Harman Kardon Receiver Wins CES Best of Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Award

WOODBURY, NY, November 12, 2008 – Harman Kardon, Inc., announced today that its AVR 7550HD 7.2-channel audio/video receiver has won the prestigious 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES®) Best of Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering award in the Audio Components category. Sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®) and endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the Innovations 2009 awards honor exceptional product and engineering design.

The 7.2-channel Harman Kardon® AVR 7550HD is the brand’s flagship A/V receiver, designed to deliver the ultimate home-theater experience. The AVR 7550HD (SRP: $2,799, available winter 2009) provides HDMI™ (V.1.3a with Deep Color) capability and can pass video signals to 1080p. The receiver employs Faroudja DCDi Cinema™ digital-video processing utilizing the leading-edge Torino chipset, providing extraordinary upscaled and enhanced 1080p image quality from all video sources. The AVR 7550HD is also compatible with HDMI (V.1.3a with Deep Color) devices.

The receiver is among the first to include Dolby® Volume technology, an innovative approach to delivering consistent volume levels across a wide variety of content, channel programming or input sources. It is also the first receiver to utilize the latest-generation Texas Instruments™ Aureus™ DA710 audio digital-signal processor in a dual-DSP implementation to deliver unsurpassed sound quality.

The AVR 7550HD incorporates a Harman Kardon-exclusive newly developed high-definition full-color on-screen menu system that utilizes both pictures and text to guide users in setting up their home theater system, and provides unprecedented ease of use.

The receiver offers a host of additional versatile features, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™ decoding; a built-in USB port to accommodate a USB memory stick or streaming audio from a computer; an Internet radio tuner; EzSet/EQ II automated room-equalization and system calibration; multiroom audio and video capability with A-BUS® connectivity; XM Ready®* capability; and more. It is supplied with the Harman Kardon The Bridge II ** docking station for iPod at no extra charge. The Bridge II enables enhanced audio and video playback and remote-control capabilities when a compatible iPod model*** is connected.

About Harman Kardon, Inc.

Harman Kardon, Inc., is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com). Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”

For additional information, contact:
Frank Doris
FM Public Relations
Phone: 631.385.1304, ext. 402
Fax: 631.612.2400
E-mail: [email protected]

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Harman Kardon, AKG, Audioaccess, Becker, BSS, Crown, dbx, DigiTech, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Revel, QNX, Soundcraft and Studer are trademarks of Harman International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. The EzSet/EQ and The Bridge II logos are trademarks of Harman International Industries, Incorporated.

CES and CEA are registered trademarks of the Consumer Electronics Association.

HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.

Faroudja DCDi Cinema is a trademark of Genesis Microchip Inc.

Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories.

Texas Instruments and Aureus are trademarks of Texas Instruments.

DTS-HD Master Audio is a trademark of DTS, Inc.

A-BUS is a registered trademark of LeisureTech Electronics Pty Ltd.

XM Ready is a registered trademark of XM Satellite Radio.

iPod is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Shuffle is a trademark of Apple Inc.

*Optional XM antenna module and subscription to XM service required. Hardware and service sold separately. XM service is not available in Alaska or Hawaii.

**The Bridge II is compatible with the Harman Kardon AVR 7550HD, AVR 3550HD, AVR 354, AVR 47 Series, AVR 146, AVR 45 Series and AVR 40 Series receivers, the HK 3490 stereo receiver and the DMC 1000 digital media center. Not compatible with other Harman Kardon products, or with other brands of audio/video equipment.

***Compatible with iPod models with docking connector, including iPod touch and all Click Wheel models; not compatible with iPod shuffle.

© 2008 Harman International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved.