With the Luna, Harman Kardon offers a compact but stylish Bluetooth speaker.
This should offer an outstanding sound despite its compact dimensions. However, this is something that all Bluetooth speaker manufacturers promise.
So let’s take a look at the Harman Kardon Luna. Does the speaker just look nice or does it also sound good?
At this point, many thanks to Harman Kardon for loaning this speaker for testing.
Harman Kardon Luna im Test
Harman Kardon is a brand where high-quality design certainly comes first.
The Luna is also a very high-quality and elegant Bluetooth speaker! At first glance, this stands out from the run-of-the-mill Bluetooth speakers on the market.
However, the basic design is nothing “out of the ordinary”, it is simply implemented to a high standard.
The speaker measures 210 x 78 x 80 mm and weighs 710 g. Harman Kardon relies on an oval design and has covered the outside of the speaker with a linen fabric.
We only have a metal cover on the top in which the control buttons are embedded.
On the back we find exactly one USB C port for charging the speaker. This USB C port is internally sealed because we have IP67 water protection.
Accordingly, the speaker could even be submerged without being damaged (but it’s better not to test this intentionally).
The battery life is not overly impressive at “up to 12 hours”. In practice, expect around 10 hours.
Klang des Harman Kardon Luna
Harman Kardon sets the RRP for the Luna at €179. To put it bluntly, for the money you get speakers that sound better! However, most of them are also significantly larger.
Larger speakers usually sound better or have an easier time producing good sound. If you don’t care about the compact dimensions, then there are better speakers out there from a sound perspective.
Below I will try to describe and assess the sound, considering the size of the speaker.
At first I expected the Luna to be a “sister model” to the JBL Charge 5. We also seem to have a similar sound structure here. We have two drivers, a tweeter/midrange driver on the right side and a woofer driver on the left side. We also have passive drivers on the sides, like the JBL Charge 5 (JBL and Harman Kardon belong together).
However, the speakers sound quite different.
Let’s start with the heights. The highs are OK so far, but tend to be a bit on the warmer side. For my taste, the highs could be a little more brilliant and lighter, especially the lower highs.
I like the mids a lot. The speaker has a very nice, round and full sound. Voices are reproduced well and naturally. Vocals also sound powerful.
The bass is also good. This is certainly not a bass bomber, i.e. a speaker that cranks up the bass all the way, but the bass is pleasantly full and rich for its compact dimensions. The bass has a good depth and generally sounds nice and round.
The bottom line is that the Harman Kardon Luna has a fairly warm and round sound. In direct comparison, the JBL Charge 5 sounds a little more dynamic with more highs and lows, but the Luna has better sonority and perhaps sounds a little more relaxed.
Conclusion
The Harman Kardon Luna is a very stylish and undoubtedly high-quality speaker. If you’re looking for a portable speaker that doesn’t look cheap, then you’ve come to the right place.
In my opinion, the design of the Harman Kardon Luna is without question a success.
The sound also makes a good impression. We have a very full and relaxed sound with a good bass. Voices are represented very well and the speaker generally sounds very well rounded.
For my taste, however, the sound could be a touch more airy.
Hence my recommendation, if the design isn’t that important to you, take a look at the JBL Charge 5. This has a very similar structure, but sounds a bit better for my taste.