Recent Trade Show Coverage

The 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is here! We have a ton of new product info being sent to us so we will throw the most interesting stuff on our forum for you to see and comment on. Anything from new next generation video like HDMI 2.0/HDCP2.2 UHDTV's and 4K Blu-ray and high end super speakers and AV electronics as well as a new Immersive Surround codec from DTS called DTS:X which is said to be the most speaker placement flexible format to date, will be covered on this page. Also feel free to submit your favorite products and info if you or your friends are in attendance.

The CEDIA 2014 Expo was in Denver again this year and we had a blast covering it. We scouted the showfloor in search of everything Dolby Atmos since that's the buzz word this year. This included new Dolby Atmos AV Receivers, Processors and Speakers. Do those upfiring Atmos Elevation speakers really work and how do they compare to discrete ceiling mounted speakers? Read our coverage and demo reports to find out. What about new competing next generation surround formats like Auro-3D? HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 and how it will affect new gear? We got the scoop on those items as well. Be sure to watch our Facebook page for tons of new product images (audioholics.com/facebook).

Wrapping up Audioholics' coverage of AXPONA 2014, we take a look at a sampling of the loudspeakers present at the show. Exhibits ran the gambit from compact bookshelf speakers to massive floorstanders that would dominate the average living room. Several manufacturers made some interesting aesthetic choices as well, with at least one designer taking pride in the production of technological terrors that are likely to give your children nightmares. Is your interest piqued? Click to keep reading!

Welcome to part two of Audioholics' AXPONA 2014 coverage; inside you'll find a myriad of high end amplifiers, preamplifiers, and DACs for your viewing pleasure. We've got it all: tubes, solid state, hybrid designs, monoblocks, stereo amplifiers, etc. What's more, a few of these beauties are even affordable by regular Joes. However, please note that we suggesting hiding your wallet for this one: images contained herein, including may provoke spontaneous spending sprees.

AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) is an annual high end audio show which has been held in Rosemont, IL (a suburb of Chicago) for the last few years. With all manner of audio gear to drool over, we've had to break up coverage into three sections. In part one, we go over the multitude of source devices present, including turntables, CD/SACD players, digital music file players, and even a reel-to-reel player. If you'd like to ogle a few pictures of source devices that cost more than your average midsized sedan, click to keep reading.

The CEDIA 2013 Expo is back in Denver and we are happy to cover it there. This is the official Audioholics CEDIA 2013 Coverage page. This year we'll be there with a crew of seven to produce some of the most in depth show coverage yet. We will be scouting the show floor for the latest news on HDMI 2.0, the demise of 3D and the newest AV Receivers, flat panel displays, speakers, AV gadgets, and high end electronics. We may even cover a few exotic cables for kicks and giggles. We are also providing video coverage of standout products with Andrew Gash as the camera front man. Be sure to 'Like' us on Facebook for the latest news and bookmark this page for all the editorial and video coverage. If you really want to know what's happening up to the minute you can also follow us on Twitter @AudioholicsLive to track the latest products and technologies as we see them!

For those who don’t follow the audio show circuit, Capital Audiofest is the Washington D.C. area’s annual event. Originally started up in 2010 and moving to a new location at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Silver Spring, MD for 2013, CAF offered more than 40 separate displays for guests to browse through. The products featured ran the gambit from massive fully horn loaded loudspeakers to diminutive mini-monitors, top tier solid state gear to esoteric tube amplifiers & preamplifiers, and “high end” speaker cables and power cords down to basic 16AWG wire from Parts Express. Read on to see what caught our attention in the nation's capital.

We're bringing you the latest updates straight from the show floor of CES 2013. This is the largest electronics trade show of the year and, while several large home theater companies have pulled back to make CEDIA their primary show, CES remains the place to get all of the important gadget, technology and display news for the industry as a whole. With an eye for what's hot, we will update this page throughout the week to bring you the latest and greatest products and revelations from the show floor as they appear.

