CES 2019 • TABlog

by Marc Mickelson | January 15, 2019

ast year, prior to CES 2018, all of the signs were that the part of the show for high-performance audio would be much smaller, raising the question of whether CES was worth attending for the audio press. But attend we did, and we found that CES 2018 was much better -- better attended and featuring better exhibits -- than we anticipated. In his report, Jim Saxon put it this way: "Based on the ratio of good sound to bad, 2018 may have hosted the best CES of all."

What a difference a year makes. The CES we expected in 2018 took a year to arrive. The shrinking of audio-industry support that has been underway for a few years has reached the point that, without some kind of substantial improvement, the CES, once high-end audio's premiere show, will no longer be worth attending and covering.

In years past, the hallways of the Venetian, home of the high-performance-audio exhibits, would be awash in music and crammed with attendees. But that's no longer the case. This year, the 29th floor was about two-thirds full, and the 30th floor (shown above) was basically empty. Oh, the rooms had signs announcing the companies within, but they were not obvious audio companies, and the doors were mostly closed. Given this further contraction, I wouldn't be surprised if there were no audio exhibits at the Venetian for CES 2020.

On the other hand, there was Harman International. In the past few years, Harman and its various brands, including Mark Levinson and JBL, held a separate event concurrent with CES at the Hard Rock Hotel, which ironically is across the street from the previous home of the CES's high-performance-audio exhibits, the Alexis Park. This has always been a curious choice to me, even though Harman organized its event well and attendance was good, despite the fact that you had to be invited and then had to trek to a completely separate venue. Well, as CES has shrunk, the Harman International show-within-the-show has expanded, growing from 17,000 square feet last year to 29,000 this year. There were separate demonstration and meeting spaces, and even an area where you could get something to eat or drink (for free) and listen to live music. As you can see from the pictures above and below, attendance was robust.

I don't know who at Harman International plans this event, but those people are beating the Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes and holds the CES each year, at its own game and on its own turf.