Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 review 2024: tested

In the same vein as the proverb that advises against judging a book by its cover, making an educated estimate about the sound quality of a soundbar based just on its visual appearance is unlikely to be successful. This is mostly due to the fact that the vast majority of linear home theater speakers have a very similar appearance.

But after feasting our eyes and ears on the beautifully crafted but awkwardly named Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 Dolby Atmos soundbar for the first time, we couldn’t help but have a small Catchphrase Roy Walker epiphany of, “Say what you see.” after we realized that this streamlined, minimal, and tasteful speaker sounds just as it looks. In other words, it sounds exactly the same as it looks.

Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 Specifications

Connections and Control

The Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 has a built-in HDMI loop through, making it superior to certain competitors in the same price range. There’s only one instead of the usual pair you get with higher-end soundbars, but that’s still better than nothing. In particular, the premium HDR formats HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are supported via the Multibeam 1100’s HDMI loop through, in addition to 4K and HDR. When compared to the standard HDR10 format, these carry additional scene-by-scene picture information to improve playback performance.

Despite the lack of official compatibility, we were able to get 4K/120Hz to pass through from an Xbox Series X, but only in standard dynamic range, and this was with the HDMI loop through. To be clear, very few other soundbars now offer 4K/120Hz or VRR. If you absolutely need it, Sony’s HT-A7000 has 4K/120Hz support; however, it is still waiting for a firmware upgrade to support VRR. There is a minimum increase of £300 in price. You can buy this soundbar from its official website

Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100: Sound Quality

The Multibeam 1100 delivers a powerful performance for such a compact soundbar, delivering a lot of loudness and bass while watching Dune in Dolby Atmos on Blu-ray. It follows a strategy very similar to that of the Sonos Arc, in that it cleans up the bass frequencies that are outside its range slightly.

This causes the deep rumbles, like the tunneling sandworm, to sound dull and a little vague, and the booming percussion to be missing a clear, cutting edge. Despite these limitations, the Multibeam 1100 never sounds strained, even when subjected to extreme levels of sub-bass.

Price and availability

With a price of £800, the Multibeam 1100 is right in the middle of the most competitive part of the market for soundbars. Its best-known competitor is the Sonos Arc, which costs about the same. This famous soundbar is great because it can be used in multiple rooms and has a strong, cinematic sound. It can also play music well, as you might expect. It doesn’t have as many HDMI connections as the Multibeam 1100, and its music playing isn’t as loud.

Final Words

Although “Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100” isn’t exactly a mouthful, the sound it produces certainly is.When watching movies, the system’s dynamic range, power, effects location, and granularity are all unheard of in single-bar systems costing less than a thousand dollars.

Unusually for a mid-tier soundbar, it also performs admirably with music. The sound quality is just too wonderful to pass up, even though it is missing some functions and isn’t the easiest soundbar to operate.

Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 review: The good and The bad

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