Harman Kardon SB 16
-Hi, I'm Matthew Moskovciak from cnet.com and we're gonna take a look at the Harman Kardon SB 16.
This is a soundbar home theater system and is currently selling for about $600 online.
While $600 is a bit more than most of the soundbars we reviewed, but you can see why as soon as you take it out of the box.
The soundbar has some real weight to it and the subwoofer is absolutely huge compared to many of the soundbars out there.
Well, luckily the subwoofer is wireless so it's easy to stash in the corner of your living room where its size won't be quite as imposing on your decor.
The back of the subwoofer has a few controls you'll adjust during the set up and the back of the soundbar has 3 inputs including an optical, coaxial, and analog input.
The whole system is self-powered so you don't need a separate AV receiver.
The only design issue we ran into is that the SB 16 doesn't include a remote instead relying on you to program the soundbar to receive commands from your HDTV's remote.
We like the idea of simplifying out to one remote, but the problem is your HDTV is still gonna receive those volume commands.
And if you disabled the TV speakers like it says in the manual, some TVs show a message that says TV speakers off.
If you like to adjust the volume frequently like we do, it could be pretty annoying to see that message keep popping up.
Now, not every TV shows a message like this, but it was a problem on about half of the new HDTVs we have at CNET.
So if you're thinking about buying the SB 16, it's worth checking out how your HDTV handles the issue.
Remote issues aside, sound quality is really what the Harman Kardon SB 16 is all about.
Thanks in part to its giant subwoofer, the sound quality is a step up above most soundbars.
It can get loud enough to create a real home theater experience, but we also found that sound detailed and neutral.
If you're looking for a performance based soundbar and don't wanna deal with the bulk of an AV receiver, this is one your best options.
So, overall, the Harman Kardon SB 16 is expensive and it does have some remote control quirks.
But ultimately we felt like its excellent sound quality and stylish design make it worth the extra cash.
I'm Matthew Moskovciak and this is the Harman Kardon SB 16.
Dolby's New Atmos System Lets You Place Speakers Anywhere in the Room
Up Next
Dolby's New Atmos System Lets You Place Speakers Anywhere in the Room
Razer Leviathan v2 Game Soundbar Delivers Big Sound, Front and Center
Razer Leviathan v2 Game Soundbar Delivers Big Sound, Front and Center
LG's latest soundbars promise more realistic voices
LG's latest soundbars promise more realistic voices
Soundbars: What to know before you buy
Soundbars: What to know before you buy
Vizio Elevate soundbar lifts the roof with Dolby Atmos
Vizio Elevate soundbar lifts the roof with Dolby Atmos
This luxury speaker brings Alexa smarts to art gallery design
This luxury speaker brings Alexa smarts to art gallery design
This is the best smart speaker
This is the best smart speaker
UE Hyperboom is built to party
UE Hyperboom is built to party
Samsung's Atmos soundbar offers big sound, fewer boxes
Samsung's Atmos soundbar offers big sound, fewer boxes
Amazon introduces high-end smarter speaker, Echo Studio
Amazon introduces high-end smarter speaker, Echo Studio
Tech Shows
Latest News
Bose SoundLink Max Review: How Does It Compare to the Cheaper SoundLink Flex?
Bose SoundLink Max Review: How Does It Compare to the Cheaper SoundLink Flex?
Hands-On With Huawei's Pura 70 Ultra
Hands-On With Huawei's Pura 70 Ultra
I Tried Three Fitness Apps to Help My Postpartum Recovery
I Tried Three Fitness Apps to Help My Postpartum Recovery
How Many Times Did Google Say AI at I/O 2024?
How Many Times Did Google Say AI at I/O 2024?
I Tried Google's Project Astra
I Tried Google's Project Astra
Everything Google Just Announced at I/O 2024
Everything Google Just Announced at I/O 2024
Google Introduces Gemini AI Upgrades to Gmail and Chat
Google Introduces Gemini AI Upgrades to Gmail and Chat
Google Brings Multistep Reasoning to Search
Google Brings Multistep Reasoning to Search
Project Astra Revealed at Google I/O
Project Astra Revealed at Google I/O
Ask Photos Uses AI to Search Your Google Gallery
Ask Photos Uses AI to Search Your Google Gallery
Bose SoundLink Max Review: How Does It Compare to the Cheaper SoundLink Flex?
Bose SoundLink Max Review: How Does It Compare to the Cheaper SoundLink Flex?
Hands-On With Huawei's Pura 70 Ultra
Hands-On With Huawei's Pura 70 Ultra
I Tried Three Fitness Apps to Help My Postpartum Recovery
I Tried Three Fitness Apps to Help My Postpartum Recovery
How Many Times Did Google Say AI at I/O 2024?
How Many Times Did Google Say AI at I/O 2024?
I Tried Google's Project Astra
I Tried Google's Project Astra
Everything Google Just Announced at I/O 2024
Everything Google Just Announced at I/O 2024
Google Introduces Gemini AI Upgrades to Gmail and Chat
Google Introduces Gemini AI Upgrades to Gmail and Chat
Google Brings Multistep Reasoning to Search
Google Brings Multistep Reasoning to Search
Project Astra Revealed at Google I/O
Project Astra Revealed at Google I/O
Ask Photos Uses AI to Search Your Google Gallery