The best hi-fi kit we saw at CES 2026: an iconic turntable updated, Edifier's first eARC active speakers, and much more

Date:
Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:26:03 +0000

Description:
Cambridge's first ever bookshelf stereo speakers, portable Fender Bluetooth options and Victrola's, er, soundbase (yes really).

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If you read TechRadar regularly or have even a casual interest in tech, CES 2026 will not be passing you by. And because audio and hi-fi are my beats, what you're getting here is my pick of the new kit in the realms of speakers, turntables and all things hi-fi although if you want the best headphones and earbuds I saw at CES , I've got that too.

CES is the grand stage many brands have used to unveil some of the best turntables and best stereo speakers ever to grace our testing process. Now, it's a bit early for us to be issuing our collective verdicts whether these are about to join those buying guides as the best options on the market, but with our expert team on the ground at CES in Las Vegas, we can certainly tell you a bit more about them 1. Audio-Technica AT-LP7X turntable (Image credit: Audio-Technica) An update to A-T's excellent 2019 AT-LP7 Belt drive, heavy plinth, acrylic platter, built-in phono preamp

Audio-Technica's 2019 AT-LP7 turntable is a modern classic I helped review
it for our sister title What Hi-Fi? in 2019, calling it "very likely the best turntable any manufacturer has ever built that sells at the price Audio-Technica is currently asking for it".

And now there's a new version being shown at CES, called the AT-LP7X. This
new deck looks a lot like the existing AT-LP7, but that's no bad thing it's
a chic matt black minimalist design, and if you just want a turntable to look like a turntable, that's what you get here. It's also a fully manual belt-driven deck that comes with a J-shaped aluminum tonearm inspired by classic A-T models from the sixties and seventies.

The turntable contains a built-in switchable phono preamplifier for both MM and MC cartridges, and the vertical tracking angle adjustment, anti-skate and sub-counterweight enable the turntable to work with a wide range of
cartridges and headshells.

The Audio-Technica AT-LP7X is available now, worldwide. The recommended
retail price is 679 / 799 (about $920 / AU$1,369) and I for one can't wait to try it. 2. Fender ELIE Bluetooth speaker (Image credit: Fender) ELIE stands for 'Extremely Loud, Infinitely Expressive' and apparently, they really do sound that good

Fender is of course a legendary guitar brand, known for its Stratocasters, Telecasters and Jazzmasters, plus various amplifiers and pedals. But the company is using CES 2026 to unveil speakers and even a set of headphones bearing the name.

Headlining the collection are two Bluetooth speakers the $299 ELIE E6, with
a 60W power output and 15-hour battery life, and the $399 E12, which doubles the output and adds three hours of power. Exact release dates and international availability aren't yet known

Both apparently have built-in subwoofers for extra bass. You can also pair
two speakers in a stereo mode or up to hundred in a multi mode, plus there's
a 3.5mm AUX jack and a handle for slightly retro-feel portability.

Interestingly, both ELIE speakers have an XLR plug, so in theory you could plug in your guitar to use them as portable amplifiers something my
colleague Tom Bedford is dubious of, but I would be curious to check out with my own Strat.

And if I felt that Fender might have missed a trick with the basic-box type aesthetic (see the Orange Box and Marshall Middleton II for that retro amp
DNA look I'd expected) my mind was swayed enough to include them in this roundup by my colleage Matt Bolton, who heard them at CES and tells me they sound "really great". So that's me told. 3. Cambridge L/R active bookshelf speakers (Image credit: Future) Cambridge isn't known for active bookshelf speakers This three-strong lineup takes aim at KEF's share of the market

The lineup in the photo above isn't something Cambridge is famous for. It's a trio of premium active speakers available in some pretty punchy finishes including my favorite, a groovy orange. There is a UK audio outfit I am used to seeing this kind of thing from: KEF (see the excellent five-star KEF LSX
II LT, or newer KEF Coda W ) and clearly, Cambridge wants a slice of that pie at CES 2026.

And why not? There's no rule against it. The L/R Series comprises the L/R X, L/R M and L/R S. The largest two options (L/R X and L/R M) both feature Cambridges StreamMagic Gen 4 platform for hi-res Wi-Fi streaming, multi-room functionality and direct access to leading music services, including Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect, Amazon Music, Deezer, ROON Ready, UPnP and Internet Radio, as well as multi-room use through Google Cast or Apple AirPlay 2.

