It’s hard to believe another year has passed, but CEDIA Expo/CIX is once again upon us! With just 24 hours of time to see everything on the show floor over three days, these are the top 10 things I’m most excited to see!
- Big Demo Rooms: Expo is the place to go for some of the biggest home theater demos anywhere in the world. And for the past several Expos, the theme of the big demos has been “partnership.” If you gather the best-of-the-best manufacturers and have them put some of their best gear together into a single room, you end up with something magical. This year, the biggest demos look like they’ll be happening in Sound Rooms 6, 7, and 11. SR6 will feature a 15.7.8-channel PMC-based loudspeaker system with a massive 60-inch Deus Infrasonic sub driven by a StormAudio Elite 32 processor and amps, with a Barco Heimdall+ CinemaScope projector firing onto a 179-inch 2.37:1 Seymour screen. Lumagen is the lead sponsor in SR11 and will be showcasing a 9.4.6 system with a more “real world” total system MSRP of $174,000, showing what is possible in budgets available to those beyond the 0.1%. At the other end of the spectrum, SR7 will feature a 14.18.10 theater valued at over $1 million. And for those that like their bass shaken-and-stirred, this theater will feature two 64-inch ASCENDO infrasonic subs. Off the floor down in HPA 203, you should plan on visiting Steinway Lyngdorf where you can audition the Lyngdorf LS-1000 cinema system that is a line source design to deliver more consistent performance across large seating areas tuned by the company’s proprietary RoomPerfect correction system.
- Home Theater Projectors: Few devices speak to “custom home theater” like front projectors, and Expo remains one of the last great bastions for getting a home theater projector demo. Last year we got new front projectors from Sony, JVC, Epson, and Barco, along with a host of manufacturers showing ultra-short-throw options. With larger LED displays and video walls becoming more prevalent, will we see any updates to this category? One for sure new model is the Christie Eclipse G3, which will be having its moment. This monster produces 30,000 ANSI lumens, hits 98% of Rec. 2020, provides up to 20 million:1 contrast, and you can check it out in SR7!
- L-Acoustics HYRISS: L-Acoustics press release describes it as “a groundbreaking audio solution redefining how we experience spaces through sound. HYRISS (Hyperreal Immersive Sound Space) represents a paradigm shift in design, elevating the role of audio to match the importance of visual aesthetics in creating genuinely immersive, emotionally resonant environments. In an era where visual design often takes center stage, HYRISS elevates the ambiance of our most cherished living and gathering spaces by making sound an integral part of the environment. HYRISS adapts to any situation, letting your clients craft their ideal sound environment with ease. With HYRISS, they can control the ambience to enhance concentration, enter a serene natural sound space for deep relaxation, optimize the room for live performances and acoustic instruments, or discover their favorite music as if in a studio.” I’ll admit, that’s a lot of marketing speak that all kind of feels like, “Unfortunately, no one can be told what HYRISS is. You have to see it for yourself,” and, by God, that’s exactly what I plan to do! Check it out at L-Acoustics booth #4025.
- Flagship Soundbars: Not every install is going to be a candidate for a six-figure surround system, but that also doesn’t mean that a cheap soundbar is the solution. For years, I’ve been expecting to see high-end, premium bars make an appearance and that has started happening. Back at Expo 2022, Bang & Olufsen unveiled its Beosound Theatre soundbar, which had all the style, performance, and presentation panache B&O is known for. At Expo 2024, Steinway Lyngdorf debuted its Model S, which at 73 inches wide and 106 pounds, is certainly a visual and sonic statement piece. Last year, DynAudio also revealed its Symphony Opus One, another performance marvel that includes 22 drivers and some very advanced DSP. What can we expect this year? For sure we can expect to see and hear the Klipsch Flexus Core 300, which includes Dirac room correction, the Yamaha True X Surround 90A, which is the first bar to support AURO-3D processing, and KEF’s XIO, which incorporates the companies acclaimed Uni-Q driver technology.
