It’s been back to the grind and for many within the electronics industry, and the month of January means shows like CES and preparation for other events such as Integrated Systems Europe in Barcelona and Lightapoolza which takes place in Austin this February.
Of course, KMB Comm will be at shows like Lightapalooza and KBIS and with the smart home industry working through these consecutive trade shows, the influx of market news has been inconsistent, but this week’s Technology Week in Review has some noteworthy items.
A Speaker Review from Across the Pond
KMB Comm’s Technology Week in Review hasn’t covered many product reviews, but the British publication Essential Install has just posted a look at the Lyngdorf FR-2 loudspeakers.
The publication points out the Lyngdorf speakers utilize a unique design that combines attributes of a traditional floorstanding, as well as an in-room loudspeaker, and a design-friendly on-wall loudspeaker. The review goes onto explain the setup of the speakers and the experience homeowners will get living with the speakers.
Here is the complete Essential Install Lyngdorf FR-2 loudspeaker review.
More product news that traces back to the just completed CES 2026 show is Loewe showcasing its new line of OLED displays, and its first headphone product: the Leo.
The OLED TV product line according to the Residential Systems story offers a choice of screen sizes ranging from 42 inches up to 97 inches, and the 4K products offer Loewe technologies like MLA solution, which is said to aid HDR reproduction.
Making its first personal audio product, the German luxury electronics company’s Leo combines a DAC, integrated amplification, 50mm drivers, and noise cancellation options. The Residential Systems story goes on to note the Leo headphones support high-resolution audio, wireless audio, and immersive audio including Dolby Atmos.
To learn more about the new Loewe products click here.
KMB Comm National News Highlights
It’s been a relatively quiet week in the worlds of residential and commercial electronics, but there have been several items pop up nationally that are worth investigating.
The first KMB Comm national news item comes from Yahoo Finance. According to the story, the financial community is waiting for the monthly Consumer Price Index, which is expected to remain at the annual increase rate of 2.7%. Yahoo Finance reports that experts are expecting inflation to ease, which will help to drive the stock market.
The story, which can be found here, adds that based on recent unemployment figures, the Federal Reserve could potentially cut interest rates to aid economic activity.
LinkedIn, has a couple of items worth examining this week. The first item reports that U.S. retail sales increased this past November in 10 out of 13 tracked categories. LinkedIn says these indicators suggest that Americans kept shopping despite factors such as an unstable job market, rising energy costs, and slight increases of inflation.
The other item from LinkedIn is a story on Google’s Alphabet market cap eclipsing the $4 trillion plateau following the news of a newly formed partnership with Apple. The story states that Google Gemini and cloud technologies will power future AI features in Apple products such as Siri.
Moving onto to some entertainment items, the NFL playoffs are moving into the league’s divisional round. Star players such as Drake Maye, Matthew Stafford, and Josh Allen are leading their teams into a weekend of football action. To learn more, go to the NFL.com website, which has a rundown of dates, times and the respective TV networks covering the games.
Concluding the KMB Comm look at this week’s technology news item, is a look at some of the new media releases. This media rundown comes from the Portland, Maine-based retailer Bull Moose.
The New England comic book and record store says some of the new UltraHD 4K discs released this week include “Babe,” “Dante’s Peak,” “Evil Dead Rise,” and “Pink Panther: Revenge of the Pink Panther.”
Blu-ray releases include “Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3,” “Elfen Lied Complete Collection,” and “The Power of Darkness.”
Audio releases include “Frank Zappa Mega Box,” “Warning, Watching from a Distance,” and “The James Hunter Six Off the Fence.” Wrapping of the physical media releases available from the retailer are vinyl releases such as, “The Beatles Live from Canada 1964: Montreal September 8th,” and “John Coltrane Giant Steps (Mono).
KMB Communications hosts a podcast called AV Trade Talk. Listeners can check out the podcast to learn about the latest happenings in the custom installation electronics industry. To listen to the KMB AV Trade Talk Podcast, click here.