As always, CES delivered plenty of new products, from 8K TVs and 800-watt amplifiers, to Atmos soundbars and hi-res turntables.
Starting with smaller start-ups at CES Unveiled, progressing to the madness of CES Press Day and new products from LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony, and ending with our Stars of CES round-up of the 10 best audio products of the show, it was a jam-packed week of the latest technology. And that's before we mention all the interviews, talks and product showcases from the What Hi-Fi? International News Stage (watch them all in our CES 2016 YouTube playlist).
Other CES 2016 highlights included more news on MQA hi-res audio streaming, the grand unveiling of Technics' new turntable, 4K Blu-ray players from Panasonic and Samsung, plus eye-catching new kit from Bang & Olufsen, Naim, McIntosh, Monitor Audio and more. We even found a "hi-fi chair" where we could sit back and take it all in.
Read on to catch-up on all the best new products from CES 2016...
CES 2016 wrap-up
Stars of CES 2016: the 10 best audio products from the show
Hands-on reviews:
News:
The Dan D'Agostino Progression monobloc is an absolute beast
Audeze Sine are world's first planar magnetic on-ear headphones
Acoustic Energy returns with versatile Aego 3 system
Mark Levinson launches No. 519 all-in-one audio player
Philips has a new Screeneo short-throw projector
CES Day 4
Harman-Kardon Omni+ speakers offer 'true HD' multi-room streaming
Arcam's SR250 stereo AV receiver makes its public debut at CES 2016
Sony 2016 TVs: everything you need to know
Moon Neo ACE is an integrated amplifier and hi-res streamer for $3500
Audio-Technica headphones promise hi-res 'hi-fi on the go' for under £100
Sony announces four new wireless speakers with multi-room and hi-res support
MORE: CES 2016 - Day 4 highlights
CES Day 3
Hands-on reviews:
News:
McIntosh unveils trio of new products including wireless speaker
Naim Mu-so Qb - a compact £595 wireless speaker to sit alongside the Mu-so
Bang & Olufsen unveils the BeoSound 35 all-in-one music system
Philips launches Dolby Atmos soundbar and Flite headphones
The Technics SL-1200G turntable will cost $4000
Audioquest's new DragonFly USB DACs work with phones and tablets
Sony launches STR-DN1070 AV receiver
Sony launches new soundbar and soundbase models
MORE: CES 2016 - Day 3 highlights
CES Day 2 - LG, Technics, Samsung, Sony
Ultra HD Premium spec announced for HDR 4K content and devices
Philips confirms new TVs for 2016 and Amazon Instant Video partnership
LG launches high-end Signature Ultra HD OLED TV
LG introduces 4K HDR-enabled OLED TV range at CES 2016
LG K Series phones take aim at midrange
LG at CES 2016: 5 things we learned
Panasonic’s 4K Blu-ray player to go on sale in Europe this spring
JBL updates family of wireless speakers and headphones
Technics launches Grand Class SL-1200G turntable
Panasonic at CES 2016: 5 things we learned
Samsung reveals 12in TabletPro S Windows 10 tablet
Samsung 4K Blu-ray player goes on sale in March for $400
aptX HD brings hi-res audio to wireless Bluetooth
Hisense brings affordable 4K HDR TVs to the market
Samsung unveils 2016 SUHD TV line-up
Samsung at CES 2016: 5 things we learned
Sony adds headphone and portable speaker to h.ear range
Sony PS-HX500 turntable converts vinyl to hi-res audio
Panasonic's new DX-900 TV range hits Premium UHD heights
Sony Ultra app streams 4K movies to Android TVs
Sony announces new 4K Ultra HD TVs
Sony UHP-H1 plays HD video and hi-res audio
Sony at CES 2016: 5 things we learned
MORE: CES 2016 - Day 2 highlights
CES Unveiled 2016
HTC demos MQA hi-res audio smartphone
Prizm creates the perfect playlists based on music tastes of people in the room
Altec Lansing Freedom buds are truly wireless earphones
Tidal showcases MQA hi-res streaming - but launch is delayed
Invoxia launches voice-controlled wireless speaker powered by Amazon Alexa
Bluesound confirms MQA support will come to all products with free upgrade
MQA hands-on first impressions
MORE: CES 2016 - Day 1 highlights
CES 2016 pre-show news
The news so far ahead of the official start of the show...
GamuT's Lobster chair is designed for audiophiles
Samsung introduces Dolby Atmos soundbar
LG reveals Super UHD TVs and first production 8K TV
Samsung to make all its 2016 TVs 'IoT-ready'
LG to launch wireless soundbars and all-in-one systems at CES
CES 2016 preview
No CES is complete without entire families of new televisions, mounted floor to ceiling with brightness turned up to 11. This time we are more excited than ever: next-gen tech has matured enough to be taken very seriously.
