What's New
Trends & Observations
CEDIA Expo 2023
By Dave Tovissi
Vice President and General Manager
HARMAN Luxury Audio
We had a tremendous show at CEDIA this year. And I was able to get out of our booth for a walk around the show floor and check out the various booth displays. Here are a few observations I made, and my thoughts on each one.
Observation #1 - Large Format displays were shown in many booths, but they lacked suitable premium audio solutions to compliment them.
Samsung MICRO LED on display at CEDIA EXPO 23
Whether it was in the Samsung (our parent company) booth or any other video display company exhibiting this year, large format displays for commercial and residential projects were lighting up the venue. However, very few of the displays were accompanied with the appropriately sized and priced audio solutions. That void should be filled by our collective companies.
LG Display at CEDIA EXPO 23
With over 75 years of acoustical innovations in the professional and consumer markets, HARMAN is positioned to fill the sonic void. But what form factor should these audio solutions take on and how many drivers and amplifiers should these solutions be comprised of.
We are actively developing innovative audio solutions to be sold along with large format video displays and welcome your input on the design and form factors. Your input could help us both deliver exceptional audio video solutions in the very near future.
Observation #2 - Some manufacturers were looking more like distributors of complimentary products than innovative manufacturers of products of their own.
While walking the EXPO floor and visiting other exhibitors’ booths, it was obvious that some companies are looking for creative ways to grow their revenue without investing in R&D to launch new products. Is this what dealers and integrators are searching for? This trend started years ago but every year I see more manufacturers displaying products other than their own at CEDIA and selling them through their dealer portals.
ORIGIN booth at CEDIA EXPO 2022
At HARMAN Luxury Audio, we are committed to delivering innovative products and solutions for dealers who want to offer their clients premium audio solutions for their projects. I would love to hear from our readers as to what are the driving factors as to where you decide to buy your products from. Is it the convenience of the portal, the ability to maximize a manufacturer’s volume discount or another reason why you buy some of your products direct and others through another manufacturer’s portal.
Observation #3 - Some manufacturers were not exhibiting at CEDIA but supplied products to display at other booths.
KEF Loudspeakers at Epson booth at CEDIA EXPO 23
I couldn’t help but notice that some audio manufacturers have dramatically reduced their footprint at CEDIA or have completely stopped exhibiting at EXPO. For instance, I saw some KEF products on display at the Sony and Epson booths, but KEF did not have an exhibit of their own at EXPO.
Observations #4 - Where did all the Wellness Solution manufacturers go?
I remember seeing an entire section of the EXPO Hall dedicated to Wellness products in 2019. That was about six months before COVID started shutting down the economy. It was my first CEDIA with HARMAN.
Wellness Pavilion at CEDIA EXPO 2019
This year, I was hard pressed to find any exhibitors simply focused on wellness for the luxury home. You would have thought that Wellness would be a hot trend post COVID, but it appears that CEDIA may not be the channel to be introducing these types of solutions.
I would love to hear from our readers as to what new trends are impacting your businesses and how we can help you maximize any new opportunities in our industry. Drop me a note at David.Tovissi@Harman.com.