What products do the biggest smart-home integrators install? In our annual Brand Analysis study, we surveyed the top 100 highest-revenue residential integration firms, those who made our annual CE Pro 100 list, to determine their preferred brands in the categories of audio, video, home automation, networking, lighting control, security and more.
Here's how it works.
CE Pro 100 integrators named the brands they support for each product category over the past year. Multiple brands were allowed. The No. 1 brand is the one that is mentioned by the most companies. It may not be their most-used brand overall, but the No. 1 pick is used at least to some degree by the most dealers on the CE Pro 100 list.
Many perennial favorites such as Control4, SnapAV, Sonance, Sony, Lutron, Sonos and Middle Atlantic continue to dominate their respective categories as well.
We did, however, see some newcomers in the top brand positions, including Honeywell for security and Future Automation for motorized lifts. The brands that overtook others for top brand in the category are marked below.
And stay tuned. Throughout the month of June, CE Pro will present each of the categories in greater detail, including the top five brands in each category as well as a list of every brand mentioned in a given category.
Check out the No. 1 brands below, and click the links to see how other brands fared in each category.
Audio Brand Leaders
Loudspeakers (Floorstanding/Bookshelf): Klipsch
Architectural Speakers (In-Wall/In-Ceiling): Sonance
Acoustic Treatments: SnapAV
Audio Amplifiers: Sonance
A/V Receivers: Sony
HT Preamp Processors: Integra
Outdoor Audio: Sonance
Soundbars: Sonos
Wireless Audio: Sonos
Media Servers/Streaming Devices: Kaleidescape (New!)
Subwoofers: Sonos (New!)
Turntables: Pro-Ject (New!), Thorens
Speaker Cable/Interconnects: Binary (SnapAV)
Headphones: Sennheiser
Multiroom A/V Distribution Systems: Control4
Video Brand Leaders
TV Displays: Sony (New!)
Projectors: Sony
Projection Screens: Stewart Filmscreen
Outdoor Video: SunBriteTV (SnapAV)
HDMI Cables: Binary (SnapAV)
Gaming Systems: Microsoft (New!)
Blu-ray Disc Players: Sony
Video Distribution Switchers/Extenders: Control4 (New!)
Satellite TV: DirecTV
Networking & Connectivity Brand Leaders
Home Networks: Pakedge (Control4)
Networking Cable: Wirepath (SnapAV) (New!)
Structured Wiring: Wirepath (SnapAV)
Phone Systems/Intercoms: Panasonic
Cellphone Boosters: Wilson Electronics
Fiber Optic Cable: Cleerline (New!)
Home Automation & Control Brand Leaders
Whole-House Automation: Control4
Lighting Control: Lutron
Remotes/Interfaces/Smart Devices: Apple (New!)
Motorized Window Treatments: Lutron
IR Distribution Systems: Binary (SnapAV)
HVAC Control: Control4
Home Enhancement Brand Leaders
Racks: Middle Atlantic
Rack Cooling Systems: Middle Atlantic
Remote Managed Services: OvrC (SnapAV) (New!)
Seating: CinemaTech (New!)
Mounts: Strong (SnapAV)
Lifts: Future Automation (New!)
Furniture: Salamander Designs
Central Vacuum: H-P Products/Dirt Devil/Vacuflo
Power Conditioners: WattBox (SnapAV) (New!)
Voice Control: Amazon (New!)
Security Brand Leaders
Intrusion/Fire Control Panel: Honeywell (New!)
Cameras: IC Realtime
Access Control: Control4
Smart Door Locks/Dead Bolts: Yale (New!)
Video Doorbells: Ring (New!)
Dealer Support Brand Leaders
Tools & Testers: Fluke Networks (New!)
General Distribution: ADI
Design Proposal Software: D-Tools
Business Management Software: Intuit (New!)
