As unfortunate as the pandemic was, we can look back at this period and say it was a prosperous time for many in the residential electronics industry.

Coming out of the pandemic into 2023, equipment and system sales may not have matched the pandemic-era levels, but many within the custom installation market have stated sales were strong, nevertheless.

In addition to the market’s ongoing success, there was more good news related to the increasing availability of products due to the pipeline of chip production firing back up to meet market demand.

With chip levels slowly returning to normal, manufacturers were able to deliver new products in the audio, video, smart home and other custom electronics categories. Moreover, other industries that include the automotive and music industry (MI) categories were also able to ramp up their respective product production too.

Now arguably with the public understanding that items such as new cars, computers and even AV receivers are fun and even necessary products that help fuel the American economic engine, we can look at these products differently.

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Leaving cars and computers to someone else, let’s appreciate some of the products that hit the custom installation side of the home electronics industry in 2023 to help support our modern smart home nirvana. Selfishly, I’d like to add that not only will I share 2023 products that I thought were standout solutions in the custom installation market this year, but I’ll also share a few more personal picks related to my hobbies of guitar and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ).

Here are my 2023 products of the Year:

Digital Projection E-Vision 4000:

When DP announced a price reduction of the E-Vision 4000 shortly after it was introduced it allowed a great many videophiles (including myself) to acquire a projector that was previously out of reach. The E-Vision projector produces up to 3,300 lumens of brightness, along with a 4K UHD image, and the ability to deliver up to 20,000 hours of operational life. Oh, did I mention it produces a nice image with streaming, broadcast, and physical media.

Grimani Systems Rixos Active Speaker System

To begin 2023, I was fortunate enough to attend Digital Sales Group Metro’s showroom grand reopening event. For many the focal point of the grand reopening was the dedicated theater that featured a Digital Projection projector, and a Grimani Systems Rixos Active Speaker System. These systems are custom designed and fully designed and calibrated by the noted acoustician Anthony Grimani. Later during the year at CEDIA Expo 2023 I was again fortunate enough to attend another Grimani System demo and was once again blown away.

JBL L52 Classic Loudspeakers

I reviewed these speakers this past spring and had an enormous amount of fun with these speakers. These speakers may be the best value currently in the home audio market at $1,000 per pair. The L52s wrap a retro around state-of-the-art electronics to offer users a great sounding bookshelf loudspeaker. The speaker incorporates a ¾-inch tweeter set in a JBL waveguide and a 5.25-inch woofer. Additionally, the L52 Classic features a high-frequency level control on its front baffle.

Kaleidescape Terra Prime Solid-State Movie Server

There aren’t many products I aspire to own these days, but at the top of my short list of aspirational products is a Kaleidescape system. The newly announced Terra Prime Solid-State Movie Server offers homeowners a choice of data-center grade solid-state drives that can store either 500 (31TB) or 125 (8TB) 4K movies. The new servers operate quietly, and they can download a high-bitrate Kaleidescape 4K movie in as little as four minutes.

L-Acoustics Home Theater System

One of the best home theater demos I saw at CEDIA Expo 2023 convinced me to name it one of my 2023 products of the year. During the show, the company featured a system of three X8 speakers that handled LCR duties, as well as a pair of Syva Subs for the LFE; four L-Acoustics’ X4i loudspeakers took care of the system’s surround responsibilities, and four more X4i speakers to address the system’s height channels. Providing the power for the immersive audio speaker array was an L-Acoustics LA7.16i multichannel amplifier. Yes, it is expensive—yes, it’s not a system someone will walk out of Best Buy—but there were other systems on the show floor that were much more expensive. Considering the level of engineering, design and heritage L-Acoustics brings to residential audio, the French company is a brand for integrators to keep an eye on as we head into 2024.

OSD Audio DAC-XA100 Integrated Amplifier

Perfect for an office, a bedroom or dorm room environment, OSD’s insanely affordable DAC-XA100 Integrated Amplifier offers good sound without busting wallets (this is likely the most affordable of my 2023 products of the year). I use the amp’s built-in DAC connected to a MacBook Air to stream Apple Music and I can’t say enough about how good it sounds. The amp’s analog connections sounded good, but admittedly I preferred going digital into the DAC-XA100. There are better integrated amps out there, but the price of OSD’s newest stereo amp, which comes in for much less than one of those fancy audiophile cables audio snobs plug into their audiophile systems, it’s hard not to look at the DAC-XA100 for fun listening experiences without spending much money.

Screen Innovations Zero Edge Pro Screen

The competitively priced SI Zero Edge Pro screen offers users a choice of screen materials and a choice of sizes, all while looking stylish to support its integration into a wealth of home settings. This past spring the Texas-based company sent me a 100-inch model with its Pure White 1.3 gain material. It took my wife and I a few hours to assemble and hang the screen on my wall and since then I’ve been enjoying a modern projection experience that’s supported by a DP E-Vision 4000 (I purchased after review). The combination of the screen with the laser light engine produces bright images that even hold up to some ambient room light. More importantly however, I am benefitting from increased dynamics and richer, more vibrant colors that include more low-level detail.