We walked into the first room which was the EMP room and the first thing we saw was that they were playing Battleship - which if you have or haven't seen it, well, it's like a long series of explosions that lasts about 2 hours. It's the perfect movie to show off what a 5.1 system can do with respect to directionality, soundstage, bass response and overall system coherence. We also enjoyed hearing the clear dialogue which we could credit to the excellent EMP Impression E56Ci Center Channel. Let me back up and tell you a little bit about this system that we demoed. First of all we had the E55Ti Tower speakers, which we are very familiar with and have reviewed. The surrounds were the E55Wi surrounds. Bass was powered by the new ES1010i powered subwoofer, which uses a dual 10-inch poly-matrix cone driver and goes down to 35Hz.

Aperion Audio made an appearance at the 2012 Audioholics Get Together Event in Tarpon Springs, FL with its Aris Wireless Speaker for Windows. The speaker uses four active and two passive internal drivers, including a pair of 1" neodymium soft dome silk tweeters, two powered 4" fiberglass woofers and two 4" passive radiators. The frequency response is 65Hz - 20kHz. We got a chance to listen to this speaker and it was really immersive and loud - in fact, the way it filled up the room we were in was quite impressive given its relatively small size. The Aperion Audio Aris has three different listening modes including Natural, Bass Boost and Enhanced Stereo. The mode we listened to the most is Natural - and the one you want if you want to get the best (most accurate) sound. If you absolutely want more bass you can certainly play with Bass Boost, but we'd leave it in the default.

Angel City Audio showed off their new Trinity LR speakers at the 2012 Audioholics Get Together event. This is a left/right bookshelf model which has a frequency response of 30Hz - 35kHz and a sensitivity of 90dB @ 1w/m. They are about 16" deep but there is also a Trinity Center model that has a slightly reduced frequency response. It plays down to around 55Hz, but it's also reduced in depth (to just 12") so you can better place it on its side as a center channel. Now the great thing about these speakers is that you can combine them in a 2-channel, 3-point, 5-point or whatever type of system you want. The LR can disperse evenly enough to be used as a center, or you can grab the Center model for that. Or you could use a whole system of the Center model if you want something a bit smaller in depth all-around and you plan to use a subwoofer to fill in the missing low end.

We visited the Emotiva room and were fortunate enough to catch Dan Laufman for an interview. Dan at Emotiva had so much to show off this year at the 2012 Audioholics Get Together that we really needed to have him tell us, in his own words, what products were new. Dan complied and, in fact, Emotiva had several different things they were showing off at the show. First off Emotiva was showing off the differences between its Ultra Series amplifiers its X-Series amplifiers and its Reference Series amplifiers. All three five-channel amps were present at the show with their tops removed so attendees could see the guts inside. This showed of the Emotiva build quality which was consistent across all 3 models. Emotiva merely varied the components used within the amplifier to achieve different output power and amplification levels. Incredible build quality and value has been an Emotiva staple since its inception and appears to be going strong moving forward.

HSU Research showed off their speakers and subwoofers at our 2012 GTG event . The big thing was that this room sounded fantastic. First off was the VTF-15H sub in satin black which runs $879. It has two ports in front and the lowest extension is found by plugging one port - which is how it was configured in the listening room we were in. That yields an extension down to 16Hz. We definitely felt that in our demo. For larger room you can open up both ports open which lowers the distortion provided you aren't digging down past a low frequency extension of 22Hz. The system was well integrated and the sub didn't sonically stick out but instead provided deep tactile bass for a great "wow" effect.

We got to listen in the Salk Signature Sound room. Jim Salk brought three sets of speakers to the 2012 Audioholics Get Together Event, but what they were really focusing on were their SoundScape 8 tower speakers. These are the little brother to the Soundscape 10 and 12's and use the same ribbon tweeter and Accuton midrange, but the Soundscape 8 uses two 8" woofers in front in addition to dual side firing 12" passive radiators. Sensitivity is 87db SPL @ 1w/m which means it can be driven by any reasonable amplifier, and it can play down to an impressive 25Hz. This room was a favorite among audiophiles. Based on the sound quality and appearance of Salk speakers, its no mystery as to why.