Each year, Electronic House’s sister publication CEPro holds in conjunction with the Consumer Technology Associaton (CTA) its Mark of Excellence Awards program. Presented in an evening ceremony at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas during CES 2017, the Mark of Excellence Awards recognize some of the best residential and commercial custom installation projects performed by professional integrators, as well as top consumer technology products and services that are primarily sold to and installed for consumers by custom integrators.
The 157 entries, in categories including audio, video, home control, home security, home lighting, and more, were judged by an independent panel of industry experts. Here are the winners in the home audio category:
Multi-Room Audio/Video Product of the Year
RIVA ARENA and RIVA FESTIVAL from RIVA Audio
$249 and $499 each
The RIVA ARENA and FESTIVAL are compact wireless speaker in RIVA’s multi-room WAND series of products. It is designed with an open architecture, offering you a wide range of configuration options. For example, music can be streamed to one speaker or up to 32 networked speakers. A host of connectivity technologies are supported, as well, including Wi-Fi, DDMS, Spotify Connect, AirPlay, DLNA, and Bluetooth. As another perk, Google Chromecast is built in.
The speaker employs special technology for three discrete audio channels to create stereophonic sound; unlike most wireless speakers, which are usually mono or quasi-stereo.
One or more ARENAs and FESTIVALs can be operated from the WAND app on a smartphone or tablet. You can configure your speaker network and send music streams to an individual speakers or groups of speakers.
Audio Source Component of the Year
StealthStream 1 from TiO
$399.99
The StealthStream 1 (AZSS1) is a digital audio player that provides users with easy access to a number of music services, including TuneIn, Sirius XM, Tidal, Rhapsody, Deezer, and Spotify. Additionally, a TV, satellite receiver, DVD player, or other component can be connected to the StealthStream 1 so you can hear audio in one room or the entire house. The palm-size StealthStream 1 is portable or it can be installed into a standard one-gang wallbox. Although it’s small it still manages to integrate a 100-watt amplifier.
Up to three SS1s can be networked wirelessly or with wire, and operated via a smartphone/tablet app.
Subwoofer of the Year
SuperSub X from GoldenEar Technology
$1,249.99
The SuperSub X subwoofer incorporates a newly patented 360-degree dual-plane, inertially balanced driver and sub-bass radiator topology and a 1,400-watt amplifier. Its enclosure is braced in order to eliminate the possibility of resonances and vibrations, or flexing of the cabinet panels due to internal pressure. This force cancelling and inertial balancing preserves and focuses the energy produced by the transducers to effectively move air in the room.
Soundbar of the Year
Sony Electronics HT-NT5S Sound Bar
$799.99
The HT-NT5 Sound Bar boasts high-resolution audio playback, and supports both 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR) content from major movie studios via HDMI HDCP 2.2. This means 4K content can be displays on a 4K TV/projector without any compromise of picture quality. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master audio formats are also supported. Thanksto Google Cast built inn, you stream songs from music apps including Google Play Music, Spotify Connect, and Pandora directly from your mobile device to the soundbar. Wireless speakers and subwoofers can be added to create a surround-sound experience. With three HDMI inputs, one HDMI ARC output, a USB input and digital optical and analog connectors, the sound bar can accommodate a variety of different A/V equipment.
Floorstanding Speaker of the Year
Definitive Technology BP9080X
$1,749 each
Standing 4.5-feet tall, the BP9080X is a two-channel bipolar speaker that supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Its drivers fire into the room from five sides, producing sound that is bigger, more spacious and provides a more verbose sonic fingerprint than other speakers.
Behind the speaker’s acoustically transparent 360-degree grille, is a tonally inert, resonance-free one-piece cabinet construction featuring front and rear-facing drivers and tweeters, a side firing 12-inch powered subwoofer, and dual bass radiators all working in harmony to produce powerful sound.
Architectural Loudspeaker of the Year
SpeakerCraft AIM Series 2 ATX100
$349
The AIM Series 2 ATX100 is the industry’s first in-wall height speaker designed specifically for Dolby Atmos and other object-based sound formats. The speaker reflects sound off of the ceiling to place and move audio anywhere in the room, adding greater dimension and realism to the movie action. It fits in between 2×4 wall joists.
To maximize sound reproduction and minimize sound transmission to adjacent rooms, the ATX100 features a fully integrated back box. The back box also decouples the speakers from surrounding surfaces so that you hear more of the actual speaker and less of the sound that normally radiates from the mounting surface.
Audio Amplifier of the Year
AudioControl The Director Model M4800
$2,700
The Director Model M4800 amplifier is designed to amplify audio for a whole-house music system. Audio from as many as 8 components can be amplified for delivery to as many as 64 listening zones, at an output of 100 watts/8-ohms, 200 watts/4-ohms.
Because the audio signature of each listening zone differs, due to layout, furnishings and materials, The Director Model M4800 was designed with advanced DSP settings to deliver properly balanced sound from your favorite speakers to each zone. Whether you enjoy programming from streaming services like Spotify or the finest high-resolution digital recordings, The Director Model 4800 will present the music gracefully. As a bonus, it has been engineered to work seamlessly in a standalone whole-house audio system or as part of a larger home automation system.
The post 7 Award-Winning Home Audio Products appeared first on Electronic House.
from
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