Harman

Gear Diary’s Best of CES 2024 Awards

CES 2024 has wrapped, and this year, there was a plethora of exciting and innovative new products to discover and explore. After sorting through (what felt like) thousands of press announcements and making our way through a dizzying amount of CES events, venues, and demos, these are the products we found to be the most innovative and intriguing. Without further ado and in no particular order, here are our top 16 Best of CES 2024 choices. Let’s delve into the exciting array of advancements that emerged from this year’s CES!


The XGIMI HORIZON Ultra Offers 4K Long-Throw Projection, Dolby Vision, and More Features Than You’d Think Possible for Under $1700

If you’ve considered upgrading your home theater setup and want the most bang for your buck, the new flagship 4K XGiMI HORIZON Ultra should pique your interest. It’s the world’s first and only long-throw home projector sporting Dolby Vision. The HORIZON Ultra sports a hybrid laser and LED system, which are hardware-level computing optics usually only seen on luxury projectors costing thousands of dollars; it also offers low-latency gaming modes, and it doesn’t look like the usual box that you’d want to hide somewhere — because it’s not ugly!



Gather up Your Spare Change for the Mark Levinson No 5909 Over-Ear Headphones and a Bunch of Great New JBL Products

Harman and its subsidiary brands consistently deliver some of the best audio products on the market. Whether it be headphones, wireless speakers, home audio, or portable audio, there’s something for everyone. Some of the latest audio products we have to look forward to this year from Harman brands include the new Mark Levinson No. 5909 wireless headphones and new headphones, speakers, and a gaming microphone from JBL.


AKG Ara Microphone Review: Easy to Use, and It Sounds Great

Cameras and microphones have become part of daily life for many of us during the pandemic. While most external video cameras have built-in microphones, they’re usually only slightly better than using the microphone integrated into a laptop. Unfortunately, the best external microphones are often rather complicated to use. However, the AKG Ara microphone is an excellent dual pattern USB mic, and it’s easy to use.



Lovesac Sactionals StealthTech Sound + Charge System Brings Invisible and Immersive Harman Kardon Sound to Your Home Theater

When you think of home theater set-ups, you usually picture a soundbar under the TV with speakers and a subwoofer set up around the room. That all changes with the Lovesac Sactionals StealthTech Sound + Charge System, which puts the home theater audio components inside your sofa, for a deep and immersive Harman Kardon sound experience that you can feel and hear but don’t see.


Affordable Xiaomi 11T Series Includes “Cinemagic” Cameras and Ultra-Fast Charging

If a large display with a fast refresh rate, a speedy processor, and a solid camera for content creation on the go is essential to you, then you’ll want to take a look at the two new Xiaomi 11T series devices launched today. Both the 11T and the 11T Pro offer what Xiaomi calls “Cinemagic” cameras; they say you can leave the expensive video and photography equipment at home (or better yet, not buy it in the first place), go out and explore and get your best shots. Best of all, both phones are affordable.



Mark Levinson Expands Their 5000 Series with New Amps, a Turntable, and a Network Streaming SACD Player and DAC

Mark Levinson, by Harman, makes audio equipment that many of us can only ever aspire to own. I’ve been able to listen to several of their system set-ups in person, and each time I’ve walked away thinking that if I ever become rich and famous, I’d be tempted. If you’re already in a position to buy, then you’ll be glad to know that they’ve expanded their offering of luxury-line components. Even though the prices are still quite aspirational, they are a little more obtainable than Mark Levinson’s typical price-points.


JBL Has More Ways for You to Enjoy Your Music Wherever You Might Be

This year, IFA will consist of a much smaller live convention coupled with a virtual show. Even though the pandemic travel restrictions have made it just about impossible for press from the states to attend, there will still be lots of news to share. One of the IFA press conferences I never miss is Harman’s, and even though things will be very different this year, there are still plenty of exciting new JBL offerings to check out.


Harman Kardon Citation ONE Is the Start of Your Smart Multi-Room Speaker System

For years the multi-room audio market was owned by Sonos. Amazon chipped away at that a bit by giving their Echo speakers multi-room functionality. Sonos responded by adding Alexa to their speakers. Well, things are changing, and Harman Kardon’s new Citation line of speakers is ready to give both a run for their money; the entry-level Citation ONE is superb.






Ok Google, Tell Me More About My JBL Everest Headphones

A good pair of headphones is hard to find, but if you’re tired of searching, then you might want to check out JBL’s recently updated Everest series. Sporting three different models, the JBL Everest collection (710GA, 310GA, and 110GA) are made with different wearers in mind, depending on if you like around ear, on-ear, and in-ear.


JBL Clip 3: Updated and Ready to Play

We are fans of the JBL Clip 2, and when we saw that the company had announced the 3rd edition of their Bluetooth speaker at CES in Vegas, we had to check it out. So what’s changed? And the answer is a whole lot. Taking evolution to a whole new level is the JBL Clip 3, a portable waterproof Bluetooth speaker that doesn’t slack on the features. With ten hours of battery life, an even better audio performance due to JBL tweaking the internals, the Clip 3 also adds a bit of flair with some new colors which will match…


AKG N5005 Headphones Flaunt Studio Quality Sound and a Brilliant Design

AKG has been breaking barriers in audio technology for years, and the company looks to expand their popular N-Series with their AKG N5005 headphones. Flaunting studio quality sound and a brilliant design, the N5005 were made with precision, courtesy of AKG working with sound curves and frequency responses to give an optimal sound quality that listeners will love.


JBL Boombox: Say Hello to the Star of Your Next Backyard Party

While at IFA, I had a chance to check out the JBL Boombox, their largest and most powerful portable speaker to date. Available in forest green or black, the Boombox offers a 20,000mAh battery, best in class sound, and up to 24 hours of battery life. Most importantly, it probably sounds better than most home stereo speakers. No, really.


JBL Soundgear Wearable Speaker Breaks the Mold, but to What End?

Now and then a product comes along that doesn’t fit into an established category. The JBL Soundgear wearable audio device is one such product. The Soundgear isn’t a pair of headphones. It isn’t a Bluetooth speaker. It is a wearable music delivery system that creates an entirely new category. But I’m left to wonder, does it have a future?