Simaudio 250i v2 Integrated Amplifier

It seems that every year a Simaudio product makes my products of the year list, and my 2023 products of the year are no different. The competitively priced 250i v2 provides a convenient way of delivering an excellent audio experience for music and AV content. I thought it sounded awesome with streaming content, as well as content such as CDs. The 250i V2 produces a wide soundstage with high amounts of midrange detail, and powerful bass.

Sony STR AZ5000ES AV Receiver

Sony has built a reputation as a go-to for its high-performance line of televisions and projectors. Arguably, its video products have overshadowed its audio products, but with the release of its 2023 AVRs, this phenomenon has ended. The state-of-the-art STR-AZ5000ES is one of several new generation of AVRs from the company that bundle a host of options, including several immersive audio functions all in a package that is reasonably priced. Separating its products from other AVRs, are Sony’s proprietary DSP processing capabilities that deliver a level of surround sound that was previously unavailable from a mainstream home theater product.

Spears & Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark Disc set

The performance of modern TVs and projectors have advanced light years from even just a few years ago. Video experts emphasize that to maximize the performance of modern video equipment calibrations are necessary. Helping enthusiasts and dealers to get the most from the video products, the affordable Spears & Munsil calibration disc package comes with an instructional booklet and a host of test patterns to help fine tune basic video display functions without breaking the bank.

Poly Voyager Surround 80 Headphones

Offering hybrid and work from home (WFH) employees a solution to improve their conference call experiences, Poly introduced its Voyager Surround 80 over-the-ear closed back headphones. The headphones provide wireless Bluetooth connectivity for leisure activities such as streaming music and AV content, and six microphones to support clear conversations during conference calls on platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The headphones also provide active noise cancelling, and Poly supports the headphones with its companion Lens app.

2023 Products of the Year from Outside of the Electronics Industry

I feel fortunate to work in such a fun industry that utilizes technology to help users discover convenience to help their daily lives, and entertainment to deliver an unquantifiable level of fun.

There is, however, more to life than just home electronics. Some of the ways I find entertainment and exercise is through my hobbies of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), which provides me with exercise in a competitive way that is not intrusive to others—the competition I find is with myself to get better, and guitar.  

Guitar and my home audio interests are intertwined. I play guitar and love listening to music and often the two fuel one another to help me to discover new music or learn to play a song.

Sharing a few things in the areas of BJJ and guitar that I thought were noteworthy, here are a couple of 2023 products from these markets that I thought really stood out.

The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Robert Drysdale

Prof. Drysdale is well known in the world of combat sports as a world champion BJJ practitioner and former UFC fighter. He has also established himself as one of the top coaches in BJJ through his school in Las Vegas, his co-founding of team Zenith network of BJJ schools, and as a UFC coach. Professor’s second book dives into the impact of Carlson Gracie and how this member of the legendary Gracie family impacted how modern BJJ participants train from both a mental and physical perspective. I highly recommend reading the first book in this series, Opening Closed Guard, which chronicles the origins of BJJ, which is arguably the most popular combat sport in the world today. Both books are extensively researched and the way the books are written, Prof. Drysdale allows the reader to interpret his findings for themselves rather than interjecting his opinions. Regardless of whether you read this book or Opening Closed Guard, they are educational reads for combat sports fans and BJJ hobbyists.

Boss SDE-3000EVH Dual Digital Delay

Musicians and music fans aren’t that much different. Music enthusiasts are often referred to as audiophiles and musicians—and in particular guitar players are often referred to as—“tone chasers.” The most famous tone chaser is Edward Van Halen (EVH) and an essential part of his sound until his untimely passing was the use of multiple Boss SDE-3000 digital delays. Working with the EVH brand, the popular electronics company Boss introduced its SDE-3000EVH Dual Digital Delay. This delay pedal combines multiple SDE-3000 delays in a single unit, and it includes provisions for wet/dry/wet (WDW) amplifier configurations, as well as stereo and mono. Additionally, the delay offers settings that replicate EVH’s exact settings that he used his two SDE-3000s in his equipment rack applied to WDW, stereo and mono guitar rigs to allow users to enjoy Eddie’s sound in whatever way fits their usage.

Friedman IR-X Dual Tube Preamp and DI

Wrapping up my 2023 products of the year is a new take on what is increasingly a popular product type for guitar players. If you’ve been to a concert lately and wondered why there aren’t any guitar amplifiers on the stage, it’s because many bands whether they’ve wanted to or not, have transitioned to, “quiet stages.” This is where the IR-X comes in. Guitar players can use this product directly into a house PA system for their amplification sounds, or it can be used directly into a computer if someone is recording. Additionally, the IR-X can be run through the effects loop of a guitar amplifier to serve as a preamplifier, while utilizing the power section of an existing amp. Unlike competing guitar preamplifiers that offer these options through digital, DSP-powered emulations, the Friedman unit features an analog circuit highlighted by actual valves (preamp tubes). The IR-X provides users two channels and a host of options to help tailor the unit’s performance to whatever is needed. Best of all for those tone chasers (see Boss SDE-3000EVH writeup), the IR-X delivers true analog-based tones powered by a 12AX7 preamp tube. Before I forget, the Friedman IR-X is reasonably priced, which again, is unlike many of the digital preamplifiers/modeling devices that are currently on the market.

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