Harman was on-hand at the Digital Experience event prior to the official opening of CES showing off an updated version of its popular JBL Flip speaker along with a new lineup of headphones and earphones and its new JBL Authentics wireless speaker lineup.
The company showed off a new lineup of headphones and earphones, including ultra-small in-ears (shown) and basic new Bluetooth earbuds and headphones.
The JBL Flip 2 ($130) is a modestly updated version of the original JBL Flip, which won our 2012 Best Accessory of the Year award for both price and performance that were unprecedented at the time. Flip 2 increases the price by $30 while adding only minor tweaks — noise cancellation improvements on the speaker phone, supposedly improved audio quality, and redesigned buttons.
JBL Authentics L8 and L16 ($600/$1000) are a pair of new wireless speakers featuring AirPlay, DLNA, and Bluetooth connectivity for streaming audio from a variety of wireless devices, and incorporate a new Harman Signal Doctor technology that claims to “restore the details lost in today’s compressed music files.” Both models support a 96 kHz studio-quality sample rate and feature a wood housing and retro grill treatment in their design. The L8 provides four 30W drivers with 4″ woofers and 1″ tweeters in a glossy black casing while the L16 expands the power to six 50W drivers with 5.25″ woofers, 2″ mid-range and 1″ tweeters in a walnut casing.