If the name Braun makes you think of electric shavers or kitchen appliances, you might be surprised to know that the firm's nigh-on one hundred years in the design business also includes notable firsts in consumer audio.
After a 28-year hiatus, Braun is back in the hi-fi sphere with a reinvention of its 1959 speaker range known as LE. The German brand will, fittingly, premiere them in its motherland at IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung), Europe's biggest consumer electronics trade show, which takes place in Berlin from 6th to 11th September.
In 1956, Braun launched the first hi-fi turntable system with transparent plexiglass cover: the SK 4. In 1959, the company followed it up with the first mobile record player/radio in the TP 1.
With the originals designed by Dieter Rams in 1959, the new range of LE models promises state of the art technology and connectivity. Braun says it's focused on "purity of design, purity of performance and above all else, purity of sound".
Prof. Oliver Grabes, Head of Braun Design, said: "This year we excitingly mark the return of Braun Audio with the reinvention of one of the brand's most iconic ranges – the LE." He added that the reintroduction, "means the brand reawakens its relationship with the audio world and the importance that sound, and particularly music, has in our lives."
Obviously, we've yet to see the new LE range in the flesh – that'll happen in September. Until then, there's always the soothing sound of our old Braun Multipractic food processor, which should still be in the kitchen cupboard somewhere.
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