This hack/mod may be a bit scant on some details and is meant for dedicated hack/makers with a bit of skill under their belt. No details are given for the physical dismantling of the iSub but, screws are under the feet (carefully remove feet) and just follow your nose after that. Use lots of padding – you don’t want to put scratches all over it as you work. All the following is used at your peril or elation ?
I picked this up from Ebay as a purposeful hack project. Apple no longer supports the iSub, although on my Windows laptop it does appear as an audio device and I can play sound through it.
The iSub by Harmen Kardon was designed for Apple as a USB only subwoofer. It is a fairly iconic looking subwoofer, which has since been replaced with the HK Soundsticks range, using the same looking subwoofer but with two small stereo speaker stacks, all running via standard audio (USB has gone). The electronics in the iSub consists of two parts, one is the USB to audio section and the other is a plain and simple subwoofer amplifier.
The iSub is well constructed, with audio seals everywhere, even on the power socket. The USB had to go and to maintain the air seal integrity, the USB cable would be re-purposed as the audio cable, re-wired for audio in via a 3.5mm stereo plug.
As far as reverse engineering went, I did not go as far as to re-create the full circuit diagram. It appears that the circuit board is multi-layered, so recreating the circuit would be a nightmare! I have found that the electronics in the iSub consists of two parts, one is the USB to audio section (UDA1321, USB to Audio IC + 8582C 2kbit – 256x8bit i2c EEPROM to store the audio settings for the 1321 chip) and the other is a plain and simple amplifier (TDA7256, 30W Amp IC).
Here’s the PCB.
So what I have done…
Soldered a short across the C-E of Q01 – this stops the iSub from being constantly muted, Q01 is actively driven by the USB audio chip, which I disabled by removing the little 3.3V regulator (top right in the picture above).
Then the audio trace from the USB audio circuitry was cut. The direct audio feed will be soldered to the cut track on the left.
Now, using the USB cable to feed the audio. As mentioned, this keeps the air-tight integrity of the iSub and saves drilling holes, etc to feed another cable. The cable diameter is a little large, but I was able to force fit a metal (for strength) 3.5mm stereo jack to the end, in place of the USB connector. The earth/ground is connected to the shield an I chose two random conductors for the L&R audio signals. For a Sub, though, you can just get away with using the Tip conductor of the plug, generally the very low frequency signals in stereo are pretty much the same.
Harman Kardon Isub Driver For Mac Download
On the PCB, I removed the small inductor array (L01) then fitted two 10k-ohm resistors to combine the L&R signals into one and then wired it to the left of the cut track.
It was then a case of a quick bench test, then re-assembling the iSub.
Final observations: The whole mod works well as an audio amplifier. BUT, I thought that the power amp circuitry may have had some Subwoofer filtering (given the number of electrolytic capacitors around the audio path), it appears not. The subwoofer profiling may have been done on the USB audio chip, or in the Mac OS when it was able to drive the iSub, so after the mod the iSub needs to be driven by a dedicated Subwoofer output from a audio processor or a sound card.
Have fun!
Safety tip : A good supply of ice helps with soldering iron burns.
The woofer is six inches, typical for this sort of product. Thansk you very much! The speakers use Harman’s Odyssey system, a technology that the manufacturer claims will deliver higher-quality audio from a smaller package. Oct 8, 2: This three-piece system sports a pair of transparent, tubular desktop speakers that mate with a transparent, lamp-shaped woofer to provide room-filling sound. Hi, I stumbled onto this page while searching for mods to my 2.
The Harman kardon soundsticks usb Sonos One is the first smart Click here to fix Windows errors and optimize system performance. User profile for user: Other USB devices are working just fine. They “died” on my last week, was about to go buy “new” figuring that they were simply past being supported.
Harman Kardon Soundsticks (USB) not recognized
Far from me to recommend anything but. You can download Reimage Plus by clicking the Download button below. Question has a verified solution.
Covered by US Patent. I would also like to report that with I repeatedly had only powered off the unit without unplugging the USB. Apple no longer supports the iSub, although on my Windows laptop it does appear as an audio device and I can play sound through it. The signal will be fed out of the 3. Thank you for your help. Nov 6, 8: Donald Palmer Harman kardon soundsticks usb Palmer.
So here it is, the unboxing of a pair of brand new Harman Kardon Soundsticks speakers at least 5 years young. To achieve its rich sound, each desktop unit contains four one-inch speakers. I had given up hope when I searched for such a hack years ago. harman kardon soundsticks usb
Now, using the USB cable to feed the audio. A good supply of ice helps with soldering iron burns.
You could have a dirty power connector, or more likely a dry solder joint in that area of the harman kardon soundsticks usb udb the power connector is. Oct 8, 2: However others have reported that Intel drivers were never made for those speakers. One problem the iSub shares with most inexpensive subwoofers is that deep maie voices e. Thanks for posting the hack.
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No details are given for the physical dismantling of the iSub but, screws are under the feet carefully remove feet and just follow your hrman after that. Thanks for this link.
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When I unplugged the iSub it cleared. The Good Great sound; great looks; easy setup. The original speakers that came with the G4 Cube was designed by Harman Kardon and so both are of kaedon similar design.
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But I am not sure whats what with the three connectors. Some have reported if you put an external USB powered hub to your Mac then plug the sticks to than and then the speakers are recognized. The Vizio SBn-E8 is the best harman kardon soundsticks usb sound bar we’ve ever heard, period.