Listen carefully - here's what to expect from audio at ISE 2025

Of the 73,891 recorded visitors to ISE 2024, audio was on their minds more than any other technology. At 48%, almost half of all visitors involved in the AV channel, and 43% of end users, named audio as a specific focus.

Audio is definitely coming into its own, but with over 82,000 square metres of exhibition space at ISE 2025, where can you find – and hear – all about it?

Thankfully ISE 2025 has a dedicated Audio Technology Zone, and Hall 7 is packed to the rafters with speakers, audio processors, intercoms, mixers, cabling, amplifiers, controllers and microphones. It is easily the best sounding hall at the show, but as the increased convergence of distribution technologies has shifted the focus of the installation AV industry, don’t expect to find all audio manufacturers in their traditional locations when planning your visit in 2025.

Despite having specialised in broadcast and MI, Finnish loudspeaker specialist Genelec has a growing interest in residential AV, and showcases its wares in ISE’s dedicated Residential and Smart Building space in Hall 2, as does UK manufacturer Monitor Audio. ISE’s Multi-Technology Zone is also a lure for audio companies; microphone manufacturers like Audio-Technica, Shure and Sennheiser all call Hall 3 home while in Barcelona, while brands better known for audio broadcast mixing consoles, like Lawo and Stagetec, can be found in Hall 5.

Part of the reason might be that all these brands solve very specific audio challenges for system integrators working on bigger systems. Part of the reason might be down to the convergence of technologies in the installation industry delivering new opportunities for audio companies to operate outside of their traditional markets. Or part of the reason might be down to these companies extending their internal expertise beyond audio, like Lawo’s adoption of IP and cloud networking.

But even for audio purists, there are other, less corporate options. Audio creates an emotional bond which is difficult to put in a brochure or in a sales pitch, but which is immediately accessible when you hear it. For this reason no less than 14 companies have taken space in ISE’s dedicated demo rooms in Hall 8.0 as well as space in the traditional halls. In a demo room they can literally put visitors at the centre of everything.

“As an audio technology it is always great to experience the system itself, so we always take guests on a journey,” said Holoplot’s Head of Business Development François Villaret at ISE in 2024. “We realised that it is a very important component to our visitors’ experience.”

In 2025, Holoplot, L-Acoustics, d&b audiotechnik, Coda, Nexo, Void Acoustics, Blaze Audio, Midas, RCF, Q-Sys, Lab Gruppen, Soundking and EAW all have demo spaces for visitors to fully experience what audio is able to deliver. In fact, Harman has three spaces, with stands in Halls 3 (Multi-Technology) and 6 (Lihting & Staging)as well as in the demo area.

While there are plenty of audio exhibitors right where you would expect them, like DiGiCo, Powersoft, RCF and Nexo, visitors should be prepared to strap on their most comfortable shoes and pack their ISE floorplan.

They might have a lot a ground to cover.