Hi-Fi Choice

Introducing Lehmannaudio’s latest headphone amplifier, the £450 Drachenfels. Named after a hill in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany, it can be used as a headphone amp and has twin 6. 35mm jack outputs with gold-plated contacts, or as a single-input preamp for a power amplifier or set of powered speakers. Lehmannaudio claims it provides 12dB of gain, and says that because of its Alps Blue Velvet potentiometer and synchronism with the ultra low-noise circuit, there is no need for a gain switch.

Audio lovers and high-end enthusiasts will be able to share their passion at The Hi-Fi ShowLive2017, held once again at the exclusive Beaumont Estate in Old Windsor over the weekend of 21-22 October. Now in its fifth consecutive year, the two-day hi-fi extravaganza is the UK’s biggest celebration of high-end hi-fi for dedicated fans. Advance Tickets The on-line ticket office is now open, so snap up your guaranteed place for Saturday 21st, Sunday 22nd or buy a full weekend pass to theHi-Fi ShowLive. Tickets cost £20 (£30 for a weekend pass) viaeventbrite.

Not content with offering vinyl lovers the ooportunity to pick up the black stuff on Record Store Day, there is now Record Store Day Black Friday and vinylistas should mark down 24 November in their diaries. Rhino is preparing 12 special, limited edition releases especially for 2017’s Record Store Day Black Friday. Fans of Aretha Franklin, Dimebag Darrell, The Doors, Grateful Dead, The Notorious B. I.

If proof were needed of vinyl's return as a mainstream format,then Technics' comeback with the reimagining of its legendary SL-1200 turntable in 2016, was a powerful symbol of just how popular the music format has become. Technics ceased production of its turntables back in 2010, which lead to protests fromits loyal fans around the world. Seemingly, someone at Technicswas listening, as the iconic turntable returned in a redesigned limited-edition SL-1200GAE form last year and was so popular that several incarnations have since followed, broadening its appeal to new fansat more accessible price points. It seems nothing can stop the company's passion for the vinyl format, and the star of this year's IFA show held in September to the delight of many audio fans was the announcement of a flagship SP-10R turntable motor unit expected to be released in summer 2018.