Harman Kardon HKTS-18 High-Performance, 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System (Black Gloss)

by Harman Kardon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 28 x 19.2 x 19.2 inches ; 58 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 59 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000K7ZWVK
• Item model number: HKTS 18
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,462 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

From the Manufacturer

Harman Kardon HKTS 18--Designed to Entertain

For more than 50 years, Harman Kardon products have been engineered, through extraordinary industrial design, innovative technologies and meticulous engineering, to deliver the ultimate listening experience. From the world's very first high-fidelity receiver in 1954 to today's advanced high-definition A/V receivers, the Harman Kardon brand has led the way in the pursuit of the finest audio and video quality possible. In fact, the brand originally introduced many of the technologies associated with the world's best amplifiers. One example: high-current, ultrawide-bandwidth amplifier design, which is still used today to deliver an exciting high-definition listening experience. With the goal of delivering a complete package of performance, design, flexibility and ease of use, Harman Kardon products are perfect for enjoying everything that today's digital high-definition content has to offer. So treat yourself to the ultimate at-home listening experience – one that only a Harman Kardon system can provide.

High-performance satellites and a powerful subwoofer look as good as they sound.

Surround Sound that Looks as Good as It Sounds
Featuring an eye-catching high-gloss-black finish and a sleek design, the HKTS 18 would be a stunning centerpiece of any home theater system based on looks alone. But the HKTS 18 sounds even better than it looks. Using advanced speaker technology and featuring a powered subwoofer that will rattle your walls, the HKTS 18 will deliver an exciting and realistic theater experience from anything you choose to watch. It's also the perfect system for delivering an incredible sound experience from today's latest high-definition sources, including Blu-ray. And the HKTS 18 will integrate into nearly any décor. All the hardware for bracketing the speakers on the wall is included. Don't want to hang the speakers on your wall? Optional black speaker stands (HTFS 2) are available; they blend into the satellite speakers for a sleek, seamless look. The HKTS 18 even gives you the ability to build toward the 7.1 home theater of your dreams. Add another pair of the optional satellite speakers (HKS 9), and a state-of-the-art 7.1-channel home theater is just a step away.

Advanced Technology
To deliver exceptional sound quality, the HKTS 18's satellites and subwoofer have gone through Harman's world-class engineering and design process, resulting in the use of advanced technology that delivers high performance and tremendous value.

HKTS 18 satellites deliver smooth sound for an engaging music and movie experience. View larger

Unlike many other satellite speaker systems, all five speakers are identical to provide a smooth, consistent sound field that sounds incredibly realistic and natural. Each satellite is a 2-way design, featuring a 3/4" metal-dome tweeter. The metal-dome tweeter is strong but lightweight, allowing it to reproduce high frequencies with detail, accuracy and clarity. Joining the tweeter are dual 3-1/2" midrange drivers, which deliver increased mid-bass response and smooth vocals.

The HKTS18 subwoofer delivers low bass that you not only hear but feel. View larger

No high-performance home theater would be complete without a powered subwoofer. To deliver deep, substantial bass, the HKTS 18 uses a rigid 10" woofer powered by a powerful 200-watt amplifier. The woofer's rigid design allows it to move, while still hold its shape without bending or distorting. This results in high excursion with minimal distortion, and a home theater experience that you just don't hear but feel.

Easy to Set Up
Whether you're doing it yourself or a professional is doing it for you, the HKTS 18 is easy to wire. High-quality speaker connections on the back of each speaker allow for the use of "better" speaker wire. The powered subwoofer includes both a line-level (LFE) connection (for today's 5.1 and 7.1 surround receivers), and speaker-level connections for use with older receivers or stereo receivers. The HKTS 18's LFE input even has an "audio sense" circuit to turn itself off automatically when not in use. If you're using the included wall brackets, they attach effortlessly to the bottom of each satellite, and even allow rotation so you can precisely dial in the best speaker placement.

What's in the Box
Five identical 2-way satellites, 10" 200-watt subwoofer, speaker wire for all five speakers, 15' subwoofer cable, 15' mini-plug cable for use with external trigger input, wall brackets

Product Description

The Harman Kardon HKTS 18 is a beautiful black lacquer speaker system with a powerful 200 watt 10" subwoofer. It is a 5.1 speaker system which can be expanded to 7.1 with the optional HKS-9 satellite speakers. It has a 3/4" tweeter for excellent high frequency response. It is magnetically shielded so it can be put next to your TV. It comes with all the speaker cables and shelf stand and wall mount brackets for the satellites.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful speakers!, January 31, 2008

By 

Peter A. Oliphant "Peteroid" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harman Kardon HKTS-18 High-Performance, 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System (Black Gloss) (Electronics)

I'll just confirm and add a little bit to what everyone else has said about these truly great speakers. They sound great, first and foremost. They feel very solid, like they are made entirely of metal (a good thing!). In fact, while many systems sport satellite speakers weighing around 2 pounds (USA), these weigh closer to 3 pounds.

