The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 Bluetooth speaker is a wired dome-shaped speaker with soft pulsing lights. It has a balanced sound profile out-of-the-box, making it suitable for listening to a wide variety of audio content, though it can sound alternately dark and bright at times. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it has great directivity, resulting in an open and natural-sounding soundstage. It can also get pretty loud, though there's some compression present at max volume that can affect the clarity of your audio at louder volumes. Unfortunately, it struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you can't feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy music. There also aren't any sound customization features you can use to tweak its sound to your liking.
Our Verdict
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 is decent for music. It has a balanced sound profile out-of-the-box, making it suitable for listening to a variety of music genres, though it can sound alternately dark and bright at times. Its mid-range is balanced, so vocals and lead instruments sound clear and present in the mix, though they can sound a bit dark at times. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it also offers a wide and natural-sounding soundstage. Unfortunately, it noticeably struggles to reproduce low-bass, and there aren't any sound customization features you can use to tweak its sound to your liking.
- Wide and natural-sounding soundstage.
- Gets loud.
- Struggles to reproduce low-bass, and rattles.
- No sound customization features.
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 is alright for videos and movies. It has low Bluetooth latency with iOS and Android devices, so the audio you see is in sync with the visuals you see, though some apps compensate for latency differently, and your experience may differ. Also, It has a wide and open-sounding soundstage thanks to its 360-degree design. Unfortunately, it noticeably struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you can't feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed movies and videos, and there isn't a graphic EQ or presets you can use to customize its sound.
- Wide and natural-sounding soundstage.
- Gets loud.
- Struggles to reproduce low-bass, and rattles.
- No sound customization features.
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 isn't bad for podcasts. Its balanced mid-range ensures voices and lead instruments are reproduced accurately and with detail, making it suitable for listening to dialogue-centric content like audiobooks and podcasts. That said, higher-pitched sounds and voices may sound a bit dark at times. It has great directivity thanks to its 360-degree design, meaning you can hear your audio clearly from most angles. Due to its wired design, it isn't very portable since it needs to remain plugged into a power source to work.
- Wide and natural-sounding soundstage.
- Gets loud.
- Not very portable.
- No sound customization features.
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 doesn't support voice assistants.
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 isn't designed for outdoor use due to its wired-only design.
Changelog
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Updated Dec 05, 2024:
We added a reference to the Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 in the Frequency Response Accuracy box.
- Updated Mar 25, 2024: We've added a comparison between this soundbar and the Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 8 in Frequency Response Accuracy.
- Updated Aug 17, 2023: Updated the Portability picture for greater clarity and consistency between reviews.
- Updated Nov 19, 2021: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 only comes in Black, you can see the label for the model we tested here.
If you come across any other variants of this speaker, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 has a unique dome-shaped design with pulsing ambient lights that can blend in nicely with most home decor. While it looks like its predecessor, the Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 2, the Studio 3's dome is completely sealed and doesn't have a bass reflex port in its center. Thanks to its 360-degree design, the Harman/Kardon Studio 3 has a wide and natural-sounding soundstage. It can also get pretty loud without much compression at max volume, resulting in clean audio during louder listening sessions. However, unlike other home speakers we've tested, it doesn't support voice assistants, which may disappoint users who regularly rely on them for support.
See also our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers, the best home speakers, and the best speaker brands.
The Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 8 is a better all-around speaker than the Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3. While the Aura Studio 3 is a wired speaker, the Onyx Studio 8 can run off a battery, meaning it can be used outdoors or more easily set up in different rooms. The Onyx Studio 8 is also better built, has a more balanced default sound profile, and has better controls. That said, the Aura Studio 3 has better directivity and lower latency with iOS and Android devices.
Depending on your listening habits, you may prefer either the Bose Home Speaker 500 or the Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 overall. The Bose supports Wi-Fi connectivity and offers incredible voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant built-in, who do an excellent job of hearing you from far away and in noisier settings. It's also compatible with the Bose Music app, which features bass and treble adjustments you can use to tweak its sound profile. That said, the Harman/Kardon has a slightly better-balanced sound profile out-of-the-box and has less compression present at max volume. Some users may also prefer its unique dome-shaped design with sot pulsing lights.
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 and the Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 6 have different strengths. The Aura offers a more open and immersive-sounding soundstage and can get louder with less compression present at max volume. However, the Onyx is battery-powered and comes with a built-in carrying handle, making it more portable. It's also better-built and can produce a slightly more extended low-bass than the Aura.
The Harman/Kardon Aura Studio 3 is a better speaker than the JBL Xtreme 3. The Harman/Kardon is a wired home speaker that offers a wider and more open-sounding soundstage thanks to its 360-degree design. It has less compression present at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volumes. However, the JBL is smaller and battery-powered, making it more portable. It's also better built with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, so you can take it outdoors without worrying about it getting wet.
Test Results
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