What’s New

Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning

As Dave Tovissi mentions in his article this month, December is typically a very hectic month for us as we gear up for our annual CES event the first week of January. This year is certainly going to be different as the show has gone virtual, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still hard at work on readying new product announcements for the show. And as we have in years past, we submitted several of our new products for judging in the CES Innovation Awards. This year, we are pleased to announce that our Luxury Audio team has won THREE awards!

Let’s discuss the first two of them together, as both of these awards have been bestowed upon our Mark Levinson brand: one for our №5105 Turntable and one for our №5206 Preamplifier. These exciting new products are two of the four 5000 Series expansion models that were recently featured in our Mark Levinson Reveals live stream event in October. The №5105 Turntable is precision crafted from the finest materials including a chassis machined from a solid aluminum plinth, and a host of high-performance details like the carbon fiber tone arm tube. It is truly a remarkable machine that delivers on the Mark Levinson brand promise in every way. The №5206 Preamplifier is one of the two flagship models for the 5000 Series and sets the bar for expectations of a state-of-the-art preamplifier. At the heart of the №5206 lies its fully-discrete, direct-coupled, dual-monaural line-level preamp circuitry, for which the Mark Levinson design team has been awarded two patents. Outstanding audio performance is paired with a feature set developed with the discerning music lover in mind.

These 2021 Innovation Awards extend our streak of CES wins to three years in a row and six out of the last seven years for Mark Levinson products!

• 2015: №585 Integrated Amplifier
• 2016: №519 Audio Player
• 2017: №534 Dual-monaural Amplifier
• 2019: №5805 Integrated Amplifier
• 2020: №5101 Audio Player
• 2021: №5206 Preamplifier & №5105 Turntable

Our third CES 2021 win is for our forthcoming JBL Synthesis SCL-8 in-ceiling loudspeaker. This is a product that you probably haven’t heard about yet, but we can spill a few beans with you now. It will be formally announced on January 7th along with five additional JBL Synthesis loudspeakers. This incredible new loudspeaker is unlike anything else on the market. As a 5.25-inch 2-way in-ceiling loudspeaker, the SCL-8 is designed to be the perfect solution for high-performance applications including height channels for immersive audio formats.

Patented JBL technologies abound including our 1-inch 2410H-2 compression driver mated to a radical new High-Definition Imaging horn that delivers smooth and consistent coverage for listening as far off axis as 60-degrees. This model also introduces our new patented Cat Claw mounting mechanism that is designed to save time and make installation far easier than a traditional in-ceiling product with a dog leg type mechanism. As the least expensive model in the expanded SCL compression driver architectural range, the SCL-8 will open up a world of possibilities for system designers. We are excited for you to see and hear it!

While these three CES Innovation Awards are certainly worth bragging about, we have several new product announcements coming for the show. We know you are going to love what we have to share. And while we won’t be able to see you in person this year, we hope you will join us for the HARMAN ExPLORE event and follow us on our social media accounts to see all that we have in store for you!