JBL MS-8 In-Car Add-On Beating Forecasts
June 15, 2010 by Amy Gilroy
Filed under Car 2, Industry news
Harman claims its JBL MS-8 in-car add on system is selling above expectations after three weeks on the market. You might find that surprising given the sluggish sales seen in some of the blanket OEM integration products that came on the market several years back, but Harman’s Chris Dragon says the MS-8 is a new category. It’s not about adding other products but improving the sound of a factory system.
Harman’s pitch is instead of buying all new components and facing a confusing wall of radios and speakers at the store, just get the $800 MS-8. It has a built in amplifier, and works with any factory system to add digital signal processing and power. It promises better bass and clearer sound. The 8-channel amp delivers 20 watts x 8. The MS-8 includes a 31-band graphic eq, requires no separate volume knob and has a 5-line LCD display for set up and menus. It is selling at specialists and other retailers such as Crutchfield and Amazon.
The system also converts your two channel CDs, MP3 audio, etc. to 5.1 or 7.1 channel surround sound. It has an aux in so you can add a device such as an iPod and the MS-8 will run the audio from the iPod through its processing for improved audio.
Source: Harman International
