For all the talk about politics and the economy in 2026, it may be surprising to some people the renaissance home audio is experiencing.
This week’s KMB Communications Technology Week in Review, provides several examples of just how well home audio is faring this year. Component sales while tough to follow, seem like they are going well with many new stereo and home theater products hitting the market.
The home AV market is also evolving, driven by young consumers that are buying physical media—and people are once again engaging in group listening sessions. Sure, headphones, streaming media and YouTube remain popular, but vinyl, CDs and communal listening are making a comeback.
Pulling from a range of websites, this week’s KMB Communications’ Tech Week stories come from sources that include YouTube, CE Pro, Residential Systems, eCoustics, Tudum by Netflix, and SVConline.
KMB Communications Technology Week in Review July 13:
- Sweetwater commits to expansion into consumer electronics
- Most popular Netflix movies for 2026
- Physical media sales are climbing
- Audio Advice Announces the dates for its 2026 consumer event
- OpenAI working on AI technologies for smart home applications
- Elon University introduces an immersive audio research room
KMB Communications Look at Residential Technology News
Starting the week is news from the musical instrument industry retailer Sweetwater. The hugely popular Ind.-based store that is known for its sales engineers and customer service is committing to home AV.
In a video posted to YouTube, Sweetwater walks viewers through its musical instrument retail rooms including dedicated rooms for electric guitars, pedals, basses, drums, audio production and more.
Sweetwater also highlights its immersive audio room in the facility. The custom room design features 9.4.4 immersive audio with acoustical design, architectural speakers, and Sweetwater stresses that it is starting a new YouTube channel at sweetwaterhomeaudio.
Tudum by Netflix has published a story on the streaming service’s 10 most popular movies of 2026. Titles in the list include the thrillers, “Thrash” and “Apex,” as well as the family movie, “Swapped,” and the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie, “The Rip.”
Next on the list of KMB Communications’ technology week in review items comes from the home technology website eCoustics.
Citing research from Luminate’s 2026 Midyear Report, the eCoustics’ story reports that U.S. CD sales grew 16% to more than 16 million units over the first six months of 2026. The story notes that vinyl sales also increased, but only at a rate of 2.4%.
eCoustics says that K-pop collectibles fostered a large portion of these sales, but even without K-pop’s contributions, CD sales still would have increased nearly 7%.
Moving onto Residential Systems’ story on the N.C.-based specialty/custom integration company, Audio Advice’s upcoming home audio show.
In the post, Residential Systems says Audio Advice Live returns to the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel on Aug. 7-9. The event, which is now in its fifth year will spotlight products such as loudspeakers, amplifiers, projectors, TVs, turntables, headphones and more. The event will feature more than 60 experience rooms with more than 10 Dolby Atmos immersive audio systems.
Big Picture Technology News Items
Taking a broader look at the technology integration industry, the next KMB Communications Tech Week in Review item comes from CE Pro.
The trade publication picked up a report from Bloomberg that alleges, OpenAI is set to enter the consumer electronics market with a portable AI companion that is designed to act as a smart home controller.
CE Pro in its post points out the product is designed to become more personalized as homeowners use it by learning users via emails and conversations.
Finally, Sound & Video Contractor (SVConline) has posted a story on an immersive audio room at Elon University.
SVConline says a new audio room has been launched in the Arts West facility within the school. Built from the ground up the story notes, the space is designed around the Dolby Atmos immersive audio format.
Associate professor of music Todd Coleman admits in the story the school needed a quality listening space to help with music education.
“The music department had no dedicated listening environment that was like a classroom-sized space of high quality,” says Colemen in the story. “We have the built-in generic AV stereo speaker set up in our classrooms and computer lab, but those rooms cannot play back audio beyond two-channel stereo recordings, and the rooms are not acoustically treated for detailed and nuanced listening, whether in stereo or surround formats.”
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