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| Thumbnail | Built-in Microphone Laptops | ProRec Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
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 | 8.1 | Check Price on Amazon |
Introduction
While laptop speakers may not be able to compete with external sound bars and headphones, if you pick the right device, you can get a remarkably good experience. There’s also a few considerations for software and audio format support that when tweaked correctly, can make your device sound a lot more expensive than it is.
When choosing the best laptop with Harman Kardon speakers, the first thing you’ll want to pick is the speaker placement. The two most conventional orientations are bottom-facing, which project out from under the keyboard deck to make the sound boom more, and front-facing, which brings the sound a lot closer to the user. Some laptops may use both, or even opt for unconventional placements like inside the hinges, which is a lot better on 2-in-1 laptops.
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One note here is that bottom-firing speakers will need to be on a flat surface to resonate and retain sound quality.
Intuitively, you might think that buying a more expensive laptop will guarantee better sound, however, the quality you get depends on not just price, but also whether or not it has a subwoofer, and how isolated the circuit boards are in terms of audio interference. In general, a laptop with a subwoofer will outperform a one without, though it is rare, especially on cheaper laptops. Unfortunately, the only way to get better quality speakers after that is to pay more money.
Since laptop chassis are so small, there is a limit to what sized speakers brands can cram in. To compensate, manufacturers lean on software instead. This includes audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and Dolby DTS that take in multichannel signals and render them into binaural spatial audio for true imaging and soundstaging for a much richer experience. These won’t be as effective on stereo music as EQs, but you’ll want them on your device nonetheless.
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EQ solutions like Nahimic Audio are yet another thing you want to have on your laptop, since you get a ton of additional features such as surround sound, volume stabilizer, echo canceling, and other optimizations that you can use to get sounds closer to how media producers intended. The app comes preinstalled on a lot of motherboards and laptops by the likes of Dell, Lenovo, MSI, and Asus.
Once you have the right device picked out, you’ll want to run maintenance on your speakers every now and then or they’ll start sounding distorted over time. However, vacuuming it out yourself can cause static buildup that will damage components, canned air has propellants that wind up over sensors, and even canned air can leave particles stuck between the speaker grills, so you’ll want to get this done professionally if you don’t have the experience.
Finally, you’ll want to make sure the device you pick has enough power to handle both your CPU and GPU intensive workloads, and has the right blend of features you need, including battery life, display, ports, and build quality to have the best possible experience.
Best Laptops with Harman Kardon Speakers Reviews
All text and image links lead to Amazon unless stated otherwise. All product scores are based on ProRec’s in-house scoring model
Lenovo’s Legion Pro 7i Gen 8 not only sounds great, but also has an incredibly powerful 24 core, 32 thread (up to 5.4GHz) Core i9-13900HX and a dedicated 12GB GeForce RTX 4080 packed inside. Compared to the i9-12900HX on the Gen 7 model, you can expect up to 24% more multicore performance. While music streaming platforms don’t take more than 2% of the CPU, the Legion 7i is a monster when it comes to power and will handle whatever you can throw at it from gaming to video editing.
The Harman Kardon speakers are super premium in terms of the audio quality and only feel outdone by the MacBook Pro, especially with the Nahimic software running. The speakers would feel quieter if the speakers weren’t so close to where you’d generally be listening from, i.e., underneath towards the front on both sides, but that’s hardly a complaint.
For the most part, they are loud and have some depth to them. Considering the Legion’s speaker placement, there isn’t excessive vibration on the wrist rest as we’d expected, despite a good amount of bass, and the immersion is great during audio and video playback.
Depending on the performance mode we got anywhere from 43-56dB of fan noise, which is respectable for a gaming laptop. The temperatures stay lower than the Gen 7 on sustained performance, owing to the use of liquid metal cooling and a large vacuum heat spreader from Legion Coldfront 5.0. If you’re just playing music or transcribing, thermals shouldn’t be a huge concern, however, at higher CPU usage, the fans can drown out some of the sounds, which is something to watch out for.
