Buzz
Specifications
- Type: Wireless smart speaker
- Components: 3.5' woofer, 20 mm dome tweeter
- Integrated amplifier: 40 W
- Frequency range: (not specified)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi
- Control: Google Assistant, Google Home
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2
- Streaming: Spotify, Google Music
- Audio formats: MP3, OGG, AAC, WAV, FLAC, Opus
- Voice control: Google Assistant
- Size and weight: 14 x 18.8 x 14 cm / 2 kg
Design
This is the smallest speaker in Harman Kardon's Citation series. It's a two-way speaker with a 3.5-inch woofer/midrange and a 20 mm tweeter dome, with 1 amp 40W per speaker.
Despite having an amplifier for each device, the story doesn't report anything. Details like frequency range and other essential sound and technology information are completely missing from the product sheet. However, the Citation speakers were not created to cater to the target audience of sound enthusiasts like us.
The Citation One is designed as a lifestyle speaker to seamlessly blend with decor. It does that very well in a fabric-clad interior ensemble from Kvadrat. You can operate it from the touch panel on top or with Google Home on your mobile phone. Or you can control it with your voice thanks to Google Assistant.
You can stream music directly from Spotify and Google. But unfortunately, not hi-fi quality from Tidal. Instead, this can be remedied by streaming from your mobile phone. Both Chromecast and AirPlay as well as Bluetooth are supported here.
Sound Quality
When we first tested the Harman Kardon Citation One, it seemed like it was trying to compensate excessively for its small size by demonstrating that it could actually produce bass. And it does to some extent, so it overwhelms everything else.
After receiving a fresh tune-up, everything became much more balanced. It's still impressive that there can be so much depth in such a small speaker, but that's not the price to pay for the whole package.
It's not linear. Subjectively, the midrange, from 60 to 100 Hz, has been boosted. It delivers a punchy feel down low (big drums in this area, among other things), but without taxing the amplifier much and causing oscillation on the tiny 3.5-inch drivers that actual bass would demand.
Better controlled bass also means now you can perceive other frequency ranges. The midrange is really nice and suits such a small and affordable smart multi-room speaker well. Voices are reproduced with nuance and clarity, and if you pair two speakers, you get a stereo image that can be used for 'serious' music listening— not just background ambiance.
For better or worse, all Citation speakers are tuned to the same ideal curve, and this means you get some characteristics from the much pricier Harman Kardon Citation Tower. That is, a sound image that's centered around comfort and warmth, sometimes at the expense of more biting realism.
I won't go as far as to say the Citation One MKII has a dark sound, because that would be wrong. And the clarity and beauty in the highs are evident. They only have a knack for not attracting unnecessary attention.
Overall, the MKII version of the Citation One is a completely different experience from the first version. And while they have natural limitations in deep bass and nuance, you'll get a fairly engaging sound system when you place two of them on either side of a cabinet or shelf in the living room.
Conclusion
The Harman Kardon Citation One MKII is a petite speaker, sized and priced comparably to the Sonos One and Denon Home 150. And in its current embodiment, I must say it performs admirably. There's still ample bass presence, but in no way lacking.
Whether the choice should lean towards Sonos or Citation becomes a matter of preference. Citation boasts superior sound, while Sonos has excellent software. And both exist in a realm entirely different from the Google Nest Audio. If voice control isn't a priority, then the Denon Home 150 is also a worthy contender.
