Raleigh already has the 2026 Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. It is now making a convincing case to become the summer capital of high-end audio and home theater as well.
Audio Advice Live returns to the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel from August 7 through 9, 2026, with more than 60 experience rooms, over 10 immersive Dolby Atmos theater systems, major North American product debuts, educational sessions, simulators, live music and enough expensive loudspeakers to make your accountant develop a nervous twitch.
The show has grown well beyond its regional roots. Audio Advice Live 2025 was successful enough that calling this merely a retailer event no longer describes what is happening in Raleigh. The rooms were busy, the home theater demonstrations were unusually ambitious, and the combination of serious two-channel audio, projection systems, televisions and practical education gave consumers something most traditional audio shows still struggle to provide.
You can read our extensive Audio Advice Live 2025 coverage, see our Best in Show selections and watch the videos and podcast that came out of the event. Chris Boylan and I will both be traveling to Raleigh in a few weeks to cover the new products, demonstrations and inevitable surprises from the show floor.
We would not miss it. Raleigh has become THE summer high-end event, and the city now has a Stanley Cup to go with all of those subwoofers. It will also be hot. This is August in the South, where the humidity does not merely greet you at the airport; it climbs into the Tesla and asks what you are listening to. The good news is that the interesting equipment will be inside.
The Biggest Audio Advice Live 2026 Product Debuts
The 2026 show will include a substantial list of new products from some of the largest manufacturers in high-performance audio and video. Anthem, Bowers & Wilkins, Focal, JBL Synthesis, JVC, KEF, Klipsch, Loewe, Lyngdorf, Marantz, McIntosh, Samsung, Sonus faber and Sony are among the confirmed brands.
This is not merely a collection of products already making the rounds. Several of the most important loudspeakers and home entertainment systems introduced in 2026 will receive their first major North American public demonstrations in Raleigh.
Focal Diva Alta Utopia
The headline attraction may be the North American debut of the Focal Diva Alta Utopia, the new flagship of Focal and Naim’s active wireless loudspeaker family.
At $210,000 per pair and 236 pounds per speaker, the Diva Alta Utopia has moved well beyond the conventional wireless speaker category. It is a four-way active system with 600 watts of Naim Class A/B amplification inside each loudspeaker, extensive streaming support, Ultra Wideband communication between the speakers and Focal’s new PRISM tweeter technology.
It is essentially an ultra-high-end Focal and Naim system without the usual tower of electronics, racks, interconnects and speaker cables. You will still need a turntable and phono stage for vinyl because civilization cannot be completely automated.
Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond D5
Bowers & Wilkins will present an exclusive showcase of the new 800 Series Diamond D5, which made its global debut at High End Vienna in June.
The seven-model range begins with the 805 D5 stand-mount loudspeaker and continues through the 804 D5, 803 D5, 802 D5 and flagship 801 D5 floorstanders, along with two matching center-channel models for home theater installations. Prices range from $15,000 per pair for the 805 D5 to $65,000 per pair for the 801 D5.
The D5 generation introduces revised cabinet construction, aluminum Space Frame bracing, upgraded crossover mounting, tighter production tolerances and technology derived from the previous 800 Series Signature models. Chris Boylan has already heard the flagship 801 D5 in Vienna; Raleigh will give American consumers a far more convenient opportunity to hear what Bowers & Wilkins has changed.
Sonus faber Olympica G3
The new Sonus faber Olympica G3 Collection will also make its North American show debut.
The five-model range brings technology derived from the flagship Sonus faber Suprema into a more attainable, although hardly inexpensive, family of loudspeakers priced from $8,000 to $30,000. The collection includes stand-mount, floorstanding, center-channel and wall-mounted options, with the new Camelia midrange driver serving as one of the key technical developments.
The sculpted cabinets, wood veneers and asymmetrical lute-inspired profiles remain unmistakably Sonus faber. Italians understand that a loudspeaker can reproduce Mahler properly without looking like a municipal electrical cabinet.
JL Audio Primacy
JL Audio will demonstrate its new Primacy luxury home audio system, one of the company’s most consequential product introductions since Garmin acquired the brand in 2023.
Primacy combines active T6 tower or S3 stand-mount loudspeakers with the Primacy CS Stereo Centerpiece, which handles streaming, preamplification, source control and system processing. The system uses Dante networking between components and JL Audio’s P.A.R.O. automatic room optimization technology to adjust crossover behavior, equalization, timing and dynamic performance for the listening space.
Systems begin around $50,000 and can rise considerably depending on the loudspeaker configuration and finish. This is JL Audio moving beyond its formidable reputation in subwoofers and automotive sound into complete, turnkey luxury audio systems.
The Home Theater Rooms Are Getting Even More Serious
Audio Advice Live has become important because home theater is not treated as a secondary attraction squeezed into the ballroom after the two-channel exhibitors have taken the good rooms.
More than 10 reference-level theater systems are planned for 2026, including several demonstrations built around very large screens, premium projection, sophisticated room correction and enough low-frequency output to rearrange the ice in your drink.
Epson, MartinLogan and a 200 Inch Screen
One theater will combine an Epson QL7000 laser projector with a 200-inch Stewart Filmscreen, MartinLogan Masterpiece CI architectural loudspeakers and the company’s new Depth subwoofers.
