Harman Kardon GLA-55 speakers cut from ice (OK, glass)

Wednesday, Dec. 2 2009 | Author: andy

Audio speakers are either boring black cubes of plastic and wood surround, or else they’re in some kind of dock that you stick an iPod into, right?

Maybe for you, but for those audiophiles who can afford high-end equipment (and are probably not listening to compressed MP3 files on their iPod) comes the likes of the Harman Kardon GLA-55 speakers.

They’re not carved from ice (because they’d melt, duh) but they’re exquisitely formed from clear glass.

My audiophilia isn’t advanced enough to explain the tech involved in these speakers, but I can tell it’s cutting edge. Here’s the lowdown as explained in the press release:

The GLA-55 features many proprietary technologies to provide the highest quality sound possible; including:

Atlas AL and CMMD Transducers – The CMMD drivers provide accurate high frequencies, but are capable of low-frequency extension to four octaves; the Atlas AL drivers are capable of nearly 2,5 cm peak-to-peak travel for tight, accurate bass reproduction. Their pairing provides a full, rich frequency response, from the lowest bass to highest highs.
Slipstream Port Design – The GLA-55 port minimizes boundary layer separation, providing high-output bass with low distortion.
COE (Computer-Optimized Equalization) – The system equalization is computer-optimized to provide a rich, complete soundstage over a wide range of listening positions.
OCT (Optimized Compression Topology) – The GLA-55 system utilizes a proprietary compression technology to ensure clean, accurate sound at high output levels.
The Harman Kardon GLA-55 system is compatible with desktop computers (all platforms), laptops and MP3 and portable media players. In clear with chrome accents.

So, basically, they look great, sound great, and work with pretty much everything.

Price? £750 ($1,250 equivalent)

Harman Kardon

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Category: Music
Tags: Audio, audiophile, gla-55, glass, harman kardon, home audio, Speakers

4 Responses for "Harman Kardon GLA-55 speakers cut from ice (OK, glass)"

Franky

December 2nd, 2009 at 13:19
1

£750 for a pair of computer speakers?!?!
Andy

December 2nd, 2009 at 18:03
2

Yeah, when I saw the photos without the context of an iMac sitting behind them I thought they were going to be ice – sorry glass – sculptures you had to chuck your sofa out in order to get in your living room (or buy a bigger house), but no, they’re… well, they’re HK.

They weren’t even designed by a celebrity though. I can get Neil Poulton stuff for less.
Franky

December 3rd, 2009 at 08:22
3

With all the money going to the speakers it’s no wonder that they can’t afford a more recent iMac for the official photos. Pffft.
IXOS Divo 2.1: the compact high quality iPod dock

January 26th, 2010 at 14:44
4

[...] the speakers are visually appealing (perhaps not so much as the Harman Kardon GLA-55 speakers we showed off last month, that obviously inspired a lot of you) but there’s more to it than [...]