Following a few years of uncertainty and virtual-only conferences, CES 2023 is taking the tech show back to its full in-person glory. It’s already treated to us to a while heap of tech announcements, including a look at some of this year’s best audio gadgets – and we’ve rounded up the best ones we’ve seen so far.
CES 2023 proper begins on Thursday, January 5, and over the course of the event, the likes of LG, Sonos, Sony, and others will be showing off their latest audio tech. The treats they have on display will be vying for a spot on our best headphones, best soundbars, and best wireless earbuds lists when they launch later this year. By following the announcements as they happen you can decide if they’re worth waiting for, or if you’d rather grab last year’s model right way.
With the show’s media previews now in full swing, we’ve rounded up the most exciting audio tech announcements we’ve seen at CES 2023 so far – along with a taste of what else you can expect to see as the show fully kicks off.
If you’re looking for ways to improve your speaker or home audio setup, then CES 2023 is the place to find inspiration as we’re being treated to a variety of sound systems during the show.
A case in point is the Acer Halo Swing (above), a glowing portable smart speaker that uses Google Assistant. We’ll have to listen to this device’s performance for ourselves to judge it properly, but Acer’s promise of 360-degree audio and subwoofer-boosted bass line is certainly enticing. It also comes with a 10-hour battery life and an IPX5 water resistance rating – which means it should survive a slight drizzle, even if you won’t want this thing too close to the pool.
Elsewhere, in turntable-land JBL has announced its first Bluetooth turntable, which delivers aptX wireless streaming so you can stream your vinyl to wireless speakers, soundbars or headphones in 24-bit hi-res audio. The JBL Spinner BT (above) looks rather fancy with its black-and-orange color scheme and is one of the most affordable turntables of its kind, with a price tag of £399 / £375 (around AU$660). It’ll be available from the third quarter of 2023.
