Harman Kardon Omni+ Expands Wireless Hi-Res Audio for Whole Home Applications

Among the many announcements from Harman International during IFA 2016, the new Harman Kardon Omni+ is certainly one of the most promising products. This next generation of Wi-Fi HD home audio systems from Harman, combines improved speakers with advanced streaming capabilities, from single speaker to multi-room and whole-home audio configurations. The highlight is the support for high-resolution wireless streaming using technology from Blackfire Research.

StreamUnlimited announced its new Stream805 module, developed in collaboration with Broadcom and Wistron, combining StreamSDK software and Google Cast to create faster turnaround time for audio manufacturers. StreamUnlimited also introduced the new Stream810 module, developed in collaboration with NXP Semiconductors as a high-end streaming device for flagship audio products, including low power portable units. This module is designed to meet THX performance standards.

Harman is already the world’s #1 provider of wireless home audio devices achieving an 11% share of global home audio sales in 2015. Now, at IFA 2016, Harman announced its first Google Cast-enabled wireless home speaker, the JBL Playlist, allowing users to stream cloud-based music services and radio from smartphones, tablets or laptops. Frontier Silicon confirms its audio speaker development toolkit has been chosen by Harman to power the new JBL Playlist.

With the trend towards multi-room audio at home evolving towards wireless solutions, Sony continues to expand its range with complete systems to address also multichannel entertainment for the living room with its slim, compact HT-RT5 Sound Bar with wireless rear speakers and subwoofer. The new Sony HT-RT5 system combines also support for streaming audio and direct connection of high-resolution audio via HDMI.

Sony unveiled its new audio product lineup scheduled for release in 2015 at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas with a total of ten new devices, including a Hi-Res compatible top-of-the-line Walkman, headphones, wireless speakers, home theater systems, and multi-channel integrated amplifiers.