it a really premium look. I love that there are only a few buttons on the soundbar, thus keeping the look really simple, as well as giving the user an intuitive way of controlling it.
Audio Guru
Both the soundbar and the subwoofer has pressure fit leg stands that requires no screw to install. But if you would want to mount them on the wall, Harman/Kardon also includes some hanging brackets, as well as a guide on how to affix it unto the wall inside the box. There is a plethora of inputs which the Omni Bar + supports, namely 3.5mm audio, optical in, HDMI Audio, via the rear of the soundbar, Bluetooth and via Wi-Fi, Spotify as well as Google Cast Audio.
At a touch of the finger
Network connectivity is done via the WPS button at the rear of the speaker. Press the WPS button on your router, then on the speaker and it should pair up. Controlling the Omni Bar + is easy, either via the included remote, the mobile app or directly from your Spotify app. You can easily play YouTube audio or even cast Spotify web player directly from your computer. Either way, you can control the sound bar from anywhere as long as you have a wifi connection.
Banger of a Bar
What’s important about a sound bar is its sound quality, and we can happily say that the Harman/Kardon Omni Bar + do live up to our expectations, and more. Watching movies and listening to songs are a blast with the sound bar, with great and clear sound, and booming bass from the subwoofer. It’s powerful enough that we can still hear songs clearly from a few rooms away, separated by a number of walls. The Omni Bar + also have a virtual surround mode to emulate a surround like effect.
Specifications
Soundbar
Dimension: 1150mm x 53mm x 103mm
Weight: 3.4kg
Input: 3.5mm, HDMI, BT , Optical, Spotify, Google Cast Audio.
Subwoofer
Dimension: 480mm x 103mm x 400mm
Weight: 7kg
