Harman Multimedia Encounter Speakers

If you want a set of speakers that stand out from the crowd, take a look at Harman Multimedia’s Encounter set. It consists of a 34-Watt sub-woofer and two 13-Watt alien-style satellite speakers – all in a white plastic casing.

The packaging and literature that accompany the Encounter speakers would have you believe they’re only compatible with Apple equipment – a variety of icons informs you it can be used with iPods, iMacs, iBooks etc. But, since it uses a standard mini stereo line-in socket, these speakers can easily be hooked up to a PC, media centre, MP3 player or just about any other sound source.

Setting up the speakers is no problem at all. A step-by-step guide is offered, but there’s really no need for it since all the sockets and plugs are clearly labelled. Things don’t get particularly complicated in terms of operation, either. Bass and treble dials arehoused on the rear of the subwoofer, while volume is adjusted using two touch-sensitive controls on the right satellite speaker.

As far as sound quality is concerned, we were suitably impressed. We supplied the Encounter speakers with a variety of audio sources from spoken word through to full-on dance tracks. Throughout all of the tests, the speakers coped admirably. Occasionally it was a struggle to stop the subwoofer from drowning out tracks in a sea of bass, but on the whole it was a well-balanced mix.

While the bizarre design is most definitely eye-catching, whether or not you’d want these speakers sitting in your lounge is another matter, and the novelty of the aliens-tyle satellite speakers may soon wear off. What’s more, £150 is a fair
amount to spend on a basic three-speaker set. Nevertheless, if you like the unusual design, the 2.1 Encounter set from Harman Multimedia is worth considering and is capable of producing decent sounds.

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