Best in Show: The Best Audio and Video Tech at CEDIA Expo 2026

What is CEDIA Expo?

CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) is a trade association for the custom installation (CI) industry and the manufacturers of all the various gear that goes into a smart home or home theater. Each year CEDIA holds a show to provide installers and firm owners the opportunity to learn skills, experience the latest trends and see the very latest gear like LED Walls, speakers, TVs, projectors and more. This year’s CEDIA Expo was held last week in Denver and it showcased some of the best products in custom A/V.

The custom installation market emerged from the pandemic looking very different from the business that entered it. COVID forced millions of people to reconsider how they used their homes, accelerating investment in audio and video gear, dedicated theaters, distributed audio, outdoor entertainment, lighting, networking, and automation. That momentum did not simply disappear when everyone went back outside. If anything, it raised expectations for what a properly integrated home should sound and look like.

The technology caught up rather quickly. Display performance has improved dramatically, with larger and brighter televisions, more sophisticated projection systems, direct-view LED, and increasingly convincing solutions for rooms that were once hostile to serious video. In-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor loudspeakers have made an equally important leap. The days when architectural audio meant accepting compromised sound in exchange for keeping the interior designer happy are disappearing.

High-end multi-room audio is now a very real part of the conversation. Better amplification, DSP, room correction, networked audio, and loudspeaker engineering have moved the goalposts to the point where a professionally installed system can deliver genuinely high-end performance throughout a home without turning every room into an equipment showroom. That is a rather significant change for an industry that spent decades selling invisibility as its primary virtue.
CEDIA Expo 2026 made that evolution impossible to ignore.

Our Best in Show selections come from a wide range of manufacturers, but they share something important: each is pushing the category beyond incremental upgrades and demonstrating how much more ambitious the CI market has become. Better sound, better video, smarter integration, and fewer compromises are no longer aspirational talking points. They are becoming the expectation.
Senior News Correspondent Robert Silva and eCoustics Founder Brian Mitchell joined me this year in roving the halls at CEDIA Expo to identify the best of the best in A/V technology. Here are our picks for “Best in Show.”

eCoustics Picks for Best in Show at CEDIA Expo 2026

Best Home Theater Room: Alcons Audio’s 13.8.6 Channel System

We sat through 11 home theater demos (some more than once), with systems priced from roughly $20,000 to $700,000 once you account for all of the audio/video equipment, room treatments, and seating. However, such pricing can be deceiving when you consider that more than half of the total cost could be devoted to video alone. Display options ranged from $5,000 UST projectors and $30,000 to $100,000 long-throw projectors to nearly $400,000 MicroLED walls. Depending on your own specific room size and needs, you could probably get excellent results going with many of these same brands on a smaller scale.

Each vendor had carte blanche to use whatever equipment and partners they wanted. Some brought prototypes, others packed the room with anywhere from 11 to 27 speakers, while a few wanted to demonstrate what could be achieved on a more modest budget.

Ultimately, the Alcons Audio CRMS Series 13.8.6 system, supplied by DreamScapes A/V, impressed us most for its total theater experience. It delivered an incredibly detailed and spacious audio presentation, with superb top-end articulation courtesy of Alcons’ pro-ribbon drivers, which were unique among the theaters we experienced.

With its commercial-grade pedigree, it should come as no surprise that the Alcons system delivered a top notch home theater experience with ease and refinement and never seemed remotely close to hitting its limits with 38,000 watts of power on tap. Dialogue remained intelligible and locked in during fast-paced action scenes, keeping us on the edge of our seats, while eight 15-inch infrasonic subwoofers gave the system the ability to dig exceptionally deep when the soundtrack demanded it.

A Trinnov AltitudeCI preamp/processor handled Dolby Atmos processing along with WaveForming for improved seat-to-seat consistency. Amplification was also entirely Alcons, including three Director 6 amplifiers and two Sentinel 10 amplifiers, essentially creating an active system designed to maximize the performance of each speaker along with room tuning by Poes Acoustics.

The $215,000 Alcons system was paired with Christie’s $115,000 Griffyn 4K35 ultra-high-contrast projector with their Variable Dynamic Range (VDR) system, delivering visuals capable of matching the scale and impact of the audio system. It’s important to note that Christie’s VDR system is currently in beta testing and is expected to come to the company’s pro cinema projectors before finding its way to the company’s home theater projectors.

