FORM 8 - K

             SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                    Washington, DC  20549



                       CURRENT REPORT



               Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
                           of the
               Securities Exchange Act of 1934


      Date of Report (date of earliest event reported):

                       January 7, 2000

                 CIRCUIT RESEARCH LABS, INC.

   (Exact Name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

                           Arizona

       (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

                  0-11353        86-0344671

                  Commission            IRS
                   File                 Employer
                   Number               Identification No.

                   2522 West Geneva Drive
                    Tempe, Arizona  85282

          (Address of principal executive offices)



                       (602) 438-0888

               (Registrants telephone number)

Item 5. Other Events

Tempe,  AZ  January 5, 2000 - Circuit Research  Labs,  Inc.
(OTC/BB:  CRLI  or  the Company) and Harman  International
Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HAR) announced on December 27th that
they  have  signed  a  letter of intent  whereby  CRLI  will
acquire   Harmans  Orban  subsidiary.   The   $15   million
transaction is expected to close at the end of January 2000,
and will be financed by debt, the structure of which has not
yet  been  announced.  The transaction  is  subject  to  the
ratification of a definitive agreement as well as  customary
closing conditions.

Based  in San Leandro, California, Orban, Inc. is a  leading
manufacturer of audio processing for radio and  TV  stations
worldwide. Orban has about 75 employees and annual sales  of
approximately  $15  million.   Circuit  Research  Labs  will
retain the Orban brand and employees, including founder  and
chief engineer Bob Orban.

The   management  of  the  Company  believes  this  business
combination  is highly complementary and synergistic,  since
roughly   80%   of   Orbans  products   are   digital   and
approximately 80% of Circuit Researchs products are analog.
Upon  the acquisition being completed the Company will  soon
be  equipped  to  offer a full range of digital  and  analog
audio processing solutions at many price points.

Circuit  Research Labs, Inc. manufactures and  markets  high
quality  electronic audio processing, transmission  encoding
and  noise  reduction  equipment for  the  worldwide  radio,
television and professional audio markets.

This Form 8K contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.  Managements anticipation of future events is based
upon assumptions regarding levels of competition, research
and development results, raw material markets, the markets
in which the Company operates, and stability of the
regulatory environment.  Further, the assumptions contained
in this release may depend on the integration of the
operations of Orban with those of the Company.  Any of these
assumptions could prove inaccurate, and therefore there can
be no assurance that the forward-looking information will
prove to be accurate.

Date:  January 7, 2000
                                   Gary D. Clarkson
                                   Secretary