▲ Four Samsung outdoor LED signage (XHB series) have been installed in the St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican City

St. Peter’s Square, founded on an architectural layout boasting illustrious signatures and timeless pieces of art, hosts various ceremonies where the Pope meets the public. Acknowledging the requirements for the best acoustic and visual rendering in an outdoor space, Samsung took to its outdoors audio-and-video expertise. The four outdoor LED signages have been installed in strategic points of the square to convey a clear picture of commencing events as well as audio solutions to broadcast the message.

▲ Visitors and worshippers can clearly view the proceedings through Samsung’s outdoor LED signage (XHB series) at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City

Thanks to Samsung’s LED Signage technology, spectators will be able to take part in the ceremonies at St. Peter’s Square and admire all the details. Being IP66-certified, the XHB series reproduce high-impact content even in harsh weather conditions. In addition, the extremely compact 99.4 mm-thin housing makes them perfectly integrable in an iconic space such as St. Peter’s Square.

Harman Kardon’s signature audio provides balanced panoramic sound that is distributed throughout the space, conveying crisp dialogues for an immersive and engaging experience for worshippers and visitors alike. Adaptive Sound technology clearly diffuses sound even when the volume of voices is low to divulge every element of speech, even during the most whispered dialogues.

“We at Samsung Electronics are excited to make our technological contribution and renew our engagement with Vatican City,” said Davide Corte, Head of IT Division, Samsung Electronics Italy. “The outdoor LED signages and audio solutions create an immersive audio and video experience to serve visitors as well as the communities of the Faithful. It is an honor for us to be present with the best of our technologies in such a unique and prestigious setting such as St. Peter’s Square.”

Amid this climate, HARMAN, a Samsung company, is raising the bar for car audio, ensuring that the evolving living space that is the vehicle is equipped with the very best in sound and the sonic features that create a better in-car experience, readying it to serve as a platform for whatever users may demand of it.

The Shifting Nature of Car Audio

As the aforementioned changes take shape, our cars are set to become our secondary personal spaces alongside our homes. Thus, our vehicles will need to be sufficiently capable to begin to offer similar levels of accessibility and convenience as our homes offer now. And as users increasingly look to turn their cars into virtual meeting spaces, or utilize them as their own personal studios or hubs for recreation, high-quality car audio stands to play a fundamental role.

Harman Kardon for the Volkswagen Arteon R-Line (Photograph provided by Volkswagen)

The Industry Gets Behind HARMAN

As HARMAN branded audio solutions increasingly emerge as a top-tier solution for the industry, more and more auto companies are going all-in on the Samsung company’s audio tech.

A recent example is HARMAN’s new and growing partnership with Volkswagen through its Harman Kardon audio brand. After Harman Kardon premium audio was introduced to Volkswagen vehicles for the first time in the new Volkswagen Golf, its audio solutions are expanding to the Volkswagen Arteon and Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake models. Delivering a captivating mix of premium sound and artful design, Harman Kardon brings 12 high-performance loudspeakers and four different sound settings to these new Volkswagen vehicles, resulting in a consistently clear and exceptionally natural listening experience.

Harman Kardon for the Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake Elegance (Photograph provided by Volkswagen)

Since 2016 HARMAN’s B&O premium car audio offerings have been incorporated across the Ford lineup, including Mustang Mach-E all-electric SUV announced at the end of last year. In 2021, HARMAN’s first ever two-tier offering – the B&O Sound System and the B&O Unleashed Sound System – will be included in the new Ford F-150. Bringing never-before-seen features to the F-150, the B&O Unleashed Sound System offers innovative headrest and headliner speakers for transformative car audio experiences.

B&O Unleashed for the Ford F-150 (Photograph provided by Ford)

2020 also saw HARMAN brand AKG named as the exclusive audio system for the 2021 Cadillac Escalade. Sought after for its high-quality microphones and headphones that are used by leading musicians in recording studios and performance venues, AKG’s partnership with Cadillac will see its pure, powerful studio sound realized in a vehicle for the first time. AKG has provided Cadillac with a completely overhauled in-car audio experience through two levels of AKG Audio, the top level being the AKG Studio Reference system, which delivers 28 channels through 36 speakers that are powered by three amplifiers in the vehicle.

AKG for the GM Cadillac Escalade (Photograph provided by Cadillac)

Since that historic reveal, the AKG and Cadillac partnership has grown to include the first-ever all-electric vehicle from Cadillac – the recently announced Cadillac LYRIQ luxury crossover. At launch, LYRIQ will offer a 19-speaker AKG Studio audio system that transports passengers with signature AKG sound to enjoy their favorite music.

Going Beyond Sound Systems

But the part that audio plays in the driving experience is shifting in other ways too, and the car audio of today comprises more than just good-sounding music. In the era of electric and hybrid cars that run almost silently due to the lack of a traditional combustion engine, a need has emerged for these vehicles to produce their own synthesized sounds to ensure that they remain safe to those in their vicinity, particularly pedestrians. As a result, in 2019 the EU mandated that all newly produced hybrid and electric cars needed to make a sound while traveling under a certain speed,¹ while the US NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is set to implement similar rules in 2020. As the industry looks to strike a balance between energy sustainability and safety, HARMAN is providing its HALOsonic suite of sound management solutions to create new sounds for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Another way that HARMAN is facilitating the broader development of car audio is by seeking to address the issue of peripheral noise. Based on HARMAN’s innovative HALOsonic noise management technology, Hyundai Motor Company and HARMAN released the world’s first active road noise cancellation system for a production vehicle on January 15 in Korea with the launch of the Genesis GV80 SUV. The Road-Noise Active Noise Control (RANC) solution reduces unwanted road noise by emitting soundwaves with an inverted frequency to that of the incoming noises. The Genesis GV80 also features an 18-speaker Lexicon Premium Sound System and QuantumLogic Surround (QLS), an authentic multi-dimensional surround sound technology, to inject unparalleled sonic excellence into the Genesis driving experience.