These two also introduce Cambridge's new and innovative 28mm Torus tweeter, plus a novel 2.5-way acoustic design. The smaller (and much cheaper) L/R S offers similar looks in a Bluetooth-focused design that Cambridge suggests would be perfect for desks, bedrooms, or kitchen counters.

Prices? Of course: fees start at $549/399/499 for the L/R S, up to $2,299/1,799/1999 for the L/R X. So, high-end territory for this kind of speaker but having heard the flagship model briefly before CES, I didn't
mind the price tag whatsoever because in my opinion, they sounded easily as meaty as the asking fee. 4. Victrola Soundstage soundbase (Image credit: Victrola) You can now literally put your Victrola up high on its very own elevation platform, with speakers inbuilt

Do not adjust your screens, this isn't 2018 and the Victrola Soundstage is
not a soundbase looking to rival the likes of the Sonos Playbase TV soundbases have basically gone extinct while soundbars persist, no?

The Victrola Soundstage is in fact a speaker-filled solution to slip under your turntable ideally one also made by Victrola, so you can sing "On the Victrola up high" along with Allanah Myles and really mean it

As you can imagine, putting a turntable directly on top of something that might shake, rattle and roll with music could negatively impact the audio quality, but Victrola has two key technologies which the firm says will eradicate this.

The first is what it calls the Symmetric Drive Woofer, a downward-firing dual-diaphragm woofer which it says delivers well-tuned and hefty bass while avoiding any vibrations. The other is a Balanced Mode Radiator, which is designed to disperse music evenly across a wide area, while retaining the original sound profile of your music.

And it's certainly a good-looking, space saving and fuss-free option for $349.99. 5. Edifier M90 active speakers (Image credit: Edifier ) The first Edifier desktop speakers to feature an eARC port and that means much better quality audio

Having tested the Edifier QR65 , I tend to associate desktop speakers from Edifier with... well, desktop use. But a new release from the company wants
to go a little further.

The new M90 speakers are not just aiming to be the best computer speakers ; the addition of an HDMI eARC port (Edifier's first on a set of active speakers) adds a whole new layer of functionality. You see, eARC unlocks a connection your TV can use to output much better audio. It stands for
Enhanced Audio Return Channel, and it lets the speaker play uncompressed audio.

To be clear, you can plug the Edifier M90 straight into your TV and get levelled up audio from movies, shows and games. The brand's product listing page shows them used with a TV, consoles, PCs and even a turntable, although of course these won't all be from eARC connectivity. M90 also supports Optical, AUX, USB-C and Bluetooth connections, with support for Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless and the LDAC and SBC codecs.

Each of the M90's two speakers features a 4-inch long-throw mid-bass driver and a 1-inch silk dome tweeter, for a total power output of 100W so, pretty loud actually.

They weigh 6kg in total, and even come with a remote control that you can use as well as, or instead of, the Edifier app or the M90's on-device buttons.

Edifier hasn't announced a price or release date for the M90, but I'll be keeping an ear to the ground when that happens because I really want to hear them. 6. IKEA Kallsup Bluetooth speaker (Image credit: IKEA) The first
speaker IKEA has released since its split with Sonos It's fun, funky and only $10

Do I expect detailed, nuanced, expansive and layered audio from this fun little IKEA cube? I do not. But I added it to this little roundup yes, I
know it's a hi-fi roundup because it's January. And if you're tightening the purse strings (I know I am), you can still find a product at CES that'll set you back 10 bucks and will probably make you smile.

IKEA and Sonos went their separate ways (very amicably, we're told) back in May 2025 and this is the first speaker that the Swedish flatpack furniture giant has released since the split. Kallsup is a very small speaker, but you can daisy-chain them to beef up the audio if you want more volume and for
this money, there's a lot to like.

I've yet to hear one, but I'll definitely be trying to organize that

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES , and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 live news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

You can also ask us a question about the show in our CES 2026 live Q&A and well do our best to answer it.

And dont forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/hi-fi/the-best-hi-fi-kit-we-saw-at-ces-2026-an -iconic-turntable-updated-edifiers-first-earc-active-speakers-and-much-more


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