Harman Kardon GLA-55 Speaker System - Raising the Bar in Desktop Audio

Looking like something out of Superman's Fortress of Solitude are Harmon Kardon's GLA-55 2.0 powered desktop speakers. With their sculpted, crystal-like appearance, and clear PMMA enclosure, the GLA-55 speakers are certainly conversation pieces. But the key question to ask of course if you're going to cough up the $999.00 is, how do they sound?

As if no one told the Harman Kardon engineers that they were working on computer speakers, the GLA-55's pack a lot of the same technology as Harman Kardon's high-end audiophile speakers. For example, the superior frequency range of the CMMD Lite tweeters gives the GLA-55s the clarity and versatility of a three-way speaker for the highs and mids, despite the two-way design.

The woofer is an Atlas AL, which claims to mimic the performance of an 18-inch woofer in a 3-inch package. The bass is clean, not booming, but you're definitely not going to feel cheated out of low-end. Helping with the heavy lifting on the bass is a variable-width port design that eliminates whacking distortion, and an enclosure made of PMMA (an acrylic used to make bulletproof glass) which creates a super-stiff, resonance-free enclosure for the woofers. All of this is powered by 110-watt integrated amps, so you don't need to worry about your input.

Volume is controlled through plus and minus touch-sensitive metal buttons on the left speaker. The buttons are very responsive and you can even quickly mute sound by pressing both the plus and minus signs simultaneously.

Since they're computer speakers you can use them for your PC gaming as well, thanks to the broad sound stage the GLA-55s can support. Because so much sound in games can be significantly compressed, however, you may notice yourself getting the most out of the GLA-55s by using your iTunes library more-so than your games directory.

Ultimately it's up to you to decide if you are willing to spend a thousand dollars on computer speakers, but keep in mind that there are many so-called audiophile speakers that don't sound nearly as good as these. Regardless of the price, the GLA-55 speakers are strong performers with virtually no downsides.

[via Amazon.com]


Purchase:

• Harman Kardon GLA-55 2.0 Loudspeaker System [$999.00]