The technology built into the latest home audio devices has really evolved over the past few years. It’s hard not to be impressed with the sound quality available in the latest speakers, and while CES doesn’t normally showcase a lot of home audio, we did get to see a few notable audio components that should be available at some point this year. Here’s a quick recap of what was announced at CES 2024.
LG DukeBox
The LG DukeBox is just a concept right now, but I can’t wait until this vintage-style speaker/OLED display hybrid is available. It has a retro design that looks like a speaker, but the transparent glass is an OLED display.
The vacuum tube audio technology that’s built into the LG DukeBox is visible through the glass and lit up by warm amber lights. There are 360-degree speakers at the top and front facing speakers at the bottom. While it’s a cool retro speaker on its own, it’s the transparent OLED display that’s the real showstopper on this speaker. You can use it to control your music, add a bit of atmosphere to the room, or adjust the transparency and watch TV or movies on it.
Kanto ORA 4 Desktop speakers
Kanto, a Canadian audio company, announced the Kanto ORA 4 Desktop speaker. These desktop speakers are for every type of user – from gamers to music fans to content creators. It’s a Bluetooth 5.0 speaker that includes an analog connection and a USB-C connection that supports 24-bit/96kHz audio. The Kanto ORA 4 has 70W RMS power output that can ramp up to 140W of power. It also has 12 RMS tweeters, 23W RMS woofers, and a subwoofer output with built-in automatic crossover at 80Hz so you can pair it with your Kanto SUB8.
Christine covered Kanto at CES 2024, so keep an eye out for her overview of the brand and the latest audio from them.
Samsung sound bars
Samsung announced two new sound bars for 2024, and one has AI built in. The Samsung HW-990D sound bar is a 11.1.4 channel sound bar with 11 speakers, 1 subwoofer, and 4 up firing ceiling speakers. It features HDMI 2.1 and supports 4K/120Hz passthrough, and it has AI technology to optimize everything you watch. With Q-Symphony technology you can use your TV’s speakers and the sound bar together to fill your room with full 3D surround sound. The HW-990D also has Party Mode so you can play your favourite party playlists and Private Listening mode that redirects the front firing speakers to a pair of headphones.
Samsung also announced the HW-S800D sound bar. It’s a ultra-thin sound bar that’s only 1.6 inches deep and 46 inches wide. It has a subwoofer as well as 10 drivers that include overhead speakers and a center channel.
Samsung Music Frame
Samsung introduced something new this year. It’s an audio device called Music Frame, and it’s a wireless speaker that pairs with The Frame TV. It has two woofers, two mid-range drivers, and two tweeters so it can produce fantastic audio, and you can use Samsung’s SpaceFit technology to set the speaker up specifically for your room. It also has Q-Symphony so you can use the internal speakers on your The Frame TV as well as the Music Frame to really boost your audio.
While it doesn’t have a screen itself, you can manually swap out photos and artwork so the speaker fits your room and complements the art on your TV. Adding artwork disguises the fact that it’s a speaker, so it will look just like a photo frame or art frame instead of a plain, black speaker sitting under your TV.
That’s it for my look at the new audio announced at CES 2024. You can find all of the latest home audio devices at Best Buy right now.
