The HD 970 combines the third generation of Harman Kardon’s Real-time Linear Smoothing technology (RLS-III) with a high performance digital-to-analog converter to deliver spacious, richly detailed sound that multi-purpose machines simply cannot deliver.
Tom McLoughlin, Harman Kardon president, comments: “Receiving an EISA 2005-2006 Award for the Harman Kardon HD 970 truly validates our position as a leader in the design and manufacturing of state-of-the-art stereo components.”
The official EISA report reads: “The HD 970 belongs to that rare class of products which give a taste of high-end audio at a low-end price. Demonstrating the audiophile spirit embodied in even the most affordable Harman Kardon models, the HD 970 employs an ultra-silent power supply, ‘minimalist’ analogue output section, digital circuitry that upsamples to 384kHz at 24 bit resolution, and a fast, accurate transport mechanism. The HD 970’s rich, fluid, transparent sound will allow discerning listeners to rediscover even their most-played recordings. The HD 970 also has full MP3 decoding capability and can be used as a DAC for other digital sources.”
Dramatic progress in digital signal processing has been made since its introduction in 1992, allowing the integration of RLS in a standalone CD player. Using theoretical roots of the original RLS, RLS-III has broken the limitation of the dynamic range and has pushed the limit of the noise level to an absolute non audible frequency range with very high jitter rejection. The result is an astonishing common signal format of 24 bits at a sampling frequency of 384 kHz.
The new RLS-III is using a High Precision Local Clock as reference for all audio processing. The clock ties the Audio DSP and DAC stage into one entity. This sonic refinement, together with a high-end Class-A analog output stage, create a natural and open sound stage that even the most demanding audiophiles dream of.
Another unique feature of the HD 970 is the two digital inputs, which allows “foreign” source players to benefit from the high-grade audiophile processing of the HD 970. When the digital signal of older digital source players is looped through the HD 970 it will benefit from its extensive processing power. Especially source components using older and less powerful converters will benefit from this feature.
Harman Kardon HD 970 is available for sales throughout Europe for a suggested retail price of 499 euro.
About The Harman Consumer Systems Group
The Harman Consumer Systems Group (HCSG) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of high-fidelity loudspeakers, audio and video components, and multimedia systems for use in homes and automobiles, and with computers. The group’s brands include JBL, Infinity, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, Revel, Audioaccess and Lexicon.
HCSG is a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated. Harman International (www.harman.com) is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio products and electronic systems for the consumer and professional markets. The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HAR”.
Harman Kardon is a registered trademark of Harman International Industries, Incorporated.
