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You get the goss with a verdict, a score out of 10, and the sources to check us.

Do we like JBL (Harman)?

Speakers, headphones and car audio brand, made by Harman International, based in Stamford, Connecticut, US.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A solid, well-known audio maker with no big scandal in our search results. We found little on its labour, environmental or tax record, so we'd back it with a shrug.

JBL is the speaker brand under Harman International. Samsung bought Harman for $8 billion in cash, and the deal completed on 10 March 2017. Harman is now a wholly-owned Samsung subsidiary.

The takeover wasn't smooth. In 2017 Harman shareholders sued in Delaware, saying the deal was flawed and undervalued. Samsung declined to comment and said it would push on with the deal.

Christian Sobottka, an ex-Bosch executive who ran Harman's automotive division, became CEO on 1 April 2025. Harman has since agreed to buy ZF's driver-assistance (ADAS) business.

Harman has gone after fake JBL goods, including a legal crackdown on dealers in India. In 2025 it also filed a 13-count patent suit against Klipsch's owner Voxx over the Gig XXL, saying it copied its PartyBox designs. Suing a rival isn't a good or bad deed, so we don't score it.

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Our take, from what the sources we read say on the day we checked. It can miss things; tap a source to read it.