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The Best Speakers, Headphones & Audio Gear of CES 2024

Including Victrola’s newest “Works with Sonos” turntable, Samsung’s speaker picture thing and JBL’s newest portable Bluetooth speakers.

a record player with speakersVictrola

By Tucker Bowe

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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in nearly done and , per usual, a lot of new audio gear has been announced. From the latest flagship noise-canceling headphones to new-age wireless turntables, gorgeous active speakers to incredibly elaborate Dolby Atmos soundbars — it’s all there.

Below, we’ve rounded up the coolest new audio gear that’s been announced at CES 2024 so far.

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FiiO R9

The FiiO R9 is an upgraded version of last year’s GP100-winning R7. Like its predecessor, the R9 is an all-in-one desktop hi-fi solution. It’s a high-end streaming DAC and headphone amplifier with its own Android operating system and a multitude of wireless and wired connections. The difference with R9 is that it has an improved Qualcomm Bluetooth chip, improved twin DACs (now ESS Labs 9030PRO) and a twice-as-powerful amplifier. It also adds an HDMI ARC port in case you want to connect it to a TV.

Price: $1,499
Availability: Now

Samsung Music Frame

Samsung’s Music Frame is part speaker and part picture frame. It’s a wireless speaker that you hang on your wall and it disguises itself as artwork. The speaker has six drivers (two tweeters, two mid-range drivers and two woofers) and supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi streaming. If you have a Samsung TV or soundbar, you can configure it as a surround sound speaker, as well. Samsung will sell a variety of different prints you’ll be able to display on it, too.

Price: $400
Availability: This spring

Victrola Stream Sapphire

Victrola made waves last year when it announced the Stream Carbon ($699), the company’s most high-end turntable to date and, more significantly, the first turntable to work natively with Sonos. At this year’s CES, Victrola has announced an even higher-end turntable, the Stream Sapphire, with more premium components and more wireless streaming capabilities. It works with Sonos, Roon and the Universal Plug and Play protocol (UPnP), meaning you can connect to an AV receiver or smart TV. It’s also capable of streaming lossless FLAC audio files (up to 24-bit/48kHz).

Price: $1,499
Availability: This spring

Sennheiser Momentum TW 4

The Sennheiser Momentum TW 4s are the company’s new flagship noise-canceling wireless earbuds. They look virtually identical to their predecessor, the 2022-released Momentum TW 3s, but the new earbuds have improved battery, more powerful noise-cancellation and improved sound (thanks to aptX lossless support).

Price: $300
Availability: Preorder on February 15; available February 20

Focal Aria Evo X

The French hi-fi maker announced the Aria Evo X series of loudspeakers, the next-generation of its decade-old Aria 900 series. The new series has been integrated with a number of flagship technologies, including the TNF tweeter or Flax cone, and each model has an updated look and finish. The loudspeaker series consists of three floorstanders (N°2, N°3, N°4), one pair of bookshelf speakers (N°1) and a center channel.

Price: $999 (center) — $5,998 (floorstanding/pair)
Availability: February 2024

Samsung HW-Q990D

The Samsung HW-Q990D is the company’s new flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar system for 2024. Like its predecessor, the much-lauded HW-Q990C, the HW-Q990D is an 11.1.4-channel system (with 22 total drivers) that connects wirelessly to a compatible Samsung TV. The difference this year is that the HW-Q990D has a built-in HDMI 2.1 port, making it much better for connecting next-gen consoles or 4K streamers. It also supports Roon for audiophiles who have other Roon-ready speakers.

Price: TBD
Availability: TBD

Audio-Technica ATH-TWX7

The Audio-Technica ATH-TWX7s are the company’s newest pair of noise-canceling wireless earbuds. They have the same 5.8mm drivers as the company’s flagship ATH-TWX9s ($299), but they’re considerably cheaper — just don’t expect their noise-canceling to be as good. One notable upgrade is that these new earbuds support LDAC streaming (up to 24-bit/96kHz), although you’ll need a compatible Android smartphone to take advantage of it.

Price: $199
Availability: Now

Audio Pro C20

Audio Pro’s C20 is a minimalist wireless speaker that can just about do it all. It supports Wi-Fi (AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect) and Bluetooth streaming. It has an HDMI ARC input so you can use it as a miniature soundbar for your TV, and it has a built-in MM phono stage for connecting a turntable.