The QL7000 is rated at up to 10,000 lumens of equal color and white brightness and can produce images up to 300 inches. That makes it particularly well suited to large screens and multipurpose rooms where the lights cannot always be switched off without someone walking into the furniture.
Trinnov, Ascendo and Infrasonic Bass
Trinnov and Ascendo will return with another large-scale immersive theater, this time incorporating a Christie projector and a 32-inch infrasonic subwoofer.
Their 2025 demonstration used multiple Ascendo subwoofers with Trinnov WaveForming processing to produce unusually consistent bass throughout the room. The 32-inch infrasonic unit is designed to reproduce frequencies that are felt as much as heard, which should make the demonstration educational, entertaining and mildly threatening to any unsecured dental work.
Sony True RGB and BRAVIA Projector 9
Sony will show its new flagship BRAVIA 9 II True RGB 4K TV, which use independently controlled red, green and blue backlight LEDs to increase color volume, brightness and viewing-angle consistency.
A separate theater will use Sony’s BRAVIA Projector 9 with McIntosh electronics and new Sonus faber Arena custom-installation loudspeakers. That combination should provide one of the clearest examples at the show of how premium projection, amplification and architectural speakers can work as a complete system rather than an expensive pile of components.
More Than Listening Rooms
Audio Advice Live 2026 will also include an immersive McLaren racing simulator, an interactive golf simulator and a new CI Flex Space devoted to creative applications of audio, video and smart-home technology.
Those additions matter because modern specialty A/V is no longer limited to a stereo system in a dedicated room. Consumers are asking about media rooms, architectural audio, large-format displays, lighting, automated control, outdoor entertainment and systems that can serve several purposes without making the house look like the bridge of the Battlestar Galactica.
Audio Advice Live 2026 Deep Dive Sessions
The educational component remains one of the show’s strongest features. The 2026 Deep Dive schedule covers room acoustics, loudspeaker design, projection, physical media, theater calibration, subwoofer integration and the sometimes contentious relationship between measurements, reviewers and actual listening.
Friday, August 7
- 11:00 a.m. Control the Room: Acoustics, Isolation and Better Sound
- 1:00 p.m. Projector Meets Screen: The Key to Better Brightness and HDR
- 3:00 p.m. What Makes a Great Speaker? Design, Measurement and Listening
Saturday, August 8
- 11:00 a.m. Why Physical Media Still Matters
- 1:00 p.m. Setting the Standard: Designing and Calibrating a Reference Home Theater
- 3:00 p.m. The Search for Perfect Sound: Audio YouTubers’ Perspectives
Sunday, August 9
- 11:00 a.m. The Subwoofer Playbook: Placement, Timing and Room Correction
- 1:00 p.m. Technology in Today’s Projectors: The Biggest Innovations and What’s Next
These sessions are useful because they address the part of the process that rarely fits on a specification sheet: how the equipment interacts with the room, screen, loudspeakers, subwoofers and people using it. Buying expensive equipment is easy. Getting it to work properly together is where the adults are required.
Opening Night Concert and Keynote
Audio Advice CEO Scott Newnam will open the weekend at Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre on Friday evening with a state-of-the-industry keynote, followed by a concert from the 12-piece band Sleeping Booty.
The kickoff begins at 5:45 p.m., and admission is included with every show registration. Anyone who has spent eight hours listening to audiophile recordings of brushes on cymbals may find a live 12-piece band to be a useful reminder of what actual dynamics sound like.
Audio Advice Live 2026 Tickets and Show Hours
Early bird pricing is available through August 6:
- One-day pass: $25
- Three-day pass: $45
- Children and students age 21 and under: Free
On-site pricing from August 7 through 9:
- One-day pass: $30
- Three-day pass: $50
- Children and students age 21 and under: Free
Show hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. All passes include access to the exhibit rooms, Deep Dive discussions and Friday evening’s keynote and concert.
The Bottom Line
Audio Advice Live has become one of the few North American events where serious two-channel audio, headphones, televisions, projection and fully engineered home theater systems receive equal attention. The 2026 lineup confirms that manufacturers increasingly view Raleigh as a legitimate launch platform rather than merely another stop on the summer show calendar.
Chris Boylan and I will be there throughout the weekend, listening, watching, asking uncomfortable questions and bringing you the products and demonstrations that deserve your attention.
Bring comfortable shoes. Bring questions. And bring clothing that accepts humidity as a permanent lifestyle choice.
For more information: live.audioadvice.com
Related Reading:
- Best In Show At Audio Advice Live 2025: Audio, Video And Home Theater
- Audio Advice Buys Miami’s Sound Components In Major South Florida Expansion
- Focal Diva Alta Utopia: $210K Wireless Flagship Speaker Takes All-In-One Hi-Fi To The Extreme
- Sonus Faber Olympica G3 Revives The Iconic Olympica Collection With Italian Elegance And A Proper Dose Of Attitude, Con Brio
- Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5 First Listen @ High End 2026: New $65,000 Flagship Loudspeaker Makes A Statement
Buddy Brindamour
July 14, 2026 at 8:59 pm
It’s become obvious that Audio Advice are going to acquire strong dealers in key markets and control the high end audio retail market in the United States.
Based on how well they seem to run these shows and the quality of their online videos and content — that’s probably a very good thing for the industry.
Looking forward to the coverage.
Definitely get some ribs.