German turntable brand Clearaudio has announced a ‘new generation’ of its vinyl spinners beginning with the Innovation Compact. Derived from the original Innovation, the name gives the clue that it’s a more compact version (at 12kg it weighs less than half its predecessor), though it shares many of the original’s features.
It includes Clearaudio’s own OSC (Optical Speed Control) technology to deliver precise rotational speed of the platter as well as easy speed change (it can deliver 331/3, 45 and 78rpm). It also has the CMB (Ceramic Magnetic Bearing) main bearing which promises top-notch speed accuracy of +/-0.05 per cent.
Other features it shares with the Innovation include a resonance optimised chassis, fine height adjustment to ensure absolute level position of the turntable, dynamically balanced 70mm precision machined, high density POM (Polyoxymethylene) platter and a bespoke decoupled high torque DC motor. It also has two tonearm mounting bases (so you can use two different tonearms and cartridges.
The Clearaudio Innovation Compact is available now for £4,250 (or £4,400 with a Panzerholz wood platter).