GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW – March 6, 2017 – – Today, HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE: HAR), the premier connected technologies company for automotive, consumer, entertainment and enterprise markets, is showcasing its latest car audio solutions at the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show. These include the European debut of a new version of the seamless, scalable HARMAN VOYAGER Next lifestyle audio and infotainment platform featuring a super-thin micro speaker technology designed to overcome the limitations of small-vehicle architectures.

While both the size and the packaging of traditional loudspeakers limit placement options, especially within the vehicle cabin, today’s customers nevertheless want it all: personalization, intelligent adaptability, flawless functionality, high fidelity sound and bespoke design. Thanks to HARMAN, this paradox now has a solution.

HARMAN’s patented KiNETiC technology offers an intelligent combination of micro-size and scalability to provide a new level of audio quality in small vehicle architecture, while reducing integration complexity and adding a new degree of freedom in industrial design. Challenging the norm, HARMAN engineers developed the KiNETiC micro speakers with square surfaces. This increases the active surface by nearly 30% without changing the required packaging. The physical depth of speakers was also dramatically reduced. The result is a new level of premium sound for the growing small vehicle segment.


HARMAN VOYAGER Next: Driving a New Level of Connectivity

The first application of the KiNETiC technology is HARMAN’s VOYAGER Next platform, the latest generation of HARMAN’s award-winning VOYAGER consumer platform for small vehicles. Drawing on HARMAN’s 60-plus years of leadership in lifestyle audio, connected car and professional audio industries, VOYAGER Next combines HARMAN’s industry leading premium audio and connected car technologies in one tailored package, adding innovative application as well as loudspeaker and subwoofer solutions, providing an experience that meets consumers’ expectations for great audio quality while connecting them to their daily lives.

It is designed to appeal to the fast-growing segment of young consumers who may be purchasing a vehicle for the first time, and who demand portability and personalization without compromising quality.

VOYAGER Next combines a display audio head unit with a unique lifestyle audio system that pops into and out of the vehicle, seamlessly following consumers from their car to their home, the beach, a campsite, or anywhere else their journey may take them. It brings the best of available smartphone experiences directly into the car, including music, navigation and other applications, providing superior audio quality while connecting consumers to their “on the go” daily lives.

Moving beyond traditional audio to capture a fully integrated entertainment experience, the VOYAGER Next system adds fully customizable in-vehicle lighting along with connectivity and control of compatible in-home and portable devices. Furthermore, it supports leading industry platforms including Apple CarPlay, Google AndroidAuto, Baidu CarLife and SmartDeviceLink, giving users multiple ways to connect their smartphone to the car, regardless of make or operating system.
 

VOYAGER Next provides consumers with new levels of intelligent personalization and sound quality, including:

  • Customizable soundstage and in-car lighting: A VOYAGER Next companion app—mirrored and controlled by the Head Unit using SmartDeviceLink technology—allows users to seamlessly customize an in-car listening and lighting experience, recreating their choice of listening environments from the studio to the stadium.
     
  • Big sound in a small space: Super thin and micro-sizeable, every KiNETiC array consists of a scalable number of individual speakers, each one independently programmable. This gives unprecedented sound field control along with real-time configuration capabilities. Imagine a focused stereo image for hands-free calling without disturbing other car occupants. At the same time, KiNETiC achieves a full, spacious sound that would traditionally require large, heavy components.
     
  • The incredible shrinking subwoofer: Innovative technology has reduced the subwoofer size by 80 percent, freeing it from traditional door placement and optimizing it for the new, growing class of small segment and electric/fuel efficient vehicles.
     
  • Removable full-range audio system: The VOYAGER Sub can be popped into and out of the vehicle for smooth listening on the go. Onboard the vehicle, it functions as an additional subwoofer; outside, it can pair with multiple compatible smart audio devices for powerful concert-like sound.
     

With its advanced connected architecture, HARMAN VOYAGER Next completely redefines the conventions of traditional automotive audio and connectivity, opening it up to new audiences, price points and vehicle designs.

“At HARMAN, experience is something that is always top of mind, and it is what drives us to create solutions that not only surprise and delight customers, but that enable automakers to deliver innovative sound experiences today and for the future,” said Michael Mauser, President, Lifestyle Audio for HARMAN. “VOYAGER Next is an example of how HARMAN is playing a significant role in defining the evolving automotive interior, reshaping the in-vehicle experience through smart audio solutions.”

 

HARMAN at the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show

Visit the HARMAN showcase during the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show for demonstrations of the company’s full portfolio of car audio and connected car solutions that enable the connected life. The HARMAN showcase is located at the Rinspeed booth number 6240 in hall 6.

Follow HARMAN online during the show:

 

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 connected services.  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 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. The Company’s 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 and reported sales of $7.2 billion during the last 12 months ending December 31, 2016. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

 

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© 2016 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.