The countdown to CEDIA Expo 2026 is now in full swing.
KMB Communications, along with the rest of the technology integration industry is busy preparing for the show that takes place in Denver on Sept. 1-4.
With about two weeks to go before the show floor opens and everyone working hard to finish up booth designs, product details, travel itineraries, and their dinner plans, let’s take a few minutes to see what news has the tech community talking.
This week’s news roundup comes from ESPN, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, The Listening Chair, and eCoustics.
KMB Communications Home Technology News for Aug. 10-14
Starting KMB’s look at residential technology news is a post from the enthusiast website eCoustics.
The post outlines what’s been going on over the past year with American Audio & Video’s distribution agreement with Armour Home. In a surprisingly honest statement in the post, Charlie Henderson, the new managing director for Armour Home, admits that his company is not getting enough support in the U.S.
To read more about Armour Home and its brands Q Acoustics, QED, and Goldring, and the current situation, check out the story from eCoustics.
The next home tech item comes from The Listening Chair. The website recently posted a review of the affordable Darlington Labs MP7B Phono Preamplifier. The author split the review in two parts to cover the differences in performance between moving coil (MC) and moving magnet (MM) phono cartridges with part one focused on MC cartridges.
The read part one of the $569 phono preamplifier review, click here.
Wrapping up KMB Communications’ look at tech news from the home technology industry is a post from Bloomberg on Apollo agreeing to a $2.6 billion deal with the New York Yankees.
The connection to the technology integration market may not spring to mind at first glance, but Apollo Funds is the entity that recently completed an acquisition of Emerald, the owners of CEDIA Expo, CE Pro, Commercial Integrator, and Security Sales & Integration.
While it’s unlikely that Expo attendees will see Aaron Judge playing drums with the CE Pro All Star Band, it could be said the editorial team at CE Pro is playing on the same team with the Yankees slugger.
National and Global Electronics News
This news item comes from outside of the world of electronics, but an electronics manufacturer is a part of the story.
ESPN is reporting that LA Clippers player Kawhi Leonard had a sponsorship deal with a bankrupt banking company that is now under investigation by the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The league is investigating Leonard’s deal because it circumvents the NBA salary cap structure. The story from Pablo Torre also finds that Leonard had a sponsorship agreement with the manufacturer Daktronics, the company that designed, “The Halo Board” display system.
Most people outside of Gen Z and probably a decent portion of Gen Z have somewhat of a jaded view of social media and influencers. LinkedIn says that some social media creators may have a more difficult time making money from YouTube, which may give some of those detractors some satisfaction.
The post says that starting in February, YouTube content creators will need 8,000 hours of viewing time on their videos over the course of 12 months or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days to join the YouTube Partner Program.
YouTube’s current policies require 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of video views within a year. The current requirement for the review of Shorts is 10 million over 90 days the story points out.
Wrapping up KMB Communications’ weekly tour of electronics news is another item from LinkedIn.
The social media site reports that “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” had the third-best second weekend in box-office history, bringing in $145 million in U.S. revenues. LinkedIn adds that the Tom Holland-led movie is the biggest movie so far in 2026 making over $1 billion globally in its first 12 days.
To learn more about KMB Communications clients, including their CEDIA Expo 2026 show plans, click this link.