- MicroLED Video Walls: This technology continues to develop and impress, however it has yet to reach a price that makes it attainable for 99.9% of the population. However, a lot of money and resources are being poured into this, and MicroLED-driven video walls appear to be here for the long haul. At last year’s Expo, models were on display from AWALL, Just Video Walls, Barco, Planar, Sony, Samsung, LG, Quantum Media Systems, C-SEED, Stealth Acoustics, and Digital Projection. Will TCL bring its 163-inch X11H Max to Expo? Will Quantum’s fourth-generation XDR4-8K wall once again be my favorite display at the show or will Barco’s prototype DCI 6×6 171-inch DV-LED wall be the new darling?
- What’s up with the old Sound United brands? Back in 2022, I highlighted Sound United as having the best presence at Expo when I wrote, “Not only did the company have a large booth displaying all of its product family…they also had not one, or two, but six suites in the adjacent Omni.” Fast forward three years later, and we’ve seen Sound United sold to Masimo, a medical supply company, and then sold again to Samsung Electronics’ subsidiary Harman International just this past May for $350 million. What is this going to mean for this iconic stable of brands that includes Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Classé, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, and Boston Acoustics? Hopefully we’ll find out at Expo! What I do know is that booth #3509 is labeled “Masimo Consumer,” and that the company will have a presence at the Le Meridien hotel downtown.
- Dante/AES67: Not long ago, I hadn’t even heard of Dante/AES67, the audio-over-IP standard. Now it seems to be popping up everywhere! A couple of years ago, StormAudio displayed the first theater running on AES67, then last year SoundTube debuted a whole-house audio distribution solution that used Dante from end-to-end. (You can read my review online at www.residentialsystems.com.) During my SoundTube review, my eyes were opened to the possibilities that Dante offered — no heat from amp farms, simplified wiring, control out to the speakers, no signal loss over distance — so it seems inevitable that Dante will continue gaining traction in our industry.
- That “new thing”: Want to find out what is dropping in our industry and what will drive us forward in the coming year(s)? Want to learn what the best and brightest installers from around the world are doing? What will be new in automation, lighting/shading, and surveillance? Will we see AI driving our next-generation installs? What’s happening with 8K adoption? What will drive the next growth opportunity for the CI channel? Come and find out! One new product I’m especially keen to learn more about is the Trinnov AltitudeCI that will be launching at Expo. Described as “a competitively priced high-performance audio processor with unmatched network capabilities,” I’m excited to hear more! (Trinnov is offering free training in HPA 208 meeting room.)
- Pickleball on the show floor! For the second year, we held a pre-CEDIA Pickleball meet-up that had nearly 60 players signed up to play on Tuesday September 2, and was generously supported by 19 sponsors, including CEDIA. But, if you didn’t make it to that event, you can still pickle at CEDIA. While scrolling the show map, I was gobsmacked to see a green block at #1551 labeled “Pickleball Court.” Daryl Friedman, CEDIA’s global president and CEO, relayed, “We’ve added a pickleball court on the show floor as an attendee activity in the back of the hall — for whomever wants to play. [It’s] something to provide a little fun for attendees.” Will there be balls and paddles? No idea. But if you don’t see me in a meeting or a demo, there’s a good chance I’ll be there!
- Hunter Douglas Factory Tour: Admittedly, this one isn’t on the show floor. In fact, it’s about 15 miles away in Broomfield and happened yesterday. But I had the opportunity to experience an exclusive press tour of the Hunter Douglas factory. I love factory tours (hint-hint!), and I received a behind the scenes look at how Hunter fabricates its unique shade styles. Two years ago, HD impressed me with its Aura Illuminated shading system, and this year they will be launching several new products that are on the floor in booth #3737. There they will be showing new specialty shading shapes to handle arches and angles that will be compatible with the company’s PowerView Automation line, as well as the new Pirouette A Duex dual-shade solution.
