Martin Audio, TiMax, Linea Research And Optimal Audio Celebrate Multiple Wins

BlacklineQ and Optimal Audio's Column Series secure Best of Show honours, while a new demo-room format and product launches draw strong interest in Las Vegas.

Martin Audio, TiMax, Linea Research and Optimal Audio left InfoComm 2026 in Las Vegas with three notable accolades and positive feedback for a showcase built around a dedicated Demo Room. Martin Audio’s BlacklineQ earned a Best of Show award following its US trade show debut, Optimal Audio's new Column Series collected a Best of Show of its own, and Martin Audio partners Technical Audio Group and Vestec Audio were named Best Multipurpose Venue at the Mondo|DR Awards.

The centrepiece was Demo Room N112, which introduced an application-led format guiding visitors through four real-world scenarios — Hospitality, Sports Venues, Worship and Auditoria — matching suitable loudspeakers with the control and processing to deliver each brief. Projection mapping and immersive sound from TiMax brought the sessions to life, demonstrating how spatial audio can add an extra dimension to venue experiences and prompting in-depth discussions with integrators, consultants and end users beyond the scope of traditional stand demos.

On Booth N6833, Martin Audio highlighted the evolution of its flagship Wavefront Precision optimised line array family, alongside the CDD Series and ADORN ranges. BlacklineQ also made its US debut and added a Best of Show trophy to its growing list of accolades. As the first series in its category to feature differential dispersion for controlled coverage across varied deployments, BlacklineQ has become the fastest-selling member of the Blackline line-up.

From a fully functioning hospitality installation on stand — spanning dining room, bar and outdoor terrace — Optimal Audio introduced the ZonePad VL-1 passive wall controller and the SmartAmp Custom Configurator. These accompanied the recently launched Column Series — Column 8 and Column 16 — which subsequently secured its own Best of Show award.

Rising interest in advanced spatial audio workflows was evident at TiMax, where the latest evolution of its TiMax SoundHub spatial audio and show-control platform was demonstrated in a dedicated immersive setup. New ADM-OSC integrations, native SpatAI v2 bringing AI-driven control into TiMax SoundHub, and Scaling Surfaces for showfile portability between differently sized venues attracted steady attention from performance, presentation and experiential audio professionals throughout the week.

Linea Research used the show to debut its compact NSC Series network system processors. Visitors went hands-on with the NSC24, NSC46 and NSC48, alongside the newest update to System Engineer 8, with the stand seeing consistent engagement from integrators and system designers.

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