What’s New

By Jim Garrett
Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning

2021 has been a great year for Luxury Audio. We launched a substantial number of new products that once again helped fuel significant YOY sales growth. With 2021 about to be in our rear-view mirror, our team has been hard at work preparing to kick off the New Year with our presence at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year marks a return to an in-person show, and we will once again be exhibiting as part of the HARMAN ExPLORE event at the newly re-branded Virgin Hotel property (formerly the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino). With the show only a few weeks away, I’d like to give you a preview of some of the things we have planned that are sure to keep our momentum going strong into 2022.

Coming off the heels of our 75th Anniversary celebration, you will see some exciting new products from our JBL brand portfolio. We have two dedicated demo rooms packed with the latest high-performance loudspeakers and electronics. First up is the Studio Monitor room where you will find two of the hottest new models – the 4349 and the 4309 – on demo and powered by Arcam electronics. Joining them will be an incredible new product that takes the Studio Monitor series to the next level. This global product announcement is sure to have you excited about the possibilities of what it can do for your customers. In addition, the Studio Monitor room will feature another new JBL product that will open up some incremental sales opportunities for you next year.

The second JBL demo room is dedicated to the newly expanded Classic Series models including our best-selling L100 Classic and L82 Classic loudspeakers, plus the newly released L52 Classic bookshelf loudspeaker and L75ms music system. The SA750 integrated amplifier is going to join the lineup full time for 2022 in its new dress with walnut wood veneer side panels that perfectly match the wood veneer finish of the Classic loudspeakers. You’ll also find a display of our limited edition 75th Anniversary L100 Classic 75 loudspeakers and SA750 integrated amplifier with their striking teak wood veneer finishes. The Classic Series line-up is a hot commodity and poised to get even bigger next year!

Always a hit at CES, our JBL Synthesis demo theater (photo at top of page) will return featuring a 9.4.6-channel system featuring our revolutionary SCL in-wall and in-ceiling loudspeakers and in-wall SSW subwoofers. Our SDP-55 processor and SDA amplifiers complete the system package and provide the highest level of immersive audio performance available. This system represents one of our JBL Synthesis Certified System packages that will be rolling out in 2022 along with our flagship JBL Synthesis Certified Elite systems that are based on our SDP-75 processor.

The big news at CES will be coming from Mark Levinson. 2022 marks the 50th Anniversary of this iconic brand and we’ll be kicking off the celebration with the Mark Levinson lounge and two huge global product announcements. The lounge itself takes up more than one third of our space and will be the perfect place to relax, listen to some great music and have a conversation with us about the new products coming your way. The lounge also includes a Lexus LS sedan with a Mark Levinson Reference audio system allowing you to hear how we set the bar for OEM audio performance on the road. In addition to the lounge, you will be able to listen to a complete reference home audio system in our exclusive demo room featuring a $150K hi-fi system. Our new products will be on demonstration in this room in addition to being seen and heard in the lounge area. We are extremely proud of the 50th Anniversary milestone and the new products we’ll be showing off very soon at the show.

The final Luxury Audio space we have at CES is a bit of a secret and I can’t really share any details at this time. Let’s just say it contains visions of the future. It will be a great place to discuss how we can bring even more to the table in partnership with our dealers and distributors as we look to continue our growth trajectory into the New Year.

I hope you will be able to join us in Las Vegas at CES in just two weeks. For those of you who won’t be able to be there in person, please connect with your Luxury Audio sales representative to get all the details on the new products coming soon. We have plenty more in store for you in 2022 and we can’t wait for you to see and hear it all.