What’s New

By Jim Garrett
Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning
HARMAN Luxury Audio

It’s hard to believe that it has been three years since we last gathered with our dealer and distributor partners at CEDIA Expo in person, yet that is the reality we face. Perhaps that is the reason we are so excited about being in Dallas, Texas in just a few weeks for the start of the 2022 Expo and a return to an in-person event. Throughout the pandemic, our team has continued to develop and release new products at a fast pace, including several new products that were just announced earlier this year. Now we’ll be able to share them all and provide you with the opportunity to experience their impressive designs and performance first-hand. It’s going to be an exciting show and one you won’t want to miss!

In our return to Dallas and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, the Luxury Audio team can be found just inside the main entrance with our 3,600-s.f. exhibit in booth #16035. We are located at the crossroads of the two main aisles diagonally across from our partners at Samsung, with Crestron and LG occupying the other two corners. We’ve curated a collection of our most exciting home theater and custom installation products from our industry-leading brands including JBL, JBL Synthesis, ARCAM and Revel. We are specifically focused on our award-winning immersive audio products and our formidable portfolio of architectural loudspeaker solutions including the newly expanded JBL collection.

Upon arrival at our booth, you’ll be greeted by several marquee displays of some of the new products on hand including the flagship JBL Synthesis SCL-1 custom LCR and SSW-1 passive subwoofer, our newest ARCAM AVRs with HDMI 2.1 and support for 8K video, and a collection of limited-edition JBL products that will be announced at the start of the show. Moving into the booth, we’ll have an active display showcasing the new JBL streaming audio active loudspeakers – the 4305P Studio Monitor and the L75ms music system. You’ll also be able to peruse a selection of our Revel in-wall and in-ceiling loudspeakers along with weatherized models from the Extreme Climate series.

At the front right side of the stand, we’ll be demonstrating the JBL HDI Series loudspeakers powered by one of our latest ARCAM 8K immersive audio AVRs. In addition to the AVRs, we’ll have many of the brand’s hi-fi products on display including the SA integrated amplifiers and the ST60 streaming audio player. Moving directly around the corner on the right side of the booth, you’ll find our new JBL Stage XD series of indoor/outdoor loudspeakers including the XD-5 and XD-6 models with best-in-the-industry IP67 weatherization and legendary JBL sound quality. These exciting products are just now entering production and will be available to order at the show.

Moving back inside the booth, we’ve created a room dedicated to our expanded collection of JBL in-wall and in-ceiling loudspeakers including the award-winning new Stage 2 series. Stepping up the range, we have the Studio 2 series, the new Studio 6 range with compression drivers and HDI waveguides, and our Conceal series invisible models. You’ll be able to hear a pair of the Studio 6 dual-6.5” in-wall LCRs with its 1-inch compression driver and HDI waveguide and see one of the Conceal C83 samples in the “ready-for-the-road” demonstration kit that is available for dealers and distributors. This space will spark your imagination to the possibilities of what you can offer your clients with JBL architectural solutions.

To the left of the JBL architectural loudspeaker room, we’ll have the expanded assortment of JBL Synthesis loudspeakers and electronics, many of which were released during the pandemic and have yet to be shown and demonstrated at one of our events. In addition to the core SCL and SSW models, get a first-hand look at the four new in-wall and in-ceiling SCL models (SCL-5, SCL-6, SCL-7, and SCL-8) with their patented designs and JBL acoustic technologies including compression drivers and High-Definition Imaging horn designs. This is also where you’ll see the new SDR-38 AVR and SDP-58 AV processor with 16-channels of immersive audio and HDMI 2.1 with full support for 8K video, as well as our SDA series of power amplifiers including the new SDA-1700 dedicated amplifier for the SSW-4 subwoofer module.

“It's great to see all these incredible new JBL Synthesis products, but how do they sound,” you ask? Well, step inside the first of our two demo theaters and you’ll be treated to a demonstration of a 7.1.4-channel system based on the SDR-38 AVR and including the SCL-6, SCL-7, and SCL-8 loudspeakers complemented by the SSW-4/SDA-1700 subwoofer system. This system highlights the fact that our award-winning immersive audio solutions can be had at compelling new price points without sacrificing features or performance.

“More,” you say? Your final stop in the booth should be the second demo theater featuring three rows of seats and a 9.1.6-channel system including the SDP-58 AV processor, SCL-2, SCL-4, and SCL-5 loudspeakers, and a solid foundation courtesy of dual sets of the SSW-3 and SSW-4 subwoofer systems. Listening to this incredible system will validate the scalability of JBL Synthesis systems and technologies. Both systems on demonstration in the booth are good examples of the JBL Synthesis Certified Systems program that we rolled out earlier this year. Meeting the criteria for certification ensures that each system provides the highest level of immersive audio performance available.

We hope you’ll be able to join us in just a few short weeks in Dallas as we know you’ll be excited by the range of products and solutions you’ll see and hear in our booth this year. 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 available now and coming soon.