If you’ve been collecting music for long like us, collections and arrangements can balloon libraries a lot over time, especially if you have automatic downloads enabled on Deezer or Primephonic. However, with a 1TB SSD, the Legion 7i Pro fit our collection with ease. Similarly, when just playing music, we didn’t lose more than a few hundred megabytes, though the 16GB is more than enough for multitasking as well.
The 16-inch 2560 x 1600 pixel QHD+ display is better than most TVs with 240Hz, 500+ nits of brightness, and 100% sRGB coverage. The screen is smooth with no ghosting, and the addition of G-Sync is a big plus. The colors aren’t as vibrant as a 100% DCI-P3 display, but it does the job well with no backlight bleed.
The Legion is fairly portable for a gaming laptop, measuring 14.3 x 0.9 x 10.32 inches with a weight of 6.17 pounds. While it did require some shuffling, we managed to fit most of our setup into a backpack along with the hefty laptop. The battery life is what we’d expect from any gaming laptop. During our testing, we got a smidge over 7 hours on a full charge and battery conservation mode – which isn’t amazing, but it is definitely serviceable.
As for ports, the Legion Pro 7i offers 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 1x Thunderbolt 4 port, 1x HDMI 2.1 port, an Ethernet port, a headphone/microphone combo jack and a power connector. Suffice it to say you won’t be needing any more ports for your equipment, even on a desktop build.
While the build quality is decent, it is a substantial downgrade compared to the previous Legion Pro 7i, which sported an aluminum chassis and more RGB. The key deck is plastic, so there is some creaking when typing and applying a lot of pressure, though it isn’t noticeable most of the time. Additionally, the 1080p webcam is decent, and the Smart AMP works really well.
If you’re looking for a high-performance machine that has good speakers to boot, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is an excellent choice.
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Benefits
The immersive speakers sound premium with good depth and bass comparable to the M2 MacBook Pro.
With the combination of the Intel Core i9-13900HX and RTX 4080, you have a lot of versatility for different kinds of workloads.
With 7 assorted USB ports, you never run out of ports to plug into.
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Drawbacks
The fan can get loud with high CPU utilization, however, the processor is beefy enough to almost never work that hard.
The build quality could have been better, especially the deck, but it is sturdy enough to last a long time.
The battery life is average as far as laptops go, although it is pretty decent for a gaming rig.
All text and image links lead to Amazon unless stated otherwise. All product scores are based on ProRec’s in-house scoring model
If you’re just playing music, the Asus ZenBook S13 Flip’s onboard i7-1260P (with up to 4.70GHz) is a lot more performance than you’ll realistically need – especially with the 19.7% increase in performance from the 2022 model with the i7-1165G7. Opening programs, surfing the web, streaming music, and multitasking feels noticeably snappier on the 12th gen chip, though not as responsive as the Lenovo Legion, which does up to 2.5x better on multi-core workloads.
The speakers are fine-tuned by Harman Kardon. Using the default settings, music streaming and YouTube sound loud and clear, which can be made better with Dolby settings on the My Asus app. As far as skinny laptops go, the audio output is really impressive. Even with the volume bumped up to max, clarity doesn’t take much of a hit. Additionally, although the bass isn’t the best on the market even compared to the Legion, considering the size of the device, it’s admirable.
In terms of thermals, with a balanced preset on performance and fan control, the ZenBook stays within 107.6°F with light usage. The fan doesn’t kick in that often, and throughout our testing, surface temperatures remained within comfortable limits thanks to the extra airflow from the back. Additionally, the fans don’t really make a lot of noise, so conference calls and recording don’t end up getting muddled, which is a plus.
The ZenBook S13 comes soldered with 16GB of RAM, which is more than enough to run Deezer and Tidal’s GUI and other components and still be able to multitask. However, most streaming apps will cache every song you play onto the memory, which can clog it up over time. If your streaming platform takes more than it should, restarting the application should clear up the backlog.
