THE Clearaudio Concept turntable package has been among the most popular in its class for more than a decade, combining a sleek and smooth design with high-end performance and plug-and-play simplicity. And it didn’t break your bank account either.
Now comes the Concept Signature, which replaces all previous editions of the all-in-one package.
According to the German manufacturer, “the fundamental idea behind the Concept Signature remains true to the series’ original purpose: to offer an entry point into high-end hi-fi, in which accessibility and ease-of-use are as paramount as sonic performance.”
As before, this iteration comes with tonearm and cartridge, and all key technical parameters are optimally pre-set, so just plug in and press play – oh, and make sure there’s a record on the platter!
A whole new approach to speed control technology is taken here, the company tells us, “crafted to achieve enhanced consistency and impulse stability.”
“The new “Tacho-Speed-Control’ (TSC) constantly monitors the platter’s rotational speed and provides real-time feedback to the control electronics, enabling the system to immediately respond to changing influences such as decreasing belt tension, friction from the platter bearing or temperature fluctuations.”
The TSC also performs an automatic calibration at every restart. Manual recalibration is also possible at the push of a button at the rear of the turntable.
The body is constructed from MDF and optimised against resonance – an upgrade option comes with solid wood layers bonded under high pressure. The turntable’s top layer is formed from a high-tech satin-finished plastic, to further minimise resonance and enhance visual appearance.
The 30mm main platter sits atop a high-density, precision-machined aluminium sub-platter. The bearing comprises a polished and tempered steel spindle in a sintered bronze bushing, running on a Teflon thrust-pad.
A resonance-damped DC motor with polished flat belt drives the platter. The design is borrowed and modified from the Reference Jubilee turntable, the motor being completely decoupled from the main chassis by way of a scaled-down version of Clearaudio’s “Innovative Motor Suspension”. An external power supply unit comes with the package.
The Concept Signature is designed to be highly modular, coming in a wide array of choices and combinations from the company’s range of high-performance tonearms and phono cartridges.
Leave a Reply