Test drive

Harman kardon logic7

In the first of a new series Richard Cree settles in to try out the latest top-end, in-car stereo

Car stereos usually fall into two categories—the bland and the ridiculous. The bland are tinny, cheap and barely audible above 40mph, while the ridiculous boom out of “pimped-up” noiseboxes on city streets in summer, with the volume inversely proportional to the music’s quality.

Harman Kardon’s Logic7 system offers satisfactory proof that there is another way. Regardless of the music you throw at it, this seven-channel system copes, delivering an impressively poised and measured sound. Crisp and clean without sounding too polite, the Logic7 is not a great car stereo—its a great stereo, full stop. Equally capable of impressing with classical or rock, it failed only in handling lots of bass at very high volumes—it lost control of Goldfrapp’s Ooh La La a couple of times, for example.

But this slight downer is more than compensated for by its musicality. I spent hours listening to music on the demo system I was sent—far more than I needed to get a sense of what it could do.

Then again, as demo rooms go you don’t get more comfortable than the Mercedes S500L they sent me. Effectively it was a £98,000 armchair on wheels. The engine was so quiet I began to wonder if the car hadn’t gone to sleep—an alarming prospect on a motorway.

But back to the stereo. Perhaps most notable is the way the Logic7 system manages to keep its focus where so many surround systems don’t. It makes no difference where you sit in the car, everyone gets to enjoy the same balance and precision. It’s punchy and forceful where you want it to be, gentle and subtle where it needs to be.  The only downside is that the system is only available as an option with certain luxury cars. If you are looking at one, splash the extra £800—it’s worth it.