HARMAN Luxury Audio Group is back at ISE 2024 with some new, exciting developments in the JBL and JBL Synthesis portfolios. Situated at booth 2H100 the company highlighted some new updates for its SDP-75 preamplifier, showcased its latest series of DA amplifiers from JBL, and even previewed the forthcoming SMA Series of multichannel power amplifiers from JBL Synthesis.

For those who have the fortune to be at ISE 2024, JBL Synthesis is currently previewing its forthcoming SMA Series of multichannel amplifiers: the SMA-8300 and SMA-4750 (unfortunately no photos of the new products seem to be available). Described as “versatile Class D amplifiers” by the company, the twin amplifiers have been designed to deliver as much power as possible without costing more rack space.

The pair come with built-in DSPs for custom loudspeaker tuning with EQ, delay, and limiter settings. The SMA models are also optimized for residential applications with a CI-focused UI and a feature set including balanced XLR inputs and binding post speaker terminal connections.

The SMA-8300 is rated to deliver 300W into 8-ohms and adjacent channel pairs can be bridged to deliver 1,200 watts into 8 ohms. The SMA-4750 is rated to deliver 750 watts into 8 ohms, and adjacent channel pairs can be bridged to deliver 2,500 watts into 8 ohms.

New for 2024, the JBL DA Series of amplifiers include the 8-channel DA850 and 16-channel DA1650 that provide four and eight zones of audio, respectively.

According to HARMAN Each comes in a compact 1U design that offers bridgeable outputs to meet high power requirements. Both the DA850 and DA1650 also offer 50 watts for each of their Class D channels into 8-ohm loads, and 110 watts into 4ohm loads. By bridging their outputs, the company notes, rated power increases to 185 watts into 8-ohm loads.

2024 Lighting Controls and Fixtures Report

Lightapalooza took place in late February, and the growth of the event has mirrored the rapid ascension lighting fixtures and controls.

Download your copy now!

For additional flexibility, each audio zone can feature an independent source, or a single source can be shared across all zones using the global audio input. In addition, zones sharing an audio source can be expanded across multiple amplifiers using the global audio output.

Additionally, the company’s flagship JBL Synthesis SDP-75 AV preamplifier has been updated for 2024 with a new HDMI 2.0 input board and new audio DACs. Additionally, the SDP-75 AV is getting an updated power supply and motherboard to enable faster switching capabilities and deliver improved overall performance.

According to HARMAN, the new HDMI board will offer additional input and eARC capabilities.

Availability of JBL DA, SMA Series and SDP-75 Updates

Both the DA850 and DA 1650 are now available, according to HARMAN, with the SDP-75 updates being available beginning in February. Customers who purchase the newly updated model will have the ability to upgrade to HDMI 2.1 when a board becomes available later this year.

Anticipated availability for the SMA-8300 and SMA-4750 is set for the third quarter.

In additional AV product news, JBL Synthesis and ARCAM AV preamplifiers and receivers are now Certified for Envy as part of the madVR Labs program to ensure compatibility with their Envy video processors.

The newly updated JBL Synthesis SDP-75 meets the Platinum level of certification, while the JBL Synthesis SDP-58 and SDR-38, and the ARCAM AV41, AVR31, AVR21, and AVR11 meet the Gold level.

Harman will also be showcasing wide swathe of its JBL and JBL Synthesis product portfolio, including many AV products that made an appearance earlier this year at CEDIA Expo 2023.

• Page 1