More than 1,300 brands, including global leaders of the hi-fi and home cinema industries, are expected to showcase their audiovisual tech solutions at the four-day Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) trade show in Amsterdam this coming Feb. 11. Official ISE 2020 exhibitors include Bose, Bluesound, Epson, Lenovo, McIntosh, Monitor Audio, Panasonic, Shure, Sonos, Sonus Faber, and Sony, to name a few. ISE, running on its 17th, will take place at the RAI Amsterdam convention centre for the last time this year as the event will move out to Barcelona starting 2021. Organizers behind the show have issued a warning on attendee’s risk of exposure to the novel Coronavirus pandemic, as well as precautionary measures to follow. But as it seems, 80,000 visitors and exhibitors remain expected at the event.
New Exhibitors and Incumbents to Look Forward to
ISE features “the world’s leading producers of AV products, technologies and solutions” while also giving opportunities to promising startups. It includes areas of the show floor called Audio and Live Events, Digital Signage, Innovation Zone, Residential Solutions, and Smart Building. Among the new exhibitors at ISE 2020 are Bluesound, Cedar Audio, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Funktion One. For the first time ever, the show will also provide a dedicated for virtual reality experience. One of the teasers that had been revealed so far is the showcasing of McIntosh and Sonus Faber of a new custom installation high-end audio products. Last year McIntosh presented distribution amplifiers and in-wall speakers. This year, it will be new AV processors and receivers. In addition, Monitor Audio will be doing its very first demo of the IMS-4 music streamer at the show. The IMS-4 can stream to four separate zones, access networked music libraries, and function with voice control. Meanwhile, French firm Triangle is slated to unveil two new models as part of its Secret custom install range which includes”a new mounting technology for a fast and easy installation” so we’re intrigued to see that. Storm Audio, also based in France, will be exhibiting its MK2 family of processors and amplifiers, promising flexibility with 16, 24 or 32-channel analogue preamp/processors, a fully loaded digital AES 32-channel machine as well as 8 and 16-channel amps. Start-up firm Theory Audio Design will launch its first soundbars, speakers and subs with the ALC-1809, a nine-channel amplified loudspeaker controller among the most interesting in its array yet.