the ecoustics podcast

Fresh off a week in Las Vegas, the eCoustics team breaks down the CES 2026 Best in Show award winners across speakers, soundbars, wireless audio, TVs, home theater projectors, and headphones, explaining who stood out, why these products impressed us in controlled demo booth conditions, and what those design and performance choices are likely to cost you when they hit the market later in 2026.  

View all Best in Show CES 2026 Awards:
https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/best-ces-2026/

Panel:
Brian Mitchell, Host and eCoustics Founder
Chris Boylan, Editor at Large
Robert Silva, News Correspondent 
Mitch Anderson, Producer

Credits:
• Original intro music by The Arc of All. sourceoflightandpower.bandcamp.com
• Voice Over Provided by Todd Harrell of SSP Unlimited. https://sspunlimited.com
• Production by Mitch Anderson, Black Circle Studios. https://blackcircleradio.com

Keep up-to-date with all the latest Hi-Fi, Headphone, Home Theater and Music news by visiting:

https://www.ecoustics.com

#ces2026 #cesconvention #audiophile #hifi #hometheater #lifestylesound #interiordesign #audioindustry #ecoustics #projectors #4ktv #luxuryaudio #luxuryav #inwallspeakers #2026tvs #consumertech #futuretech #multimedianews

If you want music in every room without juggling multiple apps, this is your episode. HEOS isn’t just in Denon and Marantz gear — it’s built into a growing ecosystem of speakers, AVRs, soundbars, and components across the Harman Lifestyle portfolio. It’s become a serious multi-room, multi-zone streaming platform with Hi-Res audio, major music services, stereo pairing, and full Alexa/Google voice-assistant support.

Phil Jones of Harman Lifestyle joins us to lay out what HEOS can really do — including the tricks Sonos, BluOS, and WiiM would probably prefer you didn’t mention. Simple to run, surprisingly deep, and absolutely worth a fresh look.

Thank you to our sponsor SVS for a phenomenal year of collaboration and support of our programming! https://www.svsound.com

On the panel:

Brian Mitchell, Founder & CEO
Chris Boylan, Editor at Large
Phil Jones, Harman Lifestyle

Credits:

Original intro music by The Arc of All. https://sourceoflightandpower.bandcamp.com
Voice Over Provided by Todd Harrell of SSP Unlimited. https://sspunlimited.com
Production by Mitch Anderson, Black Circle Studios. https://blackcircleradio.com

Keep up-to-date with all the latest Hi-Fi, Headphone, Home Theater and Music news by visiting: https://www.ecoustics.com

#ecoustics #avtrends #heos #musicstreaming #multiroomstreaming #networkstreaming #denon #marantz #qobuz #hifi #audiophile #vintageaudio #hometheater #dolbyatmos #headphones #vinylcommunity #harmanlifestyle

In this episode, the eCoustics team cut through a year of hype, delays, and eyebrow-raising price hikes to talk about the products that genuinely moved the needle across hi-fi, head-fi, and home theater. We cover the TVs and projectors that finally earned their bragging rights, the headphones and earbuds that didn’t just chase trends, and the loudspeakers and portable gear that reminded us why good engineering still matters.

It’s a wide-ranging, candid discussion about what impressed us.And because the timing couldn’t be better, the ink is barely dry on our massive eCoustics Editors’ Choice awards list. If you want to know which products actually earned a spot—and which ones quietly didn’t—you’ll want to listen first, then check the list.Less hype. More perspective. And no participation trophies.

Thank you to our sponsor SVS for a phenomenal year of collaboration and support of our programming! https://www.svsound.com

On the panel:

Brian Mitchell, Founder & CEO
Chris Boylan, Editor at Large
W. Jennings, Sr. Portables Editor
Eric Pye, Contributor / IG Influencer @audioloveyyc
Ealan Osborne, Mr. eCoustically Speaking
Mitch Anderson, Podcast Producer

Products mentioned:

Chris Boylan:
> Sony Bravia 8 II
> Hisense L9Q UST
> Kaleidescape Strato E and Strato V
> Denon AVR-X3800H
> Samsung Micro RGB
> Dirac Acoustic Room Treatment

Ealan Osborne:
> Sony STR-AZ7000ES
> Google Eclipsa
> DTS:X Profile 2

William Jennings:
> Sony WH-1000XM6
> Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
> Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2
> Audeze CRBN2
> Questyle QCC Pro
> Astell&Kern SP4000 DAP
> Bose Ultra Open-Ear buds