The rest of the video chain included Lumagen’s $9,000 Radiance Pro 5348 video processor and DreamScreen’s $1,500 160-inch UltraWeave CoreX1 acoustically transparent fixed-frame screen with a 0.85 gain. Kaleidescape’s new Strato K media player provided the clips in the company’s new “4K Cinematic” format, which exceeds the quality of even the finest physical media.

Learn more at Alcons Audio.

Best Lifestyle Speakers: JBL Cove X1

JBL’s new Cove wireless speakers for 2026 are available in three sizes, priced from $229 to $449 each. When we heard the largest model, the Cove X1, set up as a stereo pair, it became immediately clear that the Cove lineup has some serious JBL chops. This is not simply a product of some marketing guy (or gal) saying “we need a wireless lifestyle speaker.” This product line has some serious thought behind it and it shows in its operation and sound quality.

These wide-dispersion speakers had no problem filling a massive convention ballroom with a rich, dynamic presentation that sounded much closer to traditional hi-fi speakers than the typical bass-booming Bluetooth competition. Concealed beneath the unassuming exterior are four 1.25-inch (30 mm) tweeters, one of which is up-firing for height effects, and two 90 x 120 mm woofers.

Multi-room setup and pairing is handled through the JBL One app, with connectivity over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The Cove X1 supports Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect and QOBUZ Connect over WiFi. along with native support for Dolby Atmos Music from TIDAL or Apple Music. Amazon Music is also supported, but only in stereo. We hope they’ll add Dolby Atmos support to Amazon music as well, at some point in the future.

Learn more about JBL Cove.

Best Video Wall: Quantum XDR5-8K MicroLED

Simply put, no video display impressed us more, and if cost is not a consideration, the Quantum MicroLED XDR5-8K is what we would recommend without hesitation. Not only can Quantum deliver a pixel-perfect native 8K video wall, but the company has also addressed two of the three biggest challenges facing MicroLED technology: visible seams between panels and heat. Each video wall is comprised of multiple component MicroLED panel modules which Quantum carefully assembles on site at each customer location. Installation can take up to one week as cables are run, the modules are assembled and each panel is painstakingly calibrated to look precisely like the rest, leading to excellent image uniformity and consistency with no visible seams.

The third problem, however, is cost, which currently puts it well out of reach for most people; unless you’re Ben Affleck, who actually owns two: one for his home and another for the office in his production company. Ben, we’ll expect your invitation to movie night. We’ll bring the popcorn.

Quantum’s smallest configuration starts at $175,000, while the 20-foot-wide 8K wall we saw at CEDIA costs around $375,000. Its ability to handle DCP (Digital Cinema Package) format allows directors and other film production professionals to view their “dailies” or works in progress at home in the same format used in the actual movie production houses and digital theaters. Clearly in this case, you get what you pay for.

Learn more about Quantum MicroLED XDR5-8K.

Best AVR: Arcam AVA35

Arcam’s new top-of-the-line A/V receiver for 2026 isn’t actually a receiver because it does not include an FM tuner. So they refer to it as an “AVA” (Audio/Video Amplifier). Whatever you call it, the AVA35 ($6,999) functions much like a traditional home theater receiver – only bigger. It offers 16 channels of audio processing with nine built-in amplifiers for Dolby Atmos, AURO-3D and DTS:X systems up to 7.4.2 or 5.4.4 channels. It can be expanded up to 9.4.6 channels, by adding external amplification.

All amplifier outputs are assignable and bi-amp capable, giving installers greater flexibility to maximize system performance. The AVA35’s key differentiator, however, is its Class G amplification. Without getting too technical, Arcam’s proprietary Class G design combines the sonic advantages of Class A operation with the additional power reserves of Class A/B when required. It’s heavy and it can run a bit warm, so make sure it has room to breathe.

DIRAC Live full-frequency room correction is also included, while Dirac ART is available as an optional upgrade with the purchase of an additional license.

Learn more about the Arcam AVA35.