Price: $550
Availability: February 2024

Sonus Faber Suprema

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Italian luxury hi-fi maker Sonus Faber introduced its super high-end Suprema speaker system — totaling $750,000. The system consists of two main speaker columns (each with eight front-firing and two back-firing speakers), two subwoofers and an electronic crossover. Each speaker is made of a combo of carbon fiber, wood and aluminum, and the column loudspeakers are decked with front panels made with genuine Italian leather.

Price: $750,000
Availability: Now

Klipsch Flexus Soundbar

In an unlikely pairing, Klipsch and Onkyo have announced a partnership on an upcoming Flexus series of soundbars. There are two soundbars, the Flexus Core 100 and Flexus Core 200 (shown), both of which are actually very affordable. The Flexus Core 100 is a 2.1-channel soundbar and the Flexus Core 200 is 3.1.2-channel soundbar — the latter of which has up-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos. Both soundbars connect to your TV via HDMI eARC and they both have built-in Bluetooth.

Price: $299 (Core 100); $449 (Core 200)
Availability: April 2024

JBL Live 3 Earbuds

JBL announced three pairs of noise-canceling wireless earbuds in its Live 3 series: the Live Buds 3 (earbuds), Live Beam 3 (stem, shown) and Live Flex 3 (open-ear). The three wireless earbuds share most of the same features, with the big difference being their design and fit. Maybe most significantly, all have a charging case with a built-in display (just like last year’s JBL Tour Pro 2) that allows you to control playback without opening your smartphone.

Price: $200
Availability: Summer 2024

Hidizs ST2 Pro Digital IEMs

Hidizs announced the ST2 Pros, digital in-ear monitors that look to be a perfect partner to today’s iPhone 15 line. They have a built-in DAC (ESS ES9281C PRO) and a USB-C connector, so you can plug them directly into your newest iPhone (or MacBook). They can play lossless audio files with support for PMC (up to 32-Bit/384kHz), DSD128 and MQA. And they have pretty stunning, mostly transparent design.

Price: TBD
Availability: TBD

JBL Clip 5, Xtreme 4 and Go 4

JBL announced next-gen versions of most of its ultra-portable Bluetooth speakers — there’s the new Xtreme 4 ($380), Clip 5 ($80, shown) and Go 4 ($50). All have been updated to sound better (and get louder), have improved battery life and connectivity (including support for Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio), and have a more environment-friendly design.

Price: $50–$380
Availability: June 2024

Sennheiser Momentum Sport

The Momentum Sports are new sport-focused wireless earbuds from Sennheiser. They’re considerably different from last year’s models, the Sport True Wireless, because they have more flagship-level features and, uniquely, integrated sensors for monitoring heart rate and body temperature. The neat thing is the Momentum Sports are compatible with most of today’s most popular training apps — including Apple, Garmin, Strava, Peloton and Polar — so syncing over these additional metrics is a breeze.

Price: $300
Availability: April 2024

McIntosh MC2.1KW Monoblock Power Amplifier

power amplifierMcIntosh

McIntosh MC2.1KW Monoblock Power Amplifier

In celebration of the hi-fi giant’s 75th anniversary, McIntosh announced what it’s claiming is “one of its most powerful amplifiers to date.” The MC2.1KW Monoblock Power Amplifier has a tri-chassis construction, consisting of three separate modules (one output and two power), and is capable of delivering a whopping 2,000 watts of power per channel. And yes, it’s got a price tag to match its power.

Price: $50,000
Availability: Now

Sennheiser Accentum Plus

These mid-range noise-canceling wireless headphones fall between the company’s Accentum ($180) and flagship Momentum 4 Wireless ($350). The “Plus” models look mostly the same as their budget-friendly sibling, the Accentum, but they have more features. For instance, the Plus models have swipe/touch controls (instead of buttons), wear detection sensors and a 3.5mm headphone jack for connection to more traditional analog sources. Sennheiser has also given them better ANC abilities and improved sound (thanks to support for aptX Adaptive).

Price: $230
Availability: February 20

EarFun Wave Pro

EarFun, best known for its super affordable wireless earbuds, has announced its first pair of wireless noise-canceling headphones — and yes, they too are affordable. The EarFun Wave Pros cost $80 and deliver a number of more premium features like support for LDAC audio files and Bluetooth multi-point. Most impressively, they promise to have a 55-hour battery life with ANC turned on.

Price: $80
Availability: March 2024

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