Adapt | Blackfire Research

Re-Broadcasting Spotify Connect Throughout Your Home With The New Harman Kardon Omni+ Speakers

July 25, 2017

The Tech

Blackfire Research partner, Harman Kardon, recently released an updated version of their Omni Wireless Speakers, which they are calling The Omni+ Series. Like the first generation, the new series features the same lightweight, portable design of the Omni 10 and Omni 20, but this time, they’re trading in the glossy exterior for a more sophisticated matte finish (in both black and white.) Additionally, Harman Kardon has added another speaker to the series: The Omni 50+, a wireless HD indoor/outdoor speaker with a rechargeable battery, perfect for your next backyard BBQ. And of course, all speakers in The Omni+ Series feature Blackfire wireless multiroom technology built-in, so your favorite song can follow you from room to room.

One of the most exciting updates in the Harman/Kardon Omni+ Series is the addition of built-in Spotify Connect which lets you play your Spotify library through the Omni+ wireless speakers directly from the internet – freeing up your phone to take calls and do other things. But what if you have one or more of the first generation Omni wireless speakers and want to play music from your Spotify account throughout your home? With the addition of one or more Omni+ wireless speakers to your home, re-broadcasting Spotify Connect to your existing Omni collection is as easy as pressing a button. Literally.

Whether you have an Omni 10, an Omni 20, or Adapt, the process will be exactly the same. After you add any speaker from the Omni+ Series to your collection, initiate normal setup (make sure you have the latest version of the Harman/Kardon App first):

Place the speaker in your desired location
Connect it to a power source
Open the Harman/Kardon app and follow the easy setup instructions
Make sure you have added the new speaker to the same Wi-Fi network as your other speaker(s) and your source device(s)

Now that you have chosen a location, a name, and the correct network for the new speaker, you can begin to re-broadcast Spotify Connect throughout your home!

With all your Omni and Omni+ wireless speakers on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, open the Spotify App from your phone, tablet, or desktop
With the Spotify App open, click on “Devices Available” at the bottom of the page
Find the name you’ve given to your new Omni+ Wireless Speaker on the list of available devices. Since the Omni+ speakers all have Spotify Connect built-in, it will show up as an available device on the Spotify App automatically
Choose your Omni+ Speaker from the list as your playback device
Test the connection by choosing a song to play from your Spotify account – music should now be playing from your new Omni+ speaker

While music plays from your new Omni+ speaker, you have two options of how to re-broadcast Spotify Connect from you Omni+ speaker to your Omni speaker(s). You can either:

Press and hold down the “Slash Button” on the top of your Omni+ speaker until all of the Omni speakers in your collection start playing the same song

OR

Press the “Slash Button” on each individual Omni speaker so you can control which specific speaker(s) to re-broadcast to (in case you don’t want to re-broadcast Spotify Connect to all of your wireless speakers.)

These same steps apply if you want to stop re-broadcasting Spotify Connect to your Omni speakers: simply press and hold down the “Slash Button” on your Omni+ speaker, or, press the “Slash Button” on each individual Omni speaker to stop the re-broadcasting.

And that’s it! Re-broadcasting Spotify Connect from an Omni+ Wireless Speaker to your first generation Omni collection is as easy as pressing a button. Now you can enjoy music from your Spotify account played from any speaker, throughout your entire home. Did someone say “Party?”

Re-Broadcasting Spotify Connect With The Harman Kardon Omni+ Series

July 25, 2017

The Tech

Blackfire Research

Blackfire Research partner, Harman Kardon, recently released an updated version of their Omni Wireless Speakers, which they are calling The Omni+ Series. Like the first generation, the new series features the same lightweight, portable design of the Omni 10 and Omni 20, but this time, they’re trading in the glossy exterior for a more sophisticated matte finish (in both black and white.) Additionally, Harman Kardon has added another speaker to the series: The Omni 50+, a wireless HD indoor/outdoor speaker with a rechargeable battery, perfect for your next backyard BBQ. And of course, all speakers in The Omni+ Series feature Blackfire wireless multiroom technology built-in, so your favorite song can follow you from room to room.

One of the most exciting updates in the Harman/Kardon Omni+ Series is the addition of built-in Spotify Connect which lets you play your Spotify library through the Omni+ wireless speakers directly from the internet – freeing up your phone to take calls and do other things. But what if you have one or more of the first generation Omni wireless speakers and want to play music from your Spotify account throughout your home? With the addition of one or more Omni+ wireless speakers to your home, re-broadcasting Spotify Connect to your existing Omni collection is as easy as pressing a button. Literally.

Whether you have an Omni 10, an Omni 20, or Adapt, the process will be exactly the same. After you add any speaker from the Omni+ Series to your collection, initiate normal setup (make sure you have the latest version of the Harman/Kardon App first):

Place the speaker in your desired location
Connect it to a power source
Open the Harman/Kardon app and follow the easy setup instructions
Make sure you have added the new speaker to the same Wi-Fi network as your other speaker(s) and your source device(s)

Now that you have chosen a location, a name, and the correct network for the new speaker, you can begin to re-broadcast Spotify Connect throughout your home!

With all your Omni and Omni+ wireless speakers on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, open the Spotify App from your phone, tablet, or desktop
With the Spotify App open, click on “Devices Available” at the bottom of the page
Find the name you’ve given to your new Omni+ Wireless Speaker on the list of available devices. Since the Omni+ speakers all have Spotify Connect built-in, it will show up as an available device on the Spotify App automatically
Choose your Omni+ Speaker from the list as your playback device
Test the connection by choosing a song to play from your Spotify account – music should now be playing from your new Omni+ speaker

While music plays from your new Omni+ speaker, you have two options of how to re-broadcast Spotify Connect from you Omni+ speaker to your Omni speaker(s). You can either:

Press and hold down the “Slash Button” on the top of your Omni+ speaker until all of the Omni speakers in your collection start playing the same song

OR

Press the “Slash Button” on each individual Omni speaker so you can control which specific speaker(s) to re-broadcast to (in case you don’t want to re-broadcast Spotify Connect to all of your wireless speakers.

