What’s hot in home Audio, Video & Automation Technology?
Interesting news abound for Home technology this year. Firstly, the Amazon Echo (Alexa) and Google Home hit their stride. Now they are starting to show where the possible next large leap in Home Automation Technology is going. That said, because we are Control4 Platinum and Pinnacle level dealers, we create a lot of high-end automated homes. Now, while voice control is a small segment of what people are asking for presently, it’s growing very fast.
Whole House Audio
Multi-room music control is still the number one option most customers request. Smart home lighting is a close second. Now, quality stand alone Home Theaters are still a very fun part of the mix. Meanwhile, control over home security, cameras and home comfort – including shade control – is also very popular.
Interestingly, high performance home stereo systems have made a very robust and welcome comeback. To be sure, people do love music, and quality music reproduction is a rewarding pursuit for us and our clients. For example, the McIntosh line of tube and solid state amplifiers were all recently updated and revamped. Thankfully, while they made noticeable performance upgrades, there was no change to their gorgeous iconic look. Notably, Primaluna has also updated their tube amp line, and are still punching way over their price class.
Home Theater News
Home Cinema is improving by leaps and bounds. For example, new technologies such as Dolby Vision, HDR and HLG, showing the biggest improvements in picture quality. Dolby ATMOS surround is now standard on almost all A/V processors, and it adds remarkable new heights to the immersive movie audio experience. That said, cinema seating, D-box motion simulation and Kaleidescape movie servers are not new, but still continue to define any ultimate home theater. JVC’s new class leading 8K HDR laser projectors have ushered in whole new performance level for truly native 8K DILA projectors this year, upping the big screen experience another noticeable notch.
Cool New Gear
The introduction of the incredible Bowers and Wilkins 800 & all new 700 series to our premium speaker manufacturers mix is this years notable speaker benchmark product addition, and the most exciting news of the year as far as we are concerned. The last year also revealed more people streamed music that ever before. Using Sonos and Bluesound hardware, often in higher resolution and lossless formats from Tidal, Deezer, Qbuzz, and Spotify.
The Future Looks Bright!
Will this continue to be the growth areas for this revolution in music enjoyment? More vinyl was sold last year than since the 80’s, so who knows? To that end, don’t forget Digital to analog converters too. They deliver much better sound from your chosen streaming box, or any digital source. Specifically, the Arcam DAC2 and Marantz HD-DAC1 won accolades in each of their respective categories.
To sum up, for more related News and Technology, see the individual columns written to tell you more on topics that relate to – Bowers and Wilkins, B&W, Paradigm, Epson Laser Projector, Martin Logan, Neolith, Sonos, Tidal, Primaluna Tube Amplifier, Vicoustic Sound Panels, Kaleidescape, Arcam, Anthem, Elite Home Theater Seating, McIntosh, Control4, PSB, Marantz, Master & Dynamic, Sennheiser, and more.