Vertere SG-1

In its Clear finish, seen here, the SG-1 retails for £16,000, while £18,250 pays for Black, Pearlescent, or Champagne. All are elegant, the two levels of 30mm-thick cast acrylic for top and bottom strata of the plinth, with a 15mm intermediate level of acrylic, creating a futuristic see-through look.

Roksan Attessa

This British brand came to the fore in the midEighties, gaining critical acclaim for its high-end Xerxes turntable. Things have changed since then for Roksan, and it now makes affordable designs too.

Rega Planar 3

There will be some reading this for whom the Rega Planar 3 was the first ‘proper’ turntable they owned. Launched in 1978, it hit the sweet spot between high-end decks and budget ones perfectly.

Pro-Ject Debut PRO

Dubbed the most audiophile’ Debut turntable yet, this deck/ arm/cartridge solution takes over from last year’s popular Debut Carbon with a host of new useful refinements

Edwards Audio TT4 Carbon

Edwards Audio is the brainchild of Kevin Edwards of Talk Electronics. His range of vinyl spinners is proudly designed and made in the UK.

Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2

Cambridge Audio’s TT V2 is best seen as a considered revision of the original Alva TT (HFC 453) rather than a wholesale change. It is a direct-drive design with electronic speed control allowing 33 and 45rpm to be selected via buttons on the plinth.

Q Acoustics Q Active 200

Balanced Mode Radiators are not a gimmick; they’re the result of decades of research and a spin-off from military research stretching back many decades.

Cabasse Pearl Akoya

Easily one of the most striking wireless speaker designs going, this has a retro-futuristic sense of glamour to it. Cabasse would argue that form follows function; its rivals’ boxy fibreboard cabinets being far from ideal sonically.

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Duo

Although passive speakers make up about 80 percent of B&W’s business, there’s no doubt that it places much importance on its newer concepts such as the Formation Duo. Effectively the company’s best wireless offering, it’s a platform upon which future products may be based.

Eclipse TD307MK3

NEW FOR THE MK3 is a 65mm full-range fibre-glass driver, said to benefit from greater responsiveness, fewer vibrational artefacts, a wider dynamic range and lower noise floor.

System Audio Legend 7.2 Silverback

There is a limbo-land, somewhere between traditional audiophilia and custom install’s convenient disappearing act where on-wall speakers live in quiet solitude.

Q Acoustics Concept 30

Q Acoustics bridges the gap between its affordable and premium ranges - borrowing from both. But does life really begin at 30?

Fyne Audio F500SP

A relative of the standard F500 HFC 457), the F500SP is absolutely not the same speaker made in a different place. The characteristics are the same, though.

AVID HiFi Reference Four

While most speakers do very nicely with variations on the wooden box theme, the Reference Four opts for all-alloy cabinets, with panels up to 15mm-thick, sitting on six 'risers' attached to a thick alloy baseplate. Hence why each of these relatively compact speakers weighs a hefty 25kg.

Acoustic Energy AE100²

One key design aim for the AE100² was to make it sensitive, and O reasonably the quoted 87dB shows that this has just about been achieved.

Wharfedale Diamond 12.3

For this 12th-generation Diamond makeover, Peter Comeau (parent company IAG's design director) handed the reins to freelance 'gun for hire' Karl-Heinz Fink, boss of Fink team and consultant to Tannoy, Mission, Q Acoustics and Naim among others. So, a clean sheet, a fresh pair of ears and a new set of design sensibilities.

System Audio saxo 40

A two-way floor-stander, the saxo 40’s stated aim is: big sound without big speakers”. The result is by far the most diminutive tower speaker that’s ever graced our listening room.

Acoustic Energy AE320

Two or so years ago, the hi-fi press was waxing lyrical about Acoustic Energy’s (then) new top-end 500 series. The 509 was a good floor stander, but its cost has gone up and that has left a gap in the mid-price market into which the AE320 steps.

Polly Jean Harvey – 50Ft Queenie

Not content unless she's pushing herself out of her comfort zone, PJ Harvey is truly one of a kind. Nigel Williamson celebrates the majesty of Polly Jean

Bang tidy

The flagship true wireless from Bang & Olufsen carries a premium price. Ed Selley finds out if it offers a high-end experience

Katch of the day

DALI updates its stylish portable to keep it competitive. Ed Selley finds out if it still delivers the goods

Sugar Ray

Sonos’ latest soundbar is a more than affordable option for watching films and listening to music. Cliff Joseph tunes in

LSX II marks the spot

New line in UK wireless hi-fi

LET THERE BE ROCK!

The hardest working heavy metal band prefers to think of themselves as good old rock and rollers. Nigel Williamson gets down and dirty with AC/DC

DESTINATION: NORTH BERWICK

There’s a new record shop making waves on the East Lothian coast, nurturing tomorrow’s DJ talent today. Simon Berkovitch hits the decks and digs the crates

DESTINATION: HACKNEY

Man about town Simon Berkovitch heads to East London in search of vinyl bliss and finds that heaven is a place on Mare Street

Healthy earworms

A catchy tune that runs continually through your mind, known as an earworm, can be very annoying, but Neville Roberts has found they can also have beneficial effects

Energy squared

Acoustic Energy's smallest floorstander has received a full reworking and Ed Selley has been giving it a shake down

Break with tradition

If you think that all Italian speakers have a certain look and sound, Rosso might make you think again reckons David Vivian

Groove's in the heart

Based on Vertere's flagship RG-1 Reference Groove turntable, there's a host of innovation in the brand's new SG-1 Super Groove