Lexicon for the Genesis GV80 (Photograph provided by Genesis)

Blazing the Trail

But HARMAN’s work with prominent car brands isn’t the only demonstration of its industry leadership. Recently HARMAN brands have received a number of awards from iF Design – one of the world’s largest and most highly acclaimed design competitions. In addition to 20 award wins for consumer products, HARMAN brands also took home five awards for car audio design.

Harman Kardon received an award for the sophisticated yet highly functional design of the sound system it delivered to the new Volkswagen Golf, and also picked up an iF award for its work on the Polestar 2 sound system. B&O was also awarded for the “elegant and unbridled” premium in-car sound system it designed for the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

As the role our vehicles play in our lives looks set to expand and deepen, car audio stands as an area that will fundamentally shape and enrich user experiences going forward. At the forefront of this trend, HARMAN is providing some of the world’s most iconic car brands with a whole new standard of in-car audio and sonic capabilities, while stamping its leadership and innovation on the industry more broadly.

¹ https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/electric-and-hybrid-cars-new-rules-noise-emitting-protect-vulnerable-road-users_en

Samsung Electronics announced today the release of two new Q Series soundbars that feature Samsung Acoustic Beam technology, as well as the new Adaptive Sound feature. As part of a Samsung Audio Lab and Harman Kardon collaboration, the HW-Q70R and HW-Q60R are smarter than ever, offering an immersive surround sound experience for home theaters.

Utilizing Adaptive Sound technology, the HW-Q70R and HW-Q60R soundbars can analyze content played on a viewer’s TV and adjust to ideal sound settings for any given scene. Also, the HW-Q70R and HW-Q60R will automatically switch to Adaptive Sound mode when Samsung 2019 QLED TV is connected and its AI mode in on.

“Through Adaptive Sound, which understands the sound and optimizes it according to the scene, listeners can enjoy even more realistic sound for every genre of content,” said Jongsuk Chu, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “The new Q-Series soundbars carry sound quality that has been revitalized by experts and feature designs that offer an appealing home aesthetic to create a better home theater experience for our customers.”

The HW-Q70R and HW-Q60R also offer Samsung’s proprietary Acoustic Beam technology feature. Acoustic Beam technology uses an array of holes in the speaker to create a more dynamic, panoramic soundscape. These features will fill every corner of the room through a wide soundscape with full sound.

For smarter, easier integration into consumers’ lives, the Q-Series soundbars also feature Bluetooth connectivity, allowing users to easily enjoy high-quality music from their smartphones.

In addition, the HW-Q70R soundbar is equipped with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive, 360-degree surround sound technology, which previously was only available in high-end Samsung soundbar models such as the HW-N950 and HW-N850. With the HW-Q70R, consumers can now enjoy an immersive home entertainment experience, with room-filling sound and overhead audio effects.

Along with the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X technologies, the HW-Q70R has a slim form factor, with a height of only 2.3 inch (59mm), which provides a better match with the QLED TV.

Samsung’s new soundbars will be available in April. For more information on Samsung soundbars, please visit www.samsung.com.

Samsung Electronics announced today that it released two co-branded premium soundbars – the HW-N950 and HW-N850, in collaboration with Harman Kardon, the renowned consumer audio brand. Available beginning August 20, the HW-N950 and HW-N850 feature both Samsung and Harman Kardon’s logos to represent their new partnership.

Following Samsung’s acquisition of Harman International in March 2017, the two companies have been collaborating on mobile products including the AKG headphones bundled with certain Samsung mobile phones and tablets tuned by AKG, as well as professional solutions for cinemas with the JBL Professional brand. The HW-N950 and HW-N850 soundbars are the first major collaboration between Samsung and Harman Kardon to enter the premium category. Also, thanks to the addition of DTS’ proprietary DTS:X technology as well as Dolby Atmos, consumers can enjoy immersive and rich three-dimensional sound.

“Our collaboration with Harman Kardon – an audio leader for 65 years – is a major leap forward as we continue to push the boundaries of premium sound and design for our consumers,” said Jongsuk Chu, Senior Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung’s market leading display technology and design paired with premium sound quality of Harman Kardon products is a winning combination for consumers.”

With the HW-N950 and HW-N850, consumers will feel like they are in a theater without leaving home thanks to Dolby Atmos and DTS:X technologies, plus up and side-firing speakers that move sound naturally above and around listeners. The HW-N950 especially is equipped with a main unit, four speakers and two wireless surround sound speakers, offering an incredibly immersive sound experience. Also, thanks to its 7.1.4 channels, the largest number of channels currently available in a soundbar, the HW-N950 features a built-in wireless subwoofer and rear wireless speaker kit to round out the premium audio experience. The HW-N850, a more simplified version of the HW-N950, boasts a 5.1.2 channel featuring a main unit speaker and woofer.

“Samsung is the world leader in soundbars and we are extremely proud that they are enlisting HARMAN to enhance their audio quality and play a key role in growing their premium soundbar business,” said Dave Rogers, President of Consumer Audio at HARMAN. “Partnering with Samsung, one of the most admired brands in the world, will broaden the reach and appeal of Harman Kardon and help us build our business in other consumer and car audio branded solutions. Introducing the new co-branded Samsung Harman Kardon premium soundbars is a win for Samsung, HARMAN and consumers, who now will have the best of video, sound and design altogether in one striking package.”

For more information on Samsung and Harman Kardon audio products, please visit www.samsung.com.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the Internet of Things. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman/Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. More than 50 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. Our software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In March 2017, HARMAN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.