CE Week In NYC and Hi-Res Audio

CE Week, New York City’s biggest technology event, is planned for the week of June 22-26 this summer. It’s a chance for CE companies to show off their latest gadgets, apps, and hardware to the press and consumers that can’t wait for the annual International CES Show staged in Las Vegas. And this year, High-Resolution Audio will feature prominently during the week.

On Tuesday the 23rd, a series of presentations and panels titled, “Your Next Audio Conference” will be take place in the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street. This event is chaired by a very experienced panel including Geoff Tully, formerly of THX and Pioneer and member of SMPTE, HPA and MESA, Scott Wilkinson, Director of Content AVS Forum, Host Home Theater Geeks, TWiT, and Bob Moses, Executive Director, Audio Engineering Society (AES). The gentlemen understand…like no other organization or group…the realities of high-resolution and surround music and have organized a series of sessions including:

• Audio By the Numbers: Setting the stage for the conference, several leading analysts will review the state of sound — from headphones, to music streaming services, to surround, wireless systems, what are the numbers saying about what (and how) consumers want to hear

• Surround 2.0: Several new immersive-audio formats are vying for a slice of the audio pie; how do they stack up? Can multiple codecs coexist? How are musicians, TV and film sound designers using the new capabilities. And about mobile surround?

• A Flood of Streams: Subscription streaming services are delivering a endless catalog of music to audio devices. They’re even starting to deliver immersive audio to the home; and now broadcasters and satellite providers are looking at getting into the game. What’s going on in high resolution streaming?

• Better than MP3: We’re all given up quality for convenience but are they now mutually exclusive? High-resolution audio is here —what exactly is it, and how much does it enhance the music-listening experience?

• MAX (The Mobile Audio Experience): From high-end headphones to new mobile device audio codecs to personal surround, the mobile audio experience doesn’t need to be compromised. Here’s what’s new.

• Music Unplugged: A range of new, WiFI connected, multi-room systems are vying for growing consumer demand. How do the systems differ and what’s the impact on the installed home theater market.

• Analog Lives!: Like fine watches, audio also remains a purist’s domain where analog continues to appeal to upscale consumers who can afford the finest.

This promises to be a well attended and well covered series. As one of the strongest advocates for high-resolution, surround music, I’m looking forward to being involved in the event.