News

We visit the Harman H2X

Harman's Danish audio lab in Kvistgaard also houses H2X, a museum of loudspeakers that surpasses even JBL's Los Angeles headquarters.

By / 28 June 2024 - 6:00 am
We visit the Harman H2X

H2X is the cryptic name of the door. It’s a solid door reinforced with a thick metal plate. And with good reason.

Behind the door we find the world’s largest curated collection of loudspeakers from JBL and the other companies in the Harmans Group.

We are in the small town of Kvistgaard in Denmark, North of Copenhagen. And in the building is the Harman Audio Engineering Lab, which specialises in headphone research.

Also check out A look inside Harman's most sacred halls

We had the opportunity to visit the place where JBL was born. And where the company's loudspeakers are still being created at Harman's acoustic development centre.

But it is also home to H2X, which stands for Harman Historical Xperience. Our tour guide is Søren Majlund, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at HARMAN International. But Søren also has a hobby, and that’s loudspeakers.

Søren Majlund, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, is behind the H2X collection (Photo: John Alex Hvidlykke)

The room we enter is packed with speakers. Mostly JBL, but Infinity, which is also a Harman company, is also represented. Speakers of all sizes, and most of them classics in their own right.

PXL_20240528_124506250 PXL_20240528_130453285 PXL_20240528_124557639 PXL_20240528_124553903
<
>
(Photo: John Alex Hvidlykke)
Also check out The most famous JBL ever

JBL Paragon was the ultimate speaker to impress the neighbours in Beverly Hills in the 1950s and 60s. And it was in stereo!

The collection in Kvistgaard is probably the largest collection of historic JBL speakers in the world. The Northridge Audio Lab outside Los Angeles doesn’t have nearly as many speakers, and they’re not displayed in one place like here, but scattered around the hallways of the lab. And they don’t have the single most iconic JBL speaker.

PXL_20240528_125030499 PXL_20240528_124801422 PXL_20240528_124500315 PXL_20240528_155723471 PXL_20240528_124542089 PXL_20240528_124527937 PXL_20240528_124619835 PXL_20240528_130633294 PXL_20240528_124440295
<
>
(Photo: John Alex Hvidlykke)

You have a Paragon too?

While the H2X Museum itself is impressive, the most remarkable speaker is elsewhere in the building. Rumour has it that Søren Majlund had something very special in his office.

You have a Paragon?!

The JBL D44000 Paragon is not your typical speaker for a bit of background music in the office, but it serves quite well. Søren Majlund found it in Christianshavn in Copenhagen and has since had it refurbished. The entire top plate had to be replaced (and of course the veneer on the two halves has to be mirrored and the right shade of colour).

The JBL D44000 Paragon is one of the most legendary and coveted speakers in the world. Which can be recognised by the smile on the faces of Søren Majlund and this reporter. (Photo: John Alex Hvidlykke)

LB Techreviews emphasizes that the travel costs for this report were paid by the manufacturer.

Steinway Lyngdorf Model S Soundbar – the world's most extreme soundbar

Super affordable speaker

Living room earthquake

Revuelto gets better sound

Colourful Burmester loudspeaker

Wireless luxury from France

Scroll to Top