Vinyl

Setting up a living room hi-fi system generally involves getting to grips with cables, lots of cables. But the audio landscape has changed in recent years. Yamaha has introduced a new turntable that's designed to bridge the gap between analog and digital music formats.

​Dirt and grime in the grooves can result in a less than crystal clear listening experience when spinning vinyl. Record cleaning machines can help, but if you don't have the time for regular vinyl maintenance the SugarCube SC-1 can help strip the signal of its snap, crackle and pop.​

Vinyl music is riding the crest of a popularity wave at the moment, but buying an audiophile turntable can be very costly. Particularly when extra components need to be purchased. The UK's SME has you covered with its complete Synergy solution.​

No matter how well you care for your collection, records can be insatiable magnets for surface dust and groove-filling micro particles. A retro-cool machine called the Degritter uses ultrasound to get into the grooves and rejuvenate treasured vinyl.​

Austrian company Rebeat is looking to fundamentally change the way vinyl records are mastered, promising to bring what it calls “HD vinyl”, with longer playing times and better sound quality, to stores sometime in 2019.

Indianapolis-based Romanus Records is shaking up boring vinyl with records that contains gun powder and razor blades or shifting sand. The latest envelope-pushing idea from the label is an album that rocks its own light show.

Vinyl continues its triumphant return to the mainstream in 2017, with sales of records at their highest point since the late 1980s. Sony is looking to tap into the trend by restarting vinyl production in Japan after a nearly 30-year break.

We've seen quite a few eye-catching takes on the trusty turntable over the last 12 months, including a mid-air spinner and a design where the stylus was dragged around a stationary record. The Wheel may have onlookers wondering where the tonearm and phono cartridge have gone.

Third Man Records is seven years old on July 30, and is celebrating with an attempt to play the first phonographic record in space. A master of Carl Sagan's A Glorious Dawn will be played using a custom-built turntable designed for operation at high altitude.

German pro audio gear maker Elysia is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a limited run of its 500 series hardware modules. The front panel of each karacter, nvelope, xfilter and xpressor module is made from recycled vinyl records.

Singapore-based Akai Professional is looking to tap into a growing market for vinyl records with a stylish new turntable named the BT-500 that's said to offer "no-compromise audiophile performance," together with analog-to-digital conversion and wireless streaming capabilities.

Back in 2014, Panasonic reanimated the Technics brand with the launch of two high end audio ranges. The company confirmed plans to introduce a new direct drive motor assembly for an upcoming turntable at IFA 2015. Now, the picture is complete with a CES reveal of the brand new Grand Class SL-1200G.