When Harman Kardon brings out a new speaker, it often discounts the previous model in the line and that’s exactly the case with its Onyx Studio 6 portable Bluetooth speaker. The Onyx Studio 7 is now available and that means a price drop on the Studio 6, which lists for $480 but has been selling for $300 or $249 at Walmart. However, if you enter the code CNETHKSTUDIO at checkout. You can get Studio 6 for only $150 or 50% off. That’s an excellent deal for a waterproof speaker that delivers great sound, looks at home indoors and outdoors, and is easy to transport thanks to its integrated handle. The code is good while supplies last.
I’ve heard the Onyx Studio 6 but haven’t fully tested it. I have used the newer Onyx 7, which is similarly shaped but has a different handle design, and was impressed with its sound quality. The newer model also carries a list price of $480 but is selling for $230 on Amazon. It delivers plenty of volume with well-defined bass and decent clarity and sounds far better than smaller Bluetooth speakers. Both the Onyx 6 and 7 will be able to fill medium-sized rooms with sound.
Harman has redesigned the driver configuration for the Onyx 7, adding an extra tweeter, so it likely delivers better sound (I didn’t have an Onyx 6 on hand when testing the Onyx 7). To be clear, this is not a Wi-Fi speaker; it only has Bluetooth (both speakers feature Bluetooth 4.2 and not the newer Bluetooth 5.0). Battery life is rated at 8 hours and it’s worth noting that the speaker will deliver a bit more volume and slightly better sound when plugged in (you charge the speaker with an included AC adapter).
