Tips From The Top

The future of audio is being led by the custom home integration market, and it’s all about style, connection, and that old standby: Bluetooth.

So says writer Robert Archer in his recent CE Pro article chronicling the future of audio highlighted at this year’s CEDIA expo in Denver.

Each year, the annual CEDIA expo unites the home tech industry, bringing together more than 20,000 home technology professionals in five days of training, talks, and unveiling of new products in the smart home tech integration field. This is the best of custom installation smart home products under one roof.

At this year’s event, the future of audio took front row, according to Archer. He reports that this may be in large part due to the custom installation market, with companies like Savant (our primary home automation platform at Jackson Hole A/V). Through their influence in areas such as home control, wellness and networking, home automation is advancing audio technology.  

While some existing audio products may include Bluetooth merely as an option with no real purpose, the CEDIA expo manufacturers highlighted how seamless, convenient, and necessary Bluetooth features are for the customer. This should be a given, as 75% of consumers identified using smartphones as audio source components in a survey by MQA (the company pioneering technology that delivers authenticated master quality music in a streamable file).

Archer reports that most products shown at CEDIA Expo also featured Ethernet, wireless, or other options for network connectivity. These capabilities facilitated everything from music streaming to product control and configuration.

The custom installation market also focuses on the importance of style in their audio products, and this is translating to smart home audio. Manufacturers at the expo recognize and emphasize how crucial top shelf architecture and interior design is for high-end A/V systems.

Among the product lines we install at Jackson Hole A/V, Sonos launched the One SL Loudspeaker and an update to Sonos play. Sonos has also recently introduced “Move,” the first battery-powered Sonos speaker created for the outdoors. This tough, battery-powered smart speaker offers amazing sound indoors, outdoors, and – of course – on the move. A part of the Sonos system on WiFi, and with the added range of Bluetooth, Move sets a new bar for portable speakers, and will be available September 24^th. 

To learn more about the new home audio technology revealed at this year’s CEDIA Expo – and what it could mean for your home – call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.