Our habits in both work and play have certainly changed a lot since 2020. We thought it would be interesting to go over a few areas where we are seeing some pretty big trends in the home audio business.
As we’ve all been spending more time working from home and meeting virtually through video instead of in-person, we have seen a tremendous increase in people upgrading the sound of their workspace. Great sounding background music makes us more productive and a good pair of computer speakers makes it far easier to understand your colleagues during a video call.
Computer speakers have everything you need built-in and are very simple to connect up to your desktop or laptop. Some even have Bluetooth and inputs for a turntable.
Peachtree M25 Powered Speakers - Pair
Peachtree M24 Wireless Speakers - Pair
Kanto YU6 Powered Bookshelf Speakers - Pair
DAC is short for digital-to-analog converter. It takes the digital signal and converts it to analog, usually offering a big sonic improvement from your computer or smartphone. This year, you’ll find a lot more DACs that are designed to work with computer speakers. With computer speakers taking off in popularity, many people who get them want to make their sound even better and wind up getting a nice little DAC. For those of you interested in getting the most out of your computer speakers, read our tips on how to upgrade your powered computer speakers.
This year, we are seeing more people than ever want to put better sound in their backyard. Adding sound to your outdoor area is also easier than ever with new products like the Sonos Roam, Sonos Move, Soundcast, or JBL Party Box line. These are battery-powered, portable Bluetooth speakers with a much bigger sound than you might expect. For covering much larger entertainment areas our stores have been busy installing landscape speaker systems.
When Dolby Atmos was introduced a few years ago, we felt it was the biggest change in surround sound in many years. We are finally starting to see some very good all-in-one soundbars that can provide pretty good Dolby Atmos effects with an all-in-one speaker you just add to your TV. Both Sonos and JBL have new models that are pretty darn cool! Check out our Best Dolby Atmos Soundbars comparison for the complete list of best bars on the market.
Dirac is a method of room correction we have been crazy about since it was introduced by Datasat in a 20K+ surround sound processor in 2014. You have to experience it to fully understand how big of an improvement in your sound it provides in almost any room, it's just amazing! Dirac has slowly been working its way down into less expensive home theater receivers and processors which brings a big smile to the home theater geeks at Audio Advice. The Arcam AV40 and Lexicon MC10 are two great separate processors and both of these brands also have a great selection of home theater receivers with Dirac built-in.
There are zero signs of the vinyl revolution slowing down. As a matter of fact, for Audio Advice, we are seeing more people than ever adding vinyl as another way to enjoy music at home. Most turntables these days come ready to go with some even having built-in phono preamps so you no longer have the tedious task of connecting those tiny wires up to the cartridge.
Denon DP-29F Automatic Belt-Drive Turntable
Denon DP-300F Automatic Belt-Drive Turntable
EAT B-Sharp Turntable
Rotel celebrates their 60th anniversary in the HiFi business with their new Diamond Series products. These went through hundreds of hours of listening tests to design a sound truly worthy of their 60th celebration. We love the way they custom-made all the power transformers in-house as well.
...
Tour this incredible home theater that also serves as a high-performance stereo music system at its core. We think you’ll enjoy seeing how we pulled off such a cool system in an open living room without using a dedicated home theater room or listening room.
...
Setting up your Cambridge Audio Alva ST turntable can be fun and will go smoothly if you prepare for everything you’ll need in advance. We hope this guide enables you to spin some vinyl and enjoy music faster than you expected.
...
HiFi Rose is a new, exciting high-performance audio brand from Seoul, South Korea. They recently dropped a line of versatile, performance network media players for audiophiles who are passionate about sound quality and who want to have control of their multimedia services in one component. They also have an innovative integrated amp that looks a...
Experience made in Italy luxury and the Voice of Sonus Faber sound with their Lumina series. These beautiful yet affordable speakers are made by the same artisans who build their 100K+ speakers and share much of the same technology found in their very best speakers to produce their wonderful natural sound.
...
The new Reference Premiere II line from Klipsch features updated woofer designs, enhanced cabinet bracing, and bigger, better horns to provide you with a more accurate and immersive experience while still maintaining the Klipsch signature sound.
...
When you want the best TV picture, there is no doubt in our opinion, the choice should be Sony. However the amount of light in your room can have a big effect on the type of Sony TV you should choose, be it LED or OLED. Learn how to find the best for your space with this article.
...
Part of the thrill of being an audio enthusiast is the never-ending journey for improved sound. Once you catch the “bug” and put together a decent audio or home theater system, the next step is to tweak and experiment.
If you’re at this point, you may have come across the terms “bi-amping” and “bi-wiring”. Let’s talk about...
Setting up your Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2 turntable can be fun and go smoothly if you are prepared for everything you will need in advance. We hope this guide enables you to spin some vinyl and enjoy music faster than you expected.
...
