Clearaudio Concept Turntable Review

[Suave]

We just received the Clearaudio Concept turntable which I will be reviewing for our Oct/Nov 2010 fall issue.

I unboxed it yesterday and was very pleased with how well it was packaged.

The build quality of the turntable is excellent and very solid. All moving parts, like to tone arm and speed dial, are very sturdy and move with fluidity. The turntable comes virutally completely set up from factory. After removing the packing materials, all I had to do was install the drive belt and place the platter.

I was a little disappointed though that a dust cover is not included in the box. This is a separately sold accessory, which is a must have for any owner. I'll have to find out what the cost is from the distributor.

This weekend, I will be doing some of my first listening tests and post my initial impressions here.

In the meantime, here's a link to the product page:
http://www.clearaudio.de/eng/lw_concept.html

[SoundGame]

I know someone who fairly recently replaced his Rega P3-24 (without the outboard power supply) and a Dynavector cartridge for the Clearaudio Concept. They are extremely pleased with the results.

Suave - if you could please compare your impressions with the Goldring GR1.2 if you still have that kicking around. I personally own one and would be interested in how much of a step up the Clearaudio would actually provide - both on standard weight vinyl and on 180gram pressings. It would be good to compare the impacts of modern high quality pressings on the TT with older more standard ones.

Look forward to the review.

Cheers.

[Gio]

I was a little disappointed though that a dust cover is not included in the box. This is a separately sold accessory, which is a must have for any owner.

I don't use the dust cover with my Rega P1. Instead I place a garbage LP on the mat between use to keep dust off the felt mat.

For that reason I like that sort of modular approach as it keeps the base price down and people who will not use the cover don't end up paying for it.

I'm looking forward to the review!
Cheers

[Suave]

I've spent the last few days listening to the Clearaudio Concept turntable (which I'm reviewing for the Oct/Nov 2010 issue) and I wanted to share my first impressions with everyone.

I find the overall sound to be excellent with amazing tonality, a wide soundstage and great details.

These are the improvements that I've discovered so far compared to my entry-level Goldring GR1.2 ($500):
- a cleaner, quieter background
- a more musical presentation
- better soundstage definition with more air between the instruments
- eliminates some of the edginess of the sound (particularly in vocals)

The only slight annoyance that I found so far is that there is a high pitch noise (for about a second) when the platter begins to spin.

So far, so good then. Look out for a full review in this thread in the next few weeks.

[Gio]

Try grounding the TT and see if the motor noise goes away.

What cartridge comes with the stock unit?

[Suave]

Thanks for the suggestion Gio. The turntable is grounded to the Goldring phono stage which I am using. I should clarify that the noise that I'm hearing is not coming from the speakers. It is rather a "mechanical" noise which I'm hearing when the motor first starts spinning up.

The Concept comes with Clearaudio’s own moving magnet Concept cartridge. This cartridge isn't listed on the Clearaudio website but the specs are provided in the manual.

[Gio]

The turntable is grounded to the Goldring phono stage which I am using. I should clarify that the noise that I'm hearing is not coming from the speakers. It is rather a "mechanical" noise which I'm hearing when the motor first starts spinning up.

It could be the belt slipping as it gets the platter moving fro rest. Or it could be "cogging". You may want to give the platter a gentle spin as you turn on the power. This is something I would do for longevity in particular with a heavy platter.
Cheers

[Suave]

It could be the belt slipping as it gets the platter moving fro rest. Or it could be "cogging". You may want to give the platter a gentle spin as you turn on the power. This is something I would do for longevity in particular with a heavy platter.

Will do - thank you for the suggestion Gio. I will also check with the Canadian distributor for Clearaudio whether this is normal operation.

[Gio]

Hi Suave, does the noise go away if you give a slight spin on power up?
Cheers