CES 2017

Noel Lee, the always-energetic CEO of Monster, kicked off the Monster 2017 press conference with a bevy of sport and fitness celebrities, clearly showing where the company is focused moving into the new year.

While traversing the CES show floor, listening to products is usually an exercise in futility - nothing sounds good with so much chaos around you, and who has time to stop and really listen to anything? Amidst the noise of this CES, however, taking a moment to slip on a pair of the new MrSpeakers ETHER Flow headphones was an escape into musical paradise, and one of the best listening experiences I’ve had in Vegas in years.

Low, flat rectangular black boxes with a few buttons and displays. Boring. You need to add a little buzz to your stereo shelf. For example, how about a Beehive? If you’re looking for a tube-driven headphone amplifier and DAC, this might be the hive for you.

When you think “intercom” you probably think of that large, clunky, multi-buttoned contraption that took up like three-free of real estate in your parent’s kitchen that no one really knew how to use. In fact, if there is one “technology” that has been sorely overlooked by progress, it is the lowly intercom. Nucleus looks to help keep families in touch no matter if they are on the other side of the home or the world with its Anywhere Intercom which adds and HD video camera and IP communication to the mix. It also happens to be the world’s first touchscreen device with Amazon Alexa built-in.

Onkyo is not one to miss out on audio trends. Any time that Dolby or DTS dreams up a new innovation — holographic, object-based, bone-induction surround, for example — you know that Onkyo will be the first to feature it in their AV receivers.

New in-wall speaker announcements at CES are about as dry and parched as the city’s desert air, so I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped into Paradigm’s Venetian suite and saw the company was introducing six new models across its CI Pro and CI Elite lineups. Designed for residential home theater installations, these new models are all LCR designs featuring integrated backboxes made from ¾-inch MDF to provide an optimal acoustic environment as well as keeping sound from bleeding into adjacent rooms.

Phazon has announced a one-size-fits-all earbud with characteristics normally reserved for custom earbuds - they’ll stay in no matter what. They also have a waterproof rating of IP68, suitable for up to 1 meter.