John Sciacca

If there is one thing you can count on at CES, it is to expand the world of smart, connected, Internet of Things devices. From smart salt shakers, to smart toothbrushes, to connected sex toys, to every kind of fitness/health tracker imaginable, CES has it all. To that list you can now add Robbox Tools’ world’s first Digital Smart Drill.

For years, the THX logo on a product meant you were buying something that was a cut above the rest, with the company’s demanding certification process guaranteeing that a component met a certain performance level criterion that ensured buyers they were getting the goods, especially when it came to home theater electronics or speakers. However, the certification became diluted over the years as THX seemed to start certifying products and systems well outside of their key areas, and the THX badge seemed to nearly become extinct. But the company is back at CES and has several new technologies, including the launch of Drop + THX Panda, the first audiophile wireless headphone to receive the THX badge.

After 20-plus years in the custom installation business, I’ve learned the value of making a project as future-proof as possible. In System Building Advice, Part 1, I discussed the importance of prewiring, installing conduits for future access, covering large areas with multiple speakers, and buying the best subwoofer possible. I have some more bits of advice to share.

Tons of people use Amazon Alexa Echo smart speakers around their homes as an inexpensive way of utilizing voice control for a variety of tasks, and while the Echo is great in this role, it kinda sucks as an audio speaker. Klipsch wants to do something about that with its new KVA-40 and KVA-110 Echo Input Amplifiers that keep everything that’s good about the Echo while kicking the audio performance up several notches.