Over the past couple of years, we have witnessed the monopoly of LED panels get slowly eroded by LG’s push for OLED. It will be showing off more OLEDs, including its slimmest ever model – a body that’s thin all the way down, as opposed to skinny top and fat bottom.
The competition? Panasonic has recently joined the OLED fray with a spectacular 65in set, and we may see something a little smaller. Sony has shown little interest in the technology, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see something from Samsung this year.
MORE: OLED TV - everything you need to know
Ultra High Definition (UHD) – four times the pixels of 1080p Full HD – is finally here in a meaningful way, with agreed standards and a healthy amount of available content.
There are already some great UHD TVs, but we will shortly see them really start to take over. Every major TV manufacturer will be prioritising UHD, and they will be more advanced than anything we’ve seen in 2015.
Expect smarter operating systems as well as improvements in display and processing technology. Full HD, meanwhile, will be gradually relegated to cheaper models and lower ranges.
Then there’s the matter of High Dynamic Range, which gets you much greater contrast levels. Development has been slow, as nobody can agree on a universal standard, but everybody agrees it will play a key part in the future of theatrical and home video consumption.
One of the more established versions is Dolby Vision, so we expect to see more hardware support for it. There will be a Dolby Vision demo featuring Dolby Atmos sound. It’s the first time the company has done that at a show.
As for the really wacky stuff, the bar is high. In 2014, LG showed off a prototype flexible OLED TV, which transforms from curved to flat at the push of a button. That progressed to a production- ready model in 2015. We expect to see wallpaper TVs, so flat and flexible they can be rolled up. Someone is bound to have an 8K display, too.
A fan of the bigger picture? You may be pleased to hear of development on the short-throw projector front. Philips has been working on a new design for its Screeneo projector. You’ll be able to get a 100in Full HD image with the projector just 44cm from the wall.
It’s not just about the displays, either. We will also get a good look at the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc format. Panasonic and Samsung have both shown off prototype UHD Blu-ray players (Sony has been biding its time, but it’s about time it made a move too).
MORE: 7 of the craziest TVs from CES 2015
There’s also plenty going on in the world of sound. We’ll start small: there is word that Audioquest, masters of tiny USB DACs, is working on a new range of ‘digital critters’. Given the immense success of the Audioquest Dragonfly, that’s got to be a good thing.
Bang & Olufsen has a tendency to pull out some crazy designs, and CES 2015 saw the Beosound Moment, a streaming system with a unique tablet controller featuring touch-sensitive wood buttons. It brought tactility back to music, and won one of our Stars of CES Awards. This time? The company is being hush-hush about its plans, but we just know something unusual is afoot.
Wi-fi audio is another trend to watch. It has sonic and functional advantages over Bluetooth, which has limited bandwidth, and more people are starting to find this out thanks to Google Chromecast Audio.
Next? Wi-fi audio headphones, we reckon. Imagine getting music streamed directly from the router to your head, with no intermediary like laptops or smartphones.
Multi-room audio is a category that has exploded in the last few years, and it is getting only bigger. Now, the more traditional audio brands are joining in.
Look at Yamaha’s MusicCast system – you’re no longer restricted to little speakers per room because now you can use your AV receiver too, among other components. We expect to see other established names take on the Sonos.
Finally we look at streaming services. It’s a tough game and competition is heating up. Rdio has fallen and Qobuz is after a new buyer. Now more than ever, streaming services will need to differentiate themselves. Spotify has its catalogue and ubiquity. Tidal stands out in sound quality. Apple, meanwhile, bangs the drum for personalisation.
A potential game-changer is MQA. This is a streaming technology launched last year, promising the sound quality of hi-res audio without the massive file sizes.
Whoever can incorporate MQA into their service is onto something huge. And it looks Tidal and MQA could have the hi-res answer. All eyes are on CES for a full reveal.
Then there's the arrival of MQA-ready products such as the Pioneer XDP-100R. MQA, for its part, has told us to expect major announcements.
MORE: The best new audio products from CES 2015
Whatever shape the new products at CES 2016 take, we will be there to bring you all the news, pictures and videos from Las Vegas. And it will all get started on Monday 4th January.
We'll be on the ground in force bringing you the most important news and hands-on reviews on the new AV products on show.
And as an official CES media partner we'll once again be hosting the CES International News Stage alongside our sister publication, Stuff. Expect news, interviews, roundtable discussions and more with some of the most important people in the industry. You can see last year's video highlights on our CES 2015 YouTube playlist.
