News

HARMAN’s Lexicon® Now Shipping Its DD-8 Multi-Room Amplifier Featuring Patented DriveCore™ Technology for Powerful, Energy-Efficient Performance

ELKHART, Indiana — HARMAN’s Lexicon today announced that it is now shipping its DD-8 Multi-Room Amplifier, an eight-channel amplifier that utilizes patented DriveCore amplifier technology to deliver 1,000 watts of power from a sleek, compact design, while operating with greater efficiency than ever possible before.

The Lexicon DD-8 delivers 125 watts into each of its eight channels, yet measures just 1.7” H (one rack space) x 17.3” W x 14.9” D and weighs only 9.2lbs. The DD-8 achieves its unparalleled power and efficiency through the use of Harman’s new DriveCore amplifier IC chip. This chip, co-developed with Texas Instruments™ Incorporated exclusively for Harman, incorporates an unprecedented level of component integration into an IC that is smaller than a postage stamp.

“With the release of the DD-8, Lexicon establishes an entirely new design paradigm for consumer amplifiers,” noted Jim Garrett, Market Manager, HARMAN High Performance A/V. “DriveCore technology advances amplifier design on several significant levels – smaller size, lighter weight, greater efficiency, more environmentally friendly manufacturing – and better sound. Thanks to its many advantages, Harman is also incorporating DriveCore into its automotive and pro audio products.”

The DriveCore chip combines the amplifier drive stage into the power output stage (along with additional audio-signal functions) – circuits that are typically much larger in size and power requirements. As a result, power consumption and heat production are dramatically reduced, making the DD-8 much more energy-efficient than typical amplifiers and eliminating the need for a fan. The DriveCore design also yields sonic benefits, thanks to tighter tolerances, better circuit matching and inherently lower noise.

The Lexicon DD-8 is ideal for multiroom audio, custom-installation and home theater. It comes with Phoenix speaker connectors and offers flexible configuration options including bus inputs and outputs, local channel inputs and mono/stereo selection for each channel output pair. The DD-8 features independent output level adjustment for each channel, as well as 5-15VDC trigger control ports. The DD-8 complies with the new half-watt standby power consumption standards, and uses less power during normal operation than most traditional amplifiers do at idle. The amplifier has feedback and protection circuits incorporated into the DriveCore chip, and will switch to low-power standby mode when not in use for even lower energy consumption.

The Lexicon DD-8 Multi-Room Amplifier is available at a suggested retail price of $2,500.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,800 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.5 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2010. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.