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The high-end headphone market has seen major growth recently, and Pioneer is among the latest brands to enter the fray with its flagship SE-Master1, that has been tuned and tested in London by Air Studios. Handmade in Japan and engraved with its own unique serial number, it is claimed that up to 100 individual processes are requiredto produce a single SE-Master1 headphone. According to Pioneer, it features 50mm driver units with an aluminium diaphragm finished in a special surface treatment called PCC (Parker Ceramic Coating), that it claims is advantageous for high-frequency resolution. In addition, the company says that its PEEK (Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone) compounding material helps to reduce distortion and achieve a smoother sound quality.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has teamed up with legendary Oscar winner Martin Scorsese to tell the tale of a fictional record label in the seventies. The hour-long special is being produced and shown on US cable network HBO and has been named Vinyl. AsVarietyreports, the drama – which isritten by Terence Winter (who collaborated with Scorsese on The Wolf Of Wall Street and TV series Boardwalk Empire – features Bobby Cannavale as label boss Richie Finestra, who hasa knack for discovering talent, but faces a crisis when confronted with a life-changing decision. Vinyl is expected to appear on US screens in 2016, but as yet no details have been announced about who has picked up the UK rights to screen it.

The Chord Company has launched what it calls its most advanced mains product to date, the Sarum Super ARAY power cable. First unveiled at the Bristol Show 2015, the mains plug is a bespoke version of an MS Power mains plug, with silver-plated conductors, says the maker. It’s also claimed that the fitting of two silicone tubes improves mechanical damping and vibration. Cable insulation is gas-foamed PTFE and the shieldingis high-density silver-plated braid.

Japanese brand Luxman celebrates 90 years in the audio business with the launch of its new D-06u CD/SACD player, C-700u stereo preamplifier and M-700u stereo power amplifier. The D-06u is fitted with a Burr-Brown PCM1792A D/A convertor and supports PCM up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD data up to 5. 64MHz via the USB input. According to Luxman, the player also comes with dedicated audio player software with support for FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, MP3, DSF and DSIDIFF playback from either a PC or Mac.

PRICE: £160-£700 AVAILABLE: NOW CONTACT: 01268 740580 WEB: MONITORAUDIO. COM MONITOR AUDIO HAS been busy stepping its loudspeakers up a gear, and the latest range to get some attention is its popular BX range with the next generation of models. The redefined lineup of seven Bronze speakers draws on developments further up the maker’s extensive range. It carries four new hi-fi models that include the Bronze One and Bronze Two standmounts, along with the Bronze Five and Bronze Six floorstanding models.

We all know what a good speaker should do, but how to do it is another matter altogether – there are many different ways of attempting this. Moving coil drive units in a wooden box are the most common and simplest type to produce, but arguably the most flawed. Still, because the concept is so old there has been plenty of time to refine it, and Tannoy came up with its own solution nearly 70 years ago. Its first dual concentric design – the Monitor Black of 1946 – was a coaxial speaker combining mid/bass and treble units in one drive unit.

This month sees our 400th issue, a special anniversary edition celebrating 40 years of expert hi-fi reviews and buying advice. In putting together this issue, I have come to realise just how significantly the world of audio has changed in an amazingly short amount of time. I was perhaps a bit too young to remember the very first issue of Hi-Fi Choice when it launched in its original A5 format back in 1975, but I do remember the music and sounds of the time that got me hooked, even if I was listening on a mono cassette radio recorder or my dad’s 8-track tape player in the family car. For anyone wanting to recall the era our Year In Music feature is just for you, and revisits 1975 with a comprehensive rundown of the bands and albums that defined the magazine’s birth year.