With MQA quality, we ended up with well over 500GB of used space with a few thousand songs in our library, so the addition of a 2TB SSD is an upgrade from the Legion Pro. While we’re sure you won’t need more, if you ever run out of storage, you can always offload some data onto an external drive.
The S13 Flip’s 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED display is high-quality with an exceptional pre-calibration with HDR and Dolby Vision. Admittedly, SDR colors can feel washed out and dark on Windows settings, so we recommend turning them off. Like most OLED panels, there is some black crushing when playing back content in dark environments.
The ZenBook is about as light as 2-in-1 laptops can get, weighing 2.43lbs with a slim frame measuring 11.67 x 8.26 x 0.59 inches. This didn’t bode well for battery life, with the device netting 6.5 hours between charges, which is fairly mediocre. However, it is super portable, and if you don’t need the uptime, it’s an acceptable tradeoff.
The ports are substantially worse than the Legion Pro 7i, with 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an SD card reader. This is enough for transcription equipment and an external drive, though you’ll want a hub for anything more.
The laptop is sturdy and the material is nice if we look past the sharp corners and edges. It’s not the most comfortable to hold in tablet mode but there isn’t any flex anywhere, and the hinges are smooth. The touchpad calculator is a nice function if you can find a use for it, and tracking feels reasonably accurate. The webcam isn’t the greatest, but it keeps us centered in the frame. The mic cancellation and unidirectional recording are also a plus in meetings and calls.
All in all, the Asus ZenBook S13 Flip doesn’t have any major tradeoffs, and is a well-rounded package if you want a machine that can both stream music well, and handle any daily workflow you can manage.
ASUS ZenBook S13 Flip Benefits
The speakers are remarkably clear, even at max volume, and the audio quality is crisp with Dolby Atmos support.
The build quality is excellent, with an all-metal chassis with no flex and smooth hinges.
The ZenBook S13 has a good pool of features, including its stellar calibrated OLED display, 2TB SSD, 2-in-1 design, and portability.
ASUS ZenBook S13 Flip Drawbacks
The battery life on the ZenBook S13 Flip is below par, at only 6.5 hours per recharge on average, but a power bank fixes that easily.
The corners and edges aren’t rounded, so it isn’t the most comfortable in tablet view, but it isn’t the worst either.
With just two usable ports when charging, you can get stressed for ports, which is an expectation these days with thin and light laptops.
All text and image links lead to Amazon unless stated otherwise. All product scores are based on ProRec’s in-house scoring model
The Asus ZenBook 14 has come a long way from the previous ZenBook 14 UM433, now with an 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with up to 4.5GHz of clock speed and up to 37.5% more power. While you can get a lot done on the ZenBook 14, the S13 Flip and Lenovo Legion Pro both have a higher performance ceiling (up to 12.1% and 2.81x respectively), especially when audio/video editing and gaming.
Though you won’t need much of its performance on platforms such as Deezer, Tidal, and Spotify. Running hi-fi FLAC playlist net us about 4% usage, so there’s enough headroom for other tasks.
The ZenBook 14 has bottom-facing Harman Kardon speakers that we think are really good, especially for a thin and light laptop at this price. The mids are decent, and there is a slight touch of bass with virtually no distortion at high volume. Since most ZenBooks rely on reflecting sounds off of desks, once we lift it up, the sound quality drops dramatically. At its best, the speaker is comparable to the M2 MacBook Air, though it is contingent on its placement.
In terms of thermals, the device can get hot when on performance mode, though it isn’t too unpleasant to use regardless. On the balanced preset, the temperatures stay cool, and the fans don’t come on as often either.
The 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM is acceptable, though Spotify can take a substantial chunk of it due to poor optimization. The web app works fine, but personally, Deezer and Tidal are much better options since they don’t hoard 2GB of memory that would otherwise go into other productivity tasks.
Storage-wise, the 512GB SSD did little to hold our 480GB library, so we had to mirror our FLACs and DSD collections to MP3 for the sake of space. We’d recommend going with an external storage drive with the ZenBook.