Eric Pye:
> Vinyl reissues
> KLH Model Five
> KLH Model Seven

Mitch Anderson:
> MoFi UltraTracker
> Ray Tubes

Brian Mitchell:
> Canvas HiFi
> Canvas HiFi Frame
> Bacch 3D

Related links:
> https://www.ecoustics.com/best-right-now/

Credits:

Original intro music by The Arc of All. https://sourceoflightandpower.bandcamp.com
Voice Over Provided by Todd Harrell of SSP Unlimited. https://sspunlimited.com
Production by Mitch Anderson, Black Circle Studios. https://blackcircleradio.com

Keep up-to-date with all the latest Hi-Fi, Headphone, Home Theater and Music news by visiting: https://www.ecoustics.com

#ecoustics #avtrends #2025bestof #hifi #audiophile #vintageaudio #hometheater #dolbyatmos #headphones #vinylcommunity #yearinreview

This episode examines the results from the 2025 Ultra-Short Throw (UST) Projector Showdown with event organizer, Brian Gluck of ProjectorScreen.com and emcee, Phil Jones of ProjectorReviews.com. The UST Projector Showdown allowed 6 judges to rate 9 UST projectors side-by-side with identical 100-inch screens, which underwent testing 15 different categories.  The models in the competition included the:

• Epson QS100 3-Chip Laser-Lit LCD Projector – 4,500 Lumens ($4,999)
• Formovie Theater Premium Triple Laser DLP Projector – 2,200 Lumens ($2,799)
• Hisense L9Q Triple Laser DLP Projector – 5,000 Lumens ($5,999)
• Hisense PT1 Triple Laser DLP Projector – 2,500 Lumens ($2,999)
• Hisense PX3 Pro Triple Laser DLP Projector – 3,000 Lumens ($3,499)
• JMGO O2S Ultra Triple Laser DLP Projector – 3,600 Lumens ($2,999)
• Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII Hybrid Triple Laser/LED DLP Projector – 2,400 Lumens ($3,499)*
• XGIMI Aura 2 GTV Hybrid Laser/LED DLP Projector – 2,200 Lumens ($2,699)

The 2025 UST Projector Showdown was held November 8, 2025 at ProjectorScreen.com's headquarters in New Jersey, which crowed winners across four categories:

1. Best for Mixed use in Bright and Dark Rooms
2. Best for Home Theater
3. Best Value
4. Best Overall Picture Performance

Find out who won and how it all went down.

Panel:
• Brian Mitchell, Founder, eCoustics
• Chris Boylan, Editor-at-Large, eCoustics
• Brian Gluck, Owner, ProjectorScreen.com
• Phil Jones, Owner, ProjectorReviews.com

Related links:
https://www.ecoustics.com/news/best-ust-projectors-2025-showdown/
https://www.projectorscreen.com/blogs/insights/the-2025-ust-projector-showdown-results
https://www.projectorreviews.com/2025-ultra-short-throw-projector-showdown-recap/

Credits:

Original intro music by The Arc of All. https://sourceoflightandpower.bandcamp.com
Voice Over Provided by Todd Harrell of SSP Unlimited. https://sspunlimited.com
Production by Mitch Anderson, Black Circle Studios. https://blackcircleradio.com

Keep up-to-date with all the latest Hi-Fi, Headphone, Home Theater and Music news by visiting: https://www.ecoustics.com

#USTProjector #USTshowdown #miniprojector #ecoustics #projectorscreens #projectorshootout #hometheater #hdr #uhd #4k #8k #tvtech #2025bestoftech #2025tv

Confused by the Denon vs. Marantz AVR maze? Join eCoustics Founder Brian Mitchell, Editor at Large Chris Boylan, and Phil Jones, Global Director of Training at Harman International, as they break down 19 AVRs ranging from $400 to $7,200. Though Denon and Marantz have been under the same corporate roof for over a decade (now Harman International, owned by Samsung), not all AVRs are created equal.

Discover the subtle—and not-so-subtle—differences, what really matters for your Dolby Atmos setup, and which brand might make your wallet sigh. Perfect for home theater enthusiasts ready to cut through the hype and make a smart buy.

Thank you to our sponsor of this episode, HEOS! For more information please visit:

https://www.denon.com/en-us/plp/heos

Credits:
Original intro music by The Arc of All. https://sourceoflightandpower.bandcamp.com
Voice Over Provided by Todd Harrell of SSP Unlimited. https://sspunlimited.com
Production by Mitch Anderson, Black Circle Studios. https://blackcircleradio.com
Keep up-to-date with all the latest Hi-Fi, Headphone, Home Theater and Music news by visiting:

https://www.ecoustics.com

#hifi #audiophile  #ecoustics #avr #heos #surroundsound #denon #marantz #soundunited #bowerswilkins #polk #hometheater