Braun Returns to Audio with Engineering Support from Pure

July 18 2019, 00:50
After nearly one hundred years of inspirational design across a range of sectors, Braun announced a long-awaited comeback to an esteemed category: audio. Responsible for the development and manufacture of Braun Audio, is British audio engineering firm Pure, working under license from Procter & Gamble. As its first project, Braun Audio returns with a reinvention of the timeless LE home speakers from 1959, one of the brand’s icons. The official reintroduction will take place at IFA 2019, Berlin.
 
The Braun LE 1 home speaker, 1959.

Renowned for developing market-leading DAB products and portable audio products with vintage-inspired designs from the golden days of radio, Pure is located just outside of London, and their experienced, award-winning engineering team is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. From radio receivers, Pure’s recent expertise covers all sorts of connected audio devices, smart speakers and high-quality audio products for in-home and portable use. As the company states, “True to our heritage and focus on beautifully crafted products, we are responsible for the development and manufacture of Braun Audio, under license from Procter & Gamble, and are pivotal to ensuring this iconic brand once again takes its rightful place as the industry benchmark in premium audio.”

Historically, Braun is a company of many firsts - and the audio category is not an exception. With iconic designer Dieter Rams as Head of Braun Design, 1956 saw the launch of the first Hi-Fi turntable system with a transparent plexiglass cover: the SK 4. This revolutionary design set the standard for audio equipment that followed.

In 1959, Braun introduced the world to the first mobile record player/radio combination with the TP 1. The model's innovative radio-phonograph combination played 45 RPM records via a spring-operated stylus concealed within the casing.

The Atelier, in production from 1980 to 1990, was the first ever stackable Hi-Fi system on the market. Notably, all its components manufactured over the ten-year production period could be combined optically and technically with any of the others.

Now, after 28 years away from the audio category, the reintroduction of Braun Audio marks an exciting moment in the landscape of the audio industry and a pivotal point in the innovative brand's future direction.

The reinvention of the LE speakers, originally designed by Dieter Rams in 1959, exemplifies his ethos: "good design is honest". The new range of cutting-edge Hi-Fi models encapsulate the enduring, essentialist design values of their origins and built to stand the test of time.
 
A few iconic examples of Braun original products, including the original L01 speaker (top right).
The LE Range combines Braun's audio heritage and craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology and connectivity. The speakers are bold without being intrusive and embody the perfect balance of powerful performance and minimalist form, elegantly showcasing the attention and care for which German design is known.

"This year we excitingly mark the return of Braun Audio with the reinvention of one of the brand's most iconic ranges - the LE. At Braun, the hallmarks of heritage, design and innovation have always been at the company's core. The reintroduction of Braun Audio now means the brand reawakens its relationship with the audio world and the importance that sound, and particularly music, has in our lives,” says Prof. Oliver Grabes, Head of Braun Design.

Today, Braun, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble founded in Germany in 1921, develops and manufactures a wide variety of small domestic appliances. These range from electric shavers and beauty products to hair care appliances. A perfect reintroduction to the heritage of Braun Audio, the LE Range focuses on the purity of design, purity of performance, and above all else, the purity of sound. The speakers will make their debut at IFA 2019 in Berlin (September 6-11).
www.braun.com | www.pure.com
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