Best Compact Soundbar: Sonos Beam Ultra

At $699, the Sonos Beam Ultra is a brand-new soundbar for 2026 that joins the company’s multi-room ecosystem. Ideal for smaller rooms and TVs measuring 65 inches or less, this all-in-one soundbar improves upon its predecessor, the Sonos Beam Gen 2, with the addition of two up-firing speakers inside a chassis that is four inches longer.

In addition to delivering a more spacious presentation on its own, the Beam Ultra is compatible with other Sonos speakers that can be added as surrounds, including the Move 2 and Play models. Because the Move 2 and Play speakers are battery-powered and portable, you can simply carry them in from the backyard barbecue and use them as rear channel surrounds if you like. The Beam Ultra also supports the addition of a Sonos subwoofer (which we highly recommend as it doesn’t have much bass on its own). For those primarily concerned with dialogue intelligibility, the new AI-Assisted Speech Enhancement feature helps ensure that voices remain prominent when a scene gets chaotic.

Expect a full review in the coming weeks.

Learn more about Sonos Beam Ultra.

Best All-Around Speakers: Theory Audio Design

Paul Hales, founder of Theory Audio Design, Theory Professional, and Pro Audio Technology, delivers one of the most mind-bending presentations at CEDIA Expo year after year. This year, he showcased Theory’s new 9-inch full-range architectural speaker in a pendant housing, alongside the company’s existing lineup of 5-inch and 6.5-inch architectural speakers and subwoofers.

With the new pendants hanging overhead, one could easily imagine they were listening to Dolby Atmos, only to discover that it was plain old stereo. Like Theory’s smaller architectural speakers, the new pendants have an uncanny ability to deliver an expansive, natural presentation even when positioned overhead. Vocals sound natural, acoustic instruments exhibit exceptional attack and decay, and the overall presentation is remarkably lifelike.

That coherence extends throughout the lineup, with essentially the same driver technologies repackaged in different enclosures for in-wall, in-ceiling, surface-mount, pendant, and weatherproof outdoor applications.

There is one important consideration with Theory: its loudspeakers are designed to work with the company’s external amplification and DSP modules, which they call “Digital Loudspeaker Controllers.” Individual speakers start well below $1,000, but the required DLC components range from roughly $2,700 to almost $12,000, depending on output power and channel configurations. Due to extreme efficiency, you can drive more than one speaker from each amplifier channel, so large multi-room or outdoor systems can benefit from economies of scale. Subwoofer options range from approximately $1,000 to $16,000 for larger sound-reinforcement projects or home theater installations.

Regardless of the scope of the installation, Theory offers solutions for an unusually wide range of applications, including soundbars, two-channel Hi-Fi, multi-channel home theater, whole-home audio, residential and commercial installations, and even live performance. We have heard Theory systems in enough configurations and environments to know that the performance is not unique to individual models. All of it comes highly recommended. Your CI professional will recommend the best fit for your specific needs.

Learn more about Theory’s 9-inch Pendant Speakers.

This year, the TV tech with all the hype is RGB backlighting. Technically, these are still LCD TVs, but by switching from single color backlights to three-element backlight units (one LED lighting element for each primary color – red, green and blue), these TVs can offer better color reproduction as well as brighter, more dynamic images.

Some of the early RGB backlit TVs had significant issues like color crosstalk, where there can be some color bleed when different colors appear adjacent to each other on screen. But Sony’s version, which they call “True RGB” is almost entirely free from these types of artifacts. It also looks remarkably good from off-axis (sides, below or above). The flagship BRAVIA 9 II TV was on display at CEDIA Expo in its largest 115-inch size and it looked stunning even in the brightly lit convention center. At $30,999, the price is no joke, but because it’s a single monolithic LCD panel, it’s much easier to install than a MicroLED wall or a projection system, saving potentially thousands of dollars in installation and set-up costs.

Learn more about BRAVIA 9 II.

Best Premium TV: TCL X11L (75/85/98”)

While RGB TV is taking the spotlight this year, TCL has developed their own alternative technology, which can also achieve wide color gamut coverage, similar to RGB backlit TVs. Instead of using RGB backlights, the X11L TC uses more traditional blue LED backlights, but uses newly developed ultra small quantum dots to reproduce colors. In addition to extending the color gamut, these SQD (super quantum dot) TVs provide the brightest peak luminance we have ever seen or measured on a consumer display – as high as 10,000 nits peak brightness on the 85-inch model.