The image on the Amazon page for these speakers does not do them at all justice! The base speaker is very big, looks like a fine price of furniture, and could possible sub as a side-table (but don't do it...hehe)!

I have mine connected to a Denon AVR-1908 receiver. I mention this because it took me a few days to figure the best setup for these speakers, and I want to mention some pointers. My receiver allows choosing between 'small' and 'large' when it comes to the front, back, and center speakers. For these speakers, set them all to 'small'.

But, most importantly, be sure the sub-woofer is turned on on your receiver! I used the system for a couple of days before I realized the bass speaker was not on! That's because the front speakers were set to 'large', so they took up the task of filling in the missing bass (so it was hard to notice the bass wasn't on). I figured out how to turn the bass on in the receiver, and - WHOA! - the entire room shook!

Which brings me to a special pointer - you can tell if the bass speaker is getting a signal by the COLOR of the light on top! If it is off, there is no power. If it is yellow, it is on, but no signal (or too low a signal to register if low volume). Blue means on and there is a signal!

So, in conclusion, these speakers are awesome for the price! Speaking of which, the price of Amazon fluctuates for this item more than the stock market! I have seen it go up and down on the same day as much as fifty or even two hundred dollars! So monitor the price and strike when it is low (I got mine for LESS than four hundred dollars!).

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Sound and Looks, February 5, 2008

By 

Craig B. Little "CB" (Cortland, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harman Kardon HKTS-18 High-Performance, 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System (Black Gloss) (Electronics)

The HKTS 18 speaker system has been producing magnificent sound in my living room since I installed it about a month ago. It is the most important element among the components I selected after much research to go with the Pioneer PDP-4272HD TV I bought last year. Here's what I've learned from the shopping experience, the set-up and the audio results.

1. Don't skimp on speakers!! Originally I looked at Home Theater in a Box systems, did my homework, and fortunately decided on the HKTS-18s. In a 15'X15' room they sound simply magnificent. These speakers would easily fill a room 20'X20', and perhaps much larger, with distortion-free, crystal-clear sound. The subwoofer will shake any room you put it in when those movie jet aircraft on your DVD fly over. In addition, the surround speakers are artfully shaped, beautifully constructed and perfectly sized. The black finish perfectly matches the TV. The center speaker sits unobtrusively in front of the TV on the television stand. The color-coded speaker wire makes set-up easy and the speaker brackets make wall mounting a breeze where you don't choose to use the supplied leather pads under the speakers on a table or a shelf. To repeat, you can make a BIG difference in the sound of your system by purchasing the BEST speakers you can possibly afford. If you buy cheap or inadequate speakers there is nothing your receiver or DVD player can do to improve the sound. You can't do better for the money than the Harman Kardon HKTS-18s.

2. For your receiver and DVD player (or changer), look for features and price (in light of what your budget will allow after selecting the best speakers you can afford). I selected the SONY STR-DG910 and the Onkyo DV-CP704. Both are performing flawlessly. In my experience, the Amazon reviews of both provided very accurate, helpful information that has been born out in my experience.

3. The HKTS-18 is a 5.1 channel speaker system. I immediately turned it into a 6.1 system by retaining one of my "old" Bose 301 Series IV speakers as the sixth rear speaker. (I decided not to use the other Bose speaker to create a 7.1 system, but that remains an option, though I'm absolutely delighted with the rich surround sound I have with the 6.1 set-up.) The SONY STR-DG910 receiver does a marvelous job of driving the 6.1 surround-sound system in my living-room while simultaneously driving a pair of speakers on the "B" channel wired into my kitchen.

4. A bit of advice on set-up. If you use HDMI cables, be sure to read thoroughly ALL of the instructions for the receiver and the DVD player. You'll need to go through the proper set-up programming to get the HDMI to function properly. A minor problem with the STR-DG910 receiver is the close quarters of the speaker-wire attachment points. Keep this in mind as you plan the sequence of what you attach when in the process and try to avoid making these attachments in close quarters. Poking the speaker wires into those little holes and turning the fittings down tight may try your patience. In regard to the Onkyo DV-CP704, my only temporary difficulty was getting it to play JPG images because I kept getting a "Bad Disc" message when trying to load the discs I had burned. You will get a "Bad Disc" message not ONLY when the disc is dirty (per the manual), but ALSO if the disc is not properly burned per the manual instructions (e.g., folder and file structure) and has been finalized properly using a burn program like Roxio.

5. Finally, Amazon delivery is simply amazing. I had all of my system components within three days of ordering them.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It rocks w/ the HK AVR245 receiver, March 14, 2007

By 

Front (Caracas, Vzla) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harman Kardon HKTS-18 High-Performance, 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System (Black Gloss) (Electronics)

I bought these speakers because I wanted to go a step forward in the experience of enjoying movies at home and replaced my old Sony home theater system. I also bought the Harman Kardon AVR245 receiver to match the speakers. The result is amazing. I use my mac mini as media center and have it connected to the AVR245 with an optical audio cable and the result is great. I fully recommend this product and if you can match it with an Harman Kardon receiver, then you'll have an incredible sound for less than $1000.