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Distributed in the UK through Henley Audio, Reloop HiFi’s TURN 5 (£650), its second turntable outing, claims to be a stylish combination of precision engineering and affordability – which is excellent news for the vinyl fans ready to upgrade an existing deck. Housed in a sturdy industrial-chic chassis, TURN 5 offers a choice of 33, 45 and 78rpm playback at the press of three buttons on the top plate. Equipped with an S-shaped tonearm with removable headshell for easy cartridge changeovers, useful features include an anti-skatedial, adjustable VTA, hydraulic lift system and heavy counterweight. Ready to use out of the box, TURN 5 is supplied with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge and also comes with a dust cover and shock-absorbing feet.

The Debut series from ELAC made waveson its original release when we reviewed its B6 standmount (HFC 407) and F5 floorstander (HFC 411) in the performance versus value-for-money stakes and the manufacturer has set its sights on doing it again with the Debut 2. 0 collection. Less a reboot and morea complete redesign from the ground up, prices for the 11-strong Debut 2. 0 series featuring MDF cabinets in black ash vinyl finishes range from £250 for a B5.

Californian brand Aesthetix’s renowned Saturn series gets a 2018 update with its seven-strong Saturn Eclipse collection of high-end components. Distributed in the UK by Cool Gales in Bath and Hi-Fi Sound in Stockton-on-Tees, prices range from £12,455 each for the Rhea Eclipse all-valve phono stage and the Calypso Eclipse (pictured below) line stage preamp, to the Atlas Eclipse mono power amplifier pair at £31,190. The other components in the collection are the Pandora Eclipse DAC (£14,950), Janus Eclipse full-function preamp and Romulus Eclipse DAC/CD Player (each £16,200) and the Atlas Eclipse power amp (£18,700). According to the manufacturer, enhancements include new StealthCap capacitors for subtle detailing and improved spatial imaging; electrical upgrades; advanced mechanical chassis isolation and sophisticated power supply grounding.

Do you know what Roon is? Do you think you need to know? Should you even care? When hi-fi manufacturers launch a new amplifier or loudspeaker, the question immediately turns to its styling, specification and indeed performance. Rarely – if ever – does one ever end up asking: “Why do I need it?”, or “How will owning such a thing make my life better?” The problem for Roon founder Enno Vandermeer is that his product needs a whole lot of explanation before people can take a view about whether they actually want it. “We created an experience that people were missing. The only trouble is, they didn’t know it!”, he says.

Recent years have seen British hi-fi company Exposure downsize the dimensions of its electronics with the introduction of its half-width XM series in 2016. Following its considerable success in squeezing its extensive hi-fi know-how into smaller dimensions, the audio component specialist has turned its attention to the top of its lineup and replaced its highly regarded but bulky MCX series pre and power amplifiers with slimline units. The new 5010 series features two products: a preamplifier priced at £2,000 and a mono power amplifier priced at £4,550 per pair and rated at 200W into 8ohm and 370W into 4. At first glance they don't look all that different to the brand’s existing 3010 and 2010 series of audio components, but the new 5010 models are significantly trimmer measuring just 90mm and 115mm tall respectively, and each is a mere 440mm wide and 300mm deep.

Another headphone first comes from Audiolab – best known for its DACs and amplifiers – which pulls back the curtain on two sets of in-ear designs with the M-EAR 2D (£430) and M-EAR 4D (£700). Both available now, the former is a two-driver design, with one driver handling mid/high frequencies and the other dedicated to bass. The M-EAR 4D is a three-way design sporting four drivers – one for high frequencies, another for midrange and two for bass. Both come with a tangle-resistant detachable 1.

Expectations are high for Quad’s debut headphone – this is the company behind the legendary ESL loudspeaker and whose philosophy is “the closest approach to the original sound”, after all. According to Quad, the ERA-1 combines high sensitivity with low impedance to enable excellent performance with a range of partnering devices – from portable players to top-of-the-range amps. To create this flagship design, it developed a planar magnetic driver, which aims to deliver a more natural and accurate sound – allowing the listener to immerse themselves in every musical nuance. The headphone incorporates a strong, ultra-thin, electrically active diaphragm fused with a magnet system designed to maximise sensitivity and consistency over the driver area.