At CEDIA Expo, TCL showed off their 85-inch X11L against a Samsung Micro RGB TV as well as an LG OLED. In the demo, the X11L clearly offered a brighter image than both contenders and exhibited no trace of color crosstalk or haloing, thanks to thousands of local dimming zones. If you need a big TV for a bright room, the X11L makes a great choice.

Read our full review of TCL X11L.

Best Lifestyle TV: LG W6 Wallpaper OLED TV (77-inch, 83-inch)

While there’s no denying LCD TVs which use advanced backlighting systems like Micro RGB and Mini LED can get brighter than an OLED TV, they can’t get blacker than an OLED TV. While the best LCD TVs may have a few thousand zones of backlighting, 4K OLED TVs have over eight million lighting zones, thanks to their self-emissive pixels. And this makes their black levels and contrast impossible to match on other, non-emissive TVs.

LG offered the US debut of its 83-inch Wallpaper OLED TV at CEDIA Expo, and it looked stunning from all angles (even the back, thanks to its clean finished back design). While most of its competitors have gotten thicker this year, LG’s W6 Wallpaper TV took things the opposite direction with the TV’s depth coming in at under 10 mm (0.35 to 0.39 inches). They’ve done this by moving all of the inputs and outputs to an external wireless “Zero Connect” box, which can be placed up to 10 meters (33 feet) away from the TV itself.

While LG officially recommends a line of sight connection between the box and the TV, an LG rep told me they had theirs in a closet at the opposite side of the room with no ill effects. If your closet or cabinet has fabric or mesh doors, or standard sheetrock walls, you can likely keep your connections completely out of sight.

Even with that wireless connection, the TV supports a native 4K signal at up to 165 Hz with full lossless audio support, making it an excellent match for next generation gaming consoles or gaming PCs with ALLM (auto low latency mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate).

While it may not reach the peak brightness of this year’s flagship LCD TVs, the W6 does use the same panel as LG’s G6 flagship OLED which has been measured at over 3,000 nits on a 5% full white window. This, along with its Reflection Free Premium screen coating, makes it perfectly suitable for viewing in a reasonably bright room, while still producing those deep inky OLED blacks we love so much.

Learn more about LG Wallpaper TVs.

Best 8K Projector: JVC DLA-NZ900 D-ILA Projector

While 8K sources remain few and far between (Kaleidescape has exactly one 8K title available for download), the extra pixels available in an 8K display can come in handy on a projector when you’re blowing the image up to fit a 10-foot wide (or larger) screen. And while JVC is one of the few consumer projector makers to offer actual native 4K imaging chips (Sony being another), the company also offers a true 8K mode on its higher end projectors thanks to 8K e-shiftX technology. With this, JVC can accept a native 8K input and display every one of those 33 million+ pixels on screen by quickly shifting the imaging engine to display 4 pixels for each one on the trio of D-ILA chips.

The company had this tech on display with their flagship DLA-NZ900 D-ILA projector. In the demo, they were showing both native 8K signals and upconverted 4K content on a 12-foot wide (165 inch diagonal) multi-masking StreamPro screen by Stewart Filmscreen. Even sitting in the front row, just a couple of feet from the screen, I could see no visible pixel structure and the image was ultra-detailed and colorful. Shadow detail was strong and overall specular highlights weren’t bad either, thanks to its BLU-Escent laser light source and triple D-ILA light engine.

Learn more about JVC DLA-NZ900.

Best High-End Projector: Christie Griffyn 4K35-RGB Pure Laser Projector

While high-end consumer grade home theater projectors from Sony, Epson and JVC are more than up to the task of lighting up a medium sized home theater, a larger system, with a larger screen, may need something a little extra. The Christie Griffyn 4K35-RGB has more than a little extra with a rated 35,000 Lumens of peak light output and triple chip native 4K DLP light engine.

