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CEDIA Expo 2024 Recap
By Jim Garrett
Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning
CEDIA Expo 2024 was held in Denver, Colorado from September 5-7 and our HARMAN Luxury Audio team was there in force with a presence that reinforced our positioning as the Home Cinema Experts. As we’ve stated before, no other audio brand has the history and connection to the entertainment industry and the creation of music and movie content the way our JBL and JBL Synthesis brands do. Our booth was a destination for integrators looking for high-performance multi-channel sound.
We showcased the scalability of our solutions by demonstrating multiple home cinema systems from entry-level to advanced and many points in between. For younger customers looking to step up from a soundbar into true high-performance component audio, our JBL Modern Audio systems including MA Series AV receivers and Stage 2 Series loudspeakers offer an unparalleled combination of design, performance, and simplicity that makes them unbeatable. Our “Soundbar Alternative” demonstration room included a complete Dolby Atmos 5.1.2-channel system including the MA710 AV receiver and a Stage 2 floorstanding loudspeaker system with a retail price of under $3,500. Attendees couldn’t believe the sound quality and the value of the system with many stating these products were “just what the industry needed” and our friends at eCoustics bestowing the room with a “Best Budget Home Theater System” award in their “Best of Show” recap.
Our second Modern Audio system highlighted the “Performance Player” customer archetype and included a 7.2.2-channel system based on the MA9100HP AV receiver and a combination of in-room and in-wall/in-ceiling architectural loudspeakers from the Stage 2 range. With a retail value of around $5,850, this system proved you could have a premium audio solution integrated into your room without a break-the-bank price. Our Stage 2 and MA Series models picked up two additional awards at the show including a TWICE VIP award and a Technology Designer Best Product award.
On the other end of the spectrum, attendees waited up to two hours in the queue to experience our incredible 9.4.6-channel JBL Synthesis cinema and our SCL-1 and SSW-1 flagship loudspeakers and subwoofers. While by no means the most expensive or highest channel count demo theater on the show floor, many attendees said it was the best sounding system with stellar bass response throughout the room (thanks in part to our proprietary Soundfield Management optimization) and powerful dynamics from our patented JBL compression driver technology. This phenomenal room looked fantastic as well. With the largest video screen on the show floor (204-inches wide) and beautiful video from our friends at Screen Innovations, Digital Projection, and Lumagen, this room delivered on all accounts!
Elsewhere in our 3,600sf booth, show-goers we able to lay hands, ears, and eyes on our portfolio of audio solutions for the custom integrator including architectural loudspeakers from Revel and JBL. We partnered with Samsung to demonstrate an invisible AV system by combining a 75-inch The Frame television with our JBL Conceal Series invisible loudspeakers. We picked up another “Best of Show” award from eCoustics with “Best Invisible Speakers” for that one. In addition to our JBL products, integrators saw and heard a 3.1-channel system using our flagship Revel Beryllium in-wall loudspeakers powered by ARCAM AV electronics as well as the new Radia Series SA35 streaming integrated amplifier with Revel F226Be floorstanding loudspeakers.
We look forward to this show every year as it gives integrators, dealers, and distributors the opportunity to experience our products first-hand and to see the breadth of solutions available from our industry-leading brand portfolio. Traffic was consistently high in our booth and we met with partners and potential new customers from all around the world including the Americas, EMEA, and Asia. Now with the show in our rear-view mirror, our sales team is connecting with the hundreds of attendees who scanned their badges as they are looking to buy and we as a team are already planning for the next shows and events taking place later this year.