These same steps apply if you want to stop re-broadcasting Spotify Connect to your Omni speakers: simply press and hold down the “Slash Button” on your Omni+ speaker, or, press the “Slash Button” on each individual Omni speaker to stop the re-broadcasting.

And that’s it! Re-broadcasting Spotify Connect from an Omni+ Wireless Speaker to your first generation Omni collection is as easy as pressing a button. Now you can enjoy music from your Spotify account played from any speaker, throughout your entire home. Did someone say “Party?”

The First Wireless HD Multi-Room System

September 4, 2014

Press Releases

Blackfire Research

New Harman Kardon Omni Wireless HD Audio System Delivers Whole Home Sound with Ease and Elegance.

Click here to see Press Release by Harman Kardon

The first wireless HD multi-room system that streams music from room to room at the touch of a button

STAMFORD, Conn., PRNewswire — HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, announces a breakthrough in high-quality streaming anywhere in your house with two new Harman Kardon Omni loudspeakers and the Harman Kardon Adapt wireless adapter to upgrade your existing home stereo system. The flexible design, relying on a standard Wi-Fi network, and exceptional performance means wireless home audio has never been easier to set up or manage, or sounded so good.

The Harman Kardon Omni system comprises three new products: Omni 10 and Omni 20 wireless HD loudspeakers and the Adapt plug-in to upgrade your existing home stereo system, all powered by Blackfire Research™ wireless media technology. The Harman Kardon app as well as Bluetooth capability let you access and stream any music from your phone, favorite streaming services or your favorite apps seamlessly. And to make the system reflective of your personal lifestyle and needs, custom applications can be added to extend the system functionality, thanks to an open programming interface being introduced to leverage third-party app development.

“The Harman Kardon Wireless high definition audio system represents the ultimate in scalability, upgradeability, and personalization for home audio entertainment,” said Michael Mauser, president, Lifestyle Division, HARMAN. “And you shouldn’t have to sacrifice great sound or beautiful, forward-looking design in order to get it. Our Omni loudspeaker systems and Adapt wireless adapter make this happen, without compromises in sound quality or aesthetics.”

The sound quality you’ll get from the Harman Kardon Adapt and Harman Kardon Omni loudspeakers is unparalleled. Unlike other wireless streaming systems, the Harman Kardon Omni 10 and Omni 20 support 24-bit/96kHz Studio Quality HD audio streaming. So, along with the convenience of wireless audio streaming, you’ll enjoy a superior audio experience, with higher resolution than from a CD.

Use Harman Kardon Omni 10 and Omni 20 loudspeakers as standalone speakers in every room of your house. You can combine two of them as a wireless stereo system, or even five to create a full multi-channel speaker system. Place the Omni speakers in any room, wherever you want music, or group them together for an immersive same-room wireless sound experience. Because Omni loudspeakers are wireless, you can easily position them to fine-tune the sound in your room, leaving no corner uncovered.

The Harman Kardon Adapt is a first-of-its-kind truly HD, wireless adapter for your existing home stereo system. Making full use of Harman’s expertise in audio technology, Adapt connects the gap between your existing Hi-Fi gear and the wireless network, to deliver pure, crisp sound at the touch of a button. Simply set up multiple speakers or adapters and enjoy wireless room-filling sound in any room you choose. Harman Kardon Adapt lets you play different music in each room for private listening, or stream the same song throughout the house in party mode.

Control and configure your HD audio system wirelessly via the app and a standard Wi-Fi-connection, with no network-cable connection required. The future-proof design is supported through automatic software upgrades and improvements that are automatically delivered through the Wi-Fi connection to the control app. One Touch Follow Me Audio lets you walk from one room to another, as your favorite music follows you at the touch of a button. And the Link Button Speaker Control lets you start a party and jump right in: when multiple songs are playing wirelessly, one button press cycles through them all so you can pick your favorite. One long press of the button starts party mode, with every speaker playing back the same music. This is room-to-room control made easy.

To deliver true customization and personalization, the Harman Kardon Wireless HD Audio System will also be HARMAN’s first product line to be enhanced by applications created by the new Harman Developer Community (developer.harman.com). Starting this fall, community members will have access to the necessary software tools, resources and support to build, test and launch applications. These assets allow developers to explore ways to enhance the Harman Kardon multi-room audio, potentially via new listening modes and tuning options, or other streaming services.

Pricing & Availability

For additional information on Harman Kardon Adapt (MSRP $129.95), OMNI 10 (MSRP $199.95) and OMNI 20 (MSRP $299.95) Multi-Room Smart Wireless HD Speaker, or to purchase, visit www.harmankardon.com/wireless

About HARMAN

HARMAN (NYSE: HAR) designs, manufactures and markets premier audio, visual, infotainment and integrated control solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson ®, the Company is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a global workforce of approximately 16,000 people and reported sales of $5.3 billion for the 12 months ended June 30, 2014.

About Blackfire Research

Blackfire Research provides technology and solutions for high performance media applications over Wi-Fi and is based in San Francisco, California, USA.

© 2014 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon is a trademark of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice. BLACKFIRE RESEARCH™ is a Registered Trademark (No. 3,898,359) of BLACKFIRE RESEARCH CORP. All rights reserved. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc.and any use of such marks by HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.