Because it uses a separate chip – and a separate laser light source – for each primary color (red, green and blue), it does not suffer from the RBE (Rainbow Effect) that we see on single-chip DLP projectors. This gives it the ability to light up a huge projection screen with bright, vivid images with minimal image artifacts. But this performance comes at a cost – $116,500 (MSRP). It’s also fairly massive, weighing in at 179 pounds (81.2 kg) and measuring 25x15x36.3 inches (635x380x922 mm). Most CI guys recommend a separate projection room or at least a custom cabinet to provide adequate cooling and proper noise reduction.

The 4K35-RGB projector at CEDIA Expo produced practically flawless moving images, with excellent peak brightness and contrast, thanks in part to its use of the company’s new VDR (Variable Dynamic Range) software, which enhances dynamic range based on the on-screen content. VDR is currently in beta testing on the company’s professional line of projectors. It is expected to be rolled out to select home projectors some time in the future.

Learn more at Christie Digital.

Best Lifestyle Projector: XGIMI XWALL Titan Noir Ultra

The word “Lifestyle” in front of the word “projector” used to mean that the projector sacrificed performance for the sake of good looks or a compact form factor. But around 18 months ago, the Valerion VisionMaster projector rewrote that script, proving that good things could indeed come in smaller, more elegant packages. That trend has been taken to the latest extreme with XGIMI’s XWALL Titan Noir Ultra. While it would look just fine sitting on a coffee table, you’ll be best off mounting it to the ceiling where it’s out of the way. XGIMI offers a heavy duty ceiling mount for this, which can support the unit’s 17.9 pound (8.1 kg) weight.

The Titan Noir Ultra features a whopping 8,000 Lumens of peak brightness and a native 12,000:1 contrast ratio, which is respectable even on far more expensive dedicated home theater projectors. The Titan Noir Max also features a motorized lens with a wide 0.98 to 2.0:1 zoom range, motorized focus, and motorized horizontal and vertical lens shift for ease set-up without having to rely on resolution-killing digital keystone adjustments. Also, unlike the VisionMaster projectors, the Titan Noir Ultra includes a custom “lens memory” feature that allows you to store custom presets for different aspect ratios. This is one feature I love as it allows me to zoom in to fill my entire 2.4:1 screen when watching ultra wide CinemaScope content at home.

Learn more about XGIMI XWALL Titan Noir Ultra.

Best Media Player: Kaleidescape Strato K

While we’re big fans of physical media here at eCoustics, there are some aspects of “disc collecting” that we don’t enjoy: the requirement to have shelves and shelves full of discs to house our movie collections and the occasional disc glitch that requires us to eject the movie, wipe it on a clean cloth to remove a smudge or a fingerprint and wait for the disc to re-load so we can (hopefully) continue our viewing. This is even more problematic if you happen to look for bargains on used discs as sometimes seemingly minor scratches can lead to serious problems in playback.

Kaleidescape has always offered a movie playback experience that can match (or even beat) the best physical media but now they’ve gone beyond what physical media can do with their new Strato K movie player ($4,995). While the Strato K is their first player to support 8K content, it’s what they can do with 4K content that is even more exciting. They’ve developed a new content format called “4K Cinematic” which offers a significant improvement in color reproduction and milder use of video compression which can reduce or eliminate common forms of video artifacts and distortion.

While 4K Blu-ray Discs typically use a bandwidth of about 50 to 80 Mbps, Kaleidescape uses a much wider 110 Mbps pipe to deliver the picture and sound. This means the 4K Cinematic content that Kaleidescape creates from the studio’s raw mezzanine files use less compression than UHD Blu-ray (and much less compression than streaming services) in order to deliver a pristine, artifact-free image.

This year, close to 60 different booths and demo rooms at CEDIA Expo used a Kaleidescape player to show their systems in the best possible light, and it translated into powerful demos throughout the Exposition hall. If you’re into movies, and have the means, the Strato K would make an excellent entry-point into the Kaleidescape ecosystem. Its built-in storage has room for five or six 4K Cinematic titles at a time and it’s fully compatible with the company’s Terra Servers for larger collections.

Learn more about Kaleidescape Strato K, or buy for $4,995 at Best Buy.

