Hi-Fi Choice

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.