The 90Hz 14-inch 2.8K DCI-P3 enabled panel has an incredibly beautiful output, and the PANTONE Validated calibration makes colors pop out more than the S13 Flip. The display is bright, and we found ourselves using the touch screen more than expected for its performance.
Measuring 12.35 x 8.69 x 0.67 inches and weighing 2.98lbs, the form factor is portable and we had no issues moving it around. With a 75W capacity, and a 22W sustained burst load, the ZenBook sips battery with anywhere from 8-10 hours of Deezer playback and productivity. This comes at the cost of some performance, but it is well worth it.
While it’s nowhere near the Legion Pro, the ZenBook 14 does somewhat better than the S13 Flip, with 1x USB 3.2 Gen-2 Type-A port, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS port, 1x MicroSD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This is consistent with most ultra-portable laptops, and we had no trouble fitting in an NVME enclosure and some peripherals with a USB hub.
While the build quality is solid, our only complaint is that the device moves around on our lap as we type. The keyboard and trackpad feel good to use, and the Fn key setup is a nice addition if you don’t want to accidentally hit functions. The number layout on the trackpad is a welcome addition, and while it isn’t amazing, the 720p webcam gets the job done. There’s also a physical webcam blocker and a responsive fingerprint sensor.
All things considered, the Asus ZenBook 14 gets a lot of right, and despite the lowest performance, it has a brilliant display, great battery, amazing sound quality, and some room for upgrades.
Asus ZenBook 14 Benefits
The speakers sound great, with decent mids, no distortion, and a hint of bass, especially when reflected off of a desk.
The 75W battery lasts up to 10 hours, which is the best of all three products.
The 90Hz 2.8K panel is color accurate with PANTONE Validation, and the touchscreen feels good to use.
Asus ZenBook 14 Drawbacks
The ZenBook 14 can get a bit hot in performance mode, but it stays fairly cool in the balanced preset.
You do only have three ports to work with if you’re not charging, but that’s easily managed with a hub.
The storage is a bit low for music libraries, but it can be expanded both externally and internally.
Verdict
Based on our testing, the categories with the highest variation are Processor, Storage, Connectivity. In performance, both the ZenBooks fall far short of the Legion Pro, which makes sense for a gaming laptop. However, the Legion doesn’t replicate that same performance in storage, offering half the storage of the S13 Flip, and twice that of the ZenBook 14. In terms of connectivity, the Legion once again has the edge since most gaming laptops have a lot of ports compared to portable devices like the S13 Flip and ZenBook 14.
While Lenovo’s Legion Pro 7i holds the same amount of RAM as the two competitors, it is a much faster DDR5 to the mobile LPDDR modules in both the ZenBooks, which earns it the highest score. The Legion does well across the board, however, the category where it struggles the most is Price to Performance, where the ZenBook 14 takes the gold, with the S13 Flip slightly behind. This is a tradeoff you’ll have to make if you need the extra performance and ports. In terms of sound quality, the Legion is arguably the best, but at higher CPU usage, the fans will drown out some of the audio.
The S13 Flip has a much more diverse set of features than both the Legion Pro and the ZenBook 14 – the most notable being its OLED touch screen display. Like the ZenBook 14, it doesn’t have a dedicated GPU and they both offer roughly the same performance, with the S13 Flip on top, and even offer similar value for the price. However, the former does have slightly better ports, and is a much less expensive option all things considered. While the speakers on both don’t hold up to the Legion, they are still amazing considering their size and price.
Objectively, the best laptop with Harman Kardon speakers based on our testing is the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i with an overall score of 9.2. Admittedly, it’s not the cheapest option, but if you need the blistering performance the i9 processor and RTX 4080 offer, it’s by far the most powerful device on this list. It also has more upgradability than both the ZenBooks, so the specs can be bumped up down the line. Additionally, it also hosts the best set of speakers of the three by far, more than double the ports, and a much larger display to work with. Factoring that in, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i earns a glowing recommendation from us!
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