Best Physical Media Player: Magnetar Ultima Universal Disc Transport

Does anyone really need to spend $12,000 on a Blu-ray Disc player? Maybe not. But for those who want the best, there is the Magnetar Ultima. Unlike a traditional disc player, with analog and digital outputs, the Magnetar is technically a disc “transport” – it includes no built-in DAC of its own. But what it does include is a separate power supply housed in its own chassis and powered by a pair of automotive grade lithium ion batteries manufactured by EV and battery maker (and darling of Berkshire Hathaway), BYD. By using a highly stable DC power source, the unit can eliminate any hint or noise or distortion from the signal chain.

Without its own DAC, the ULTIMA offers only digital outputs, including HDMI, coax and AES/EBU. It even includes a separate clock output for elimination of jitter in the signal. The player supports virtually every form of silver disc, including CD, DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray 3D and 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc (sorry, no LaserDisc). It also includes network access and a USB 3.0 port for playback of additional media formats on the home network or on an attached USB drive.

Learn more about Magnetar Ultima.

Best Hidden TV: Vanish Designs

Sometimes a big screen TV just doesn’t fit in with the design aesthetic of your living room. Sure, it may look amazing when you’re watching it, but the rest of the time, it’s just a huge black rectangle hanging on your wall or sitting on a credenza. There are multiple options. Get a TV with a stylish design like the LG W6 Wallpaper TV or Loewe Stellar TV. Or you could get an “Art TV” like Samsung’s “The Frame” which can pass as real artwork when not in active use. But what if you could make your huge TV truly disappear when not in use? That’s what a company called “Vanish Designs” can do for you.

Vanish Designs is a custom furniture maker that specializes in making stylish cabinets, tables, dressers and consoles that hide a big screen TV (from 80 inches up to 120 inches) with minimal effort. Concealing a UST (Ultra Short Throw) projector, a motorized screen and a soundbar or component sound system within an elegant piece of furniture, Vanish Designs let’s you decide when the screen takes center stage and when it literally disappears into the woodwork.

To bring one of these systems to life, all you need to do is open a drawer and a top panel on the unit, to expose the projector and speaker, then press a single button on your remote for the screen to appear from within. Because UST projectors can project a huge image from just inches away, the cabinet itself can be fairly shallow. And with recent advancements in light-rejecting screens and brighter UST projectors, you can get a nice bright colorful picture, even in a bright room.

Every piece of Vanish Designs’ custom cabinetry is made to order in the United States. Material and workmanship are exceptional and measurements are precise so your chosen projector, screen and sound system will fit perfectly within each unit with no wasted spece. Prices start at $18,000, not including projector, screen and soundbar.

Learn more at www.VanishDesigns.com.

Best Budget Home Theater: SVS Ultra Evolution 5.2.2 System

While we didn’t see any systems this year that quite hit (or went over) a million dollars, there were plenty of rooms in the high six figures. But as usual, SVS scoffed at this excess with their own 5.2.2-channel home theater system, ringing in at just under $12,000 (for the speakers only) and comprised of speakers from their flagship Ultra Evolution line and a pair of new subwoofers from their R|Evolution line.

The system included The Ultra Evolution Pinnacle tower speakers for left and right, an Ultra Evolution Center, a pair of Ultra Evolution Bookshelf speakers for surrounds and two of the Ultra Evolution Elevation speakers for height effects. These elevation speakers are great as they can be mounted on a ceiling or at the top of the wall, on the sides or front of the room, requiring no cutting of the walls or ceilings and no wire inside the wall. Because they’re direct (not up-firing and reflective), they produce realistic height channel effects without requiring low, flat reflective ceilings.

To put some boom in the room, they added a pair of their new SVS PB-3000 R|Evolution Subwoofers. These ported subs are relatively compact, but can reach down to 16 Hz for that gut-thumping bass we love. The subs were tuned for the room with SVS Auto EQ, a new feature of the company’s subwoofer control app.

The system was powered by a Marantz Cinema 30 AV Receiver, with a Pioneer UHD Blu-ray Player spinning the silver discs. Video came from an AWOL UST Projector and screen. Playing the usual clips from “No Time to Die” and “Sinners,” this little budget system rocked the demo room with clear dialog, excellent dynamics and deep yet articulate bass. After spending so much time in $500,000+ rooms, it was refreshing to hear a system that got the essentials right for a much more reasonable price.

Learn more about SVS Ultra Evolution Speakers.

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