Michal Ždanský The Harman Group owns several brands of audio hardware, especially JBL and Harman/Kardon in the field of portable Bluetooth speakers. While JBL focuses more on the common user, Harman/Kardon profiles itself as a premium brand, which can be seen in terms of design at first glance.
One of the cheapest speakers you'll find from this brand is the Esquire, with a square footprint reminiscent of a Mac mini. After all, it shares several features with the smallest computer from Apple, I would especially mention the precise processing. The brushed aluminum on the side and the leather-covered polycarbonate part on the back leave a premium impression, the whole look is completed by a colorful grille on top with a flashy chrome inscription with the company's name in its center.
The side walls are not entirely made of aluminum, there is a partition made of rubberized plastic matching the upper grille. This type of partition is somewhat reminiscent of the first iPhone and serves the same purpose - the Bluetooth module is hidden under the plastic part, because the signal would not pass through the all-metal frame.
On the front, we find a total of seven buttons, in addition to the power button, next to which there is also a light bar indicating whether the speaker is on, as well as volume control, play/stop, a button for pairing, turning off the microphone and picking up/hanging up the call.
On the right side of the buttons, we can find a 3,5 mm jack input, which allows you to connect any music player with a cable, a microUSB for charging and five indicator LEDs, which, like the MacBook, show the battery charge status. The Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh (charges in 5 hours) lasts up to ten hours, which is a very decent reproduction time.
Overall, Esquire has a very luxurious and solid impression. The plastic parts certainly do not look cheap, and the grinding of the aluminum edges can be compared to the edges of the iPhone 5/5s. Simply the processing you would expect from a speaker for 5 CZK.
In addition to the speaker, you will also find a nice travel case, a charging cable and a rather interesting battery in the package. This is significantly larger than the usual adapters that come with the speakers. There's a reason for that. It contains three USB ports. One for Esquire and with the other you can simultaneously charge an iPhone and an iPad. In addition, the mains adapter is modular and can be used for both European, British and American sockets. If you plan to travel to these countries with Esquire, you will also be able to charge your iOS devices.
Audio and conference calls
The Esquire contains two 10W speakers, which for their size and especially depth can produce quite decent sound. It's more mid-range and lacks treble and bass a bit. If you listen to lighter genres, the Esquire sound will pleasantly surprise you with its clean reproduction, however, I would not recommend it for dance music with dense bass or metal music, especially if you like more pronounced bass frequencies. In any case, the speaker is quite loud, which is also helped by the aforementioned punchy center sound, and it has no problem sounding even a larger room. Minimal distortion at higher volumes is also a plus.
The integrated dual microphone together with the dedicated on and off buttons make the Esquire an ideal solution for conference calls. The quality of the microphone is very good and clearly surpasses the one in the iPhone, the other party will hear you much more clearly, which is also helped by the second microphone for eliminating surrounding noise. After all, the entire design of the Esquire suggests that it is suitable as a solution for conference calls.
záver
What certainly cannot be denied about the Esquire is its design. All three color variants (white, black, brown) look very good and there is practically nothing to complain about the overall processing. Even though the speaker is protected by the case when you carry it, it feels like it can hold up to rough handling on its own. Although the sound is decent, the speaker is not quite for universal listening, some might be bothered by the less pronounced bass. The quality of the microphone and the overall usability for conference calls are very positive. Due to its premium appearance, it will not put you to shame in the most modern conference room.
You can buy the Harman/Kardon Esquire speaker for 4 crowns (besides brown also in cerne a white variant). Harman/Kardon Esquire stands in Slovakia 189 EUR and in addition to brown is also available in cerne a white variant.
Gallery
[Checklist]
- Design and processing
- Travel pocket
- Microphone quality
- Ideal for conference calls
[/checklist][/one_half]
[one_half last="yes"]
Disadvantages:
[bad list]
- Weaker bass and treble
- Higher price
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Photography: Ladislav Soukup & Monika Hrušková
We thank the store for lending the product Always.cz.
Good day. I recently tried the Bose SoundLink Mini and was very surprised by the sound quality even in a large space. Since it's in the same price range and you're certainly familiar with the device, could you please compare it? Thank you.