The 2024 CEDIA Expo ran from September 3 to September 7, 2024 and there were a number of significant new product introductions and state-of-the-art home theater demonstrations that made us (and the thousands of custom integrators and retailers in attendance) very enthusiastic about the future of the CI market.
You can find our continuing CEDIA 2024 coverage here and expect to read a lot more about some of the most innovative products that we experienced in Denver over the coming months. Please enjoy Part 2 of our CEDIA Expo highlights.
Note: Check out eCoustics “Best in Show” Awards for our picks for Best Products and Demos at CEDIA Expo 2024.
DALI Speakers
DALI (which is distributed by Lenbrook Americas) was at CEDIA but most products were on static display. We already covered the DALI GARDIAN IW-6 Outdoor speakers prior to the show and were slightly disappointed that we didn’t get to really listen to them in an outdoor setting.
The new outdoor speakers were on display along with DALI’s Phantom In-Ceiling speakers and their more traditional indoor RUBIKORE speaker line.
Origin Acoustics Attracts the Crowds
One of the largest and most crowded exhibitors at CEDIA over the past few years has been Origin Acoustics. Origin Acoustics makes audio products under its brand name but also owns and has partnerships with other manufacturers.
As part of the Origin Acoustics exhibit, Ambisonic (which is now owned by Origin Acoustics) displayed its impressive line of outdoor speakers, including its new Hexagonal shaped bollard speakers, and their excellent sounding outdoor soundbar. However, another Ambisonic branded product shown was their first CI indoor speaker line, the Marquee in-wall Home theater speaker system. The system sounded impressive despite being demonstrated on the very open (and very noisy) exhibit floor.
Other highlights from the Origin Acoustics booth were a line of invisible speakers from Amina, Origin Acoustic Pro Speaker line, a new lineup of WiiM Audio streaming products made for the CI environment, and select Bang & Olufsen previously released compact and on-wall speaker products. Our favorite at the booth was the Ambisonic Outdoor Soundbar which earned a place in our CEDIA Expo 2024 Best in Show picks.
Harman Showcases JBL
Another large exhibitor at CEDIA was Harman Luxury Audio (owner of JBL and Arcam). The exhibit had a range of products including the ARCAM Radia ST25 Streamer and SA35 and 45 streaming amps which were unveiled in London last October and shown at the Munich High End show earlier this year.
On the JBL side, they won two Best in Show Awards. The first was for their affordable 5.1.2 home theater setup with Stage 2 speakers and MA series AVR. The second for Conceal Series Invisible speakers.
Invisible speakers are flush-mounted speakers that can be blended into a wall or ceiling so that they are not visible to listeners. This solution is becoming more popular with interior decorators. JBL wasn’t the only brand showing and demoing invisible speakers, but they were our favorites at the show.
However, the most impressive sounding demos at the Harman exhibit were the JBL Synthesis home theater demos.
What was unique about these demos was not just how great they sounded but the fact that two systems were crammed into one room (using different speakers).
The main system (classified as large scale) featured a 9.4.6 channel configuration with the following speakers and components:
- SCL-1 Dual 12-inch 2.5-way Compression Driver Loudspeakers
- SCL-2 Triple 8-inch 2.5-way Compression Driver In-Wall Loudspeakers
- SCL-5 7-inch 2-way In-ceiling Compression Driver Loudspeakers
- SSW-1 Dual 15-inch Passive Subwoofers
- SSW-3 Dual 10-inch In-wall Subwoofers
- SDP-58 16-channel Immersive AV Surround Processor
- SDA-8300, MA4, and SA4 Class D Power Amplifiers
The second smaller-scaled system (also in the same room) featured a 7.4.4 channel configuration with the following speakers and components:
- SCL-6 Quad 5.25-inch 2.5-way Compression Driver In-Wall Loudspeakers
- SCL-7 Dual 5.25-inch 2-way In-wall Compression Driver Loudspeakers
- SCL-8 5.25-inch 2-way In-ceiling Compression Driver Loudspeakers
- SSW-3 Dual 10-inch In-wall Subwoofers
- SDR-38 16-channel Immersive AV Receiver
- SDA-7120 7-channel Class G Power Amplifier
- MA4 4-channel Bridgeable Class D Power Amplifier
Needless to say, both systems sounded great and would satisfy just about anyone who could afford them. JBL is one of the top-selling CI vendors for a reason: solid, reliable performance which can hold up to the demands and expectations of even the pickiest customers.
YAMAHA Does Custom Integration
I had a chance to see Yamaha’s CI and professional product lines consisting of speakers, amps/controllers, and network switches . One capability that was mentioned is that Yamaha’s MusicCast system can be integrated into the CI environment with up to 32-zones of operation depending on the needs of the customer. Yamaha also showed how its Aventage AVRs can be included in the CI environment.
I asked the Yamaha folks if they were planning to refresh their current Aventage A/V Receiver line which was released back in 2021. They said no plans for at least another year, which likely means their firmware updates are holding the line. Most of the products in Yamaha’s booth were not live.
Read More Highlights from CEDIA Expo 2024:
< Go to CEDIA Highlights Part 1 | Go to CEDIA Highlights Part 3 >
