There’s no doubt that vinyl playback has
seen resurgence in recent years. Local Hi-Fi shops have been advertising and
stocking more tables as a way to generate interest again. They are supported by
the music industry’s constant supply of both classic and new releases on vinyl,
spanning all genres or music. For a few reasons important to me, I didn’t want
to be left behind in the quest for higher fidelity in physical media. I took
the needed time listen to a variety of tables and Clearaudio was one of the
companies that offered something unique. The emotional delivery of music is
tangible from its product line. Unlike the brand new products we normally
evaluate in these pages, this review looks at the Clearaudio Solution turntable
which I recently added to my system. The Solution isn’t a brand new product but
nevertheless, there is a great deal to be learned from this review if you’re
thinking about picking up a high quality turntable. I purchased the Clearaudio
Solution, priced at $3,200, equipped with Clearaudio’s Satisfy Carbon
Direct-Wire tonearm ($1,400) and fitted with a Benz-Micro Glider S medium
output cartridge ($1,050). For a total bill of $5,650, I felt that this
combination offered a lasting impression of great design and performance.
Clearaudio
Solution Turntable
The Clearaudio name has delivered
high-quality analogue products for over thirty years. Mainly a family
operation, it is based on the vision and philosophy of those in the company.
Its mission is to continue setting new high fidelity standards in the analogue
reproduction of music. Clearaudio wants to maintain its business model as
company set apart from the rest regarding quality products, manufacturing, and
products that are built to last. All Clearaudio products are handcrafted in
Erlangen, Germany and nearly every outsourced part is manufactured there too.
Clearaudio staffs its own engineers and has its own production and testing
methods. This enables the company to perform its own documentation on acoustic
and technical tests and measure each item rigorously before moving onto to mass
production. Another great benefit is that the company stores original high
quality spare parts for 25 years, if a repair or replacement is needed.
Thus, if you’re looking for new analogue
gear, this is certainly a company that you should consider. Clearaudio
manufactures turntables and tonearms, cartridges, phono preamplifiers, class-A
amplifiers, and a variety of audiophile accessories such as racks, cables, and
plugs.
Design Features
What first caught my eye about the Solution
was its appearance. The transparent, tri-shaped resonance reducing acrylic
chassis offers three points of contact to an audio rack. It looks a bit like
the capital letter Y with each end being capable of accommodating a tonearm
base - yes this turntable is capable of housing three tonearms at the same
time. The high-precision turntable platter is made out of solid silicon acrylic
and is spun by an inverted bearing with a polished ball bearing. This unit has
the upgraded CMB-Bearing, a Clearaudio patent where a high precision ceramic
vertical axle fits perfectly in a bronze bearing. After lubrication, the
platter floats by itself on an air cushion rather than on a ball bearing,
allowing for smoother turns and less drag. Supplied gloves prevent oils from
the skin staining the plain translucent platter during assembly. To make this
table turn, the supplied drive belt is affixed on the outer edge of the platter
and spun by an acrylic pulley from a standalone synchronous motor. The pulley
is capable of spinning vinyl at either 33.3 or 45 RPM with a speed variation of
+/-0.2%. A 78RPM pulley is available as an option.
What
first caught my eye about the Solution was its appearance
While some of the intricate items were
already pre-assembled, I found it an art setting this table up when using the
supplied levels and pads. For additional vibration elimination, I opted to put
the supplied pads under the motor and placed carbon fiber Black Diamond Racing
LM Discs under the turntable’s conical feet to reduce micro vibrations. In fact
I decided to place the turntable on three large marble slab tiles that sit on
the top of my audio rack. Not only did it make the setup look even better
through the transparent acrylic, but it improved vibration isolation as well.
The table was shipped with all accessories, a manual, and 5-year warranty card
in a fairly large box with all pieces separate from each other for safe
transport.
The Satisfy tonearm is available in
aluminum, carbon fiber, and the much denser ebony and satine wood versions.
Each offers its own distinct sound. I thought that the very lightweight carbon
fiber version would be a good match for the Benz-Micro Glider SM cartridge. The
Satisfy tonearm has high quality Swiss vertical and lateral bearings.
The
Satisfy tonearm is available in aluminum, carbon fiber, and the much denser
ebony and satine wood versions. Each offers its own distinct sound
Connecting and tweaking the headshell to
the tonearm is easy, with an Allen screw that simply slides through a mounting
bar. The tonearm has adjustments for weight, azimuth, and anti-skating. The
vertical tracking angle (VTA) can also be set but not during playback like with
the newly introduced Clarify tonearm. The Satisfy can be optionally fitted with
high-quality RCA connectors, although I chose to use what I thought would be
the best option and that was to have it directly wired. It is what the name
implies: the wiring from the head shell continues within the tonearm directly
to the male RCA connectors in a length that totals about a meter. The arm lift
is extremely smooth and allows a gentle, controlled needle drop anywhere on the
vinyl with very good accuracy. The Satisfy reviewed here was listened to using
the Benz-Micro Glider S medium output cartridge. My phono preamplifier is
Ayre’s excellent Phono stage built within the Klxe preamplifier. The turntable
was professionally and meticulously set up so that I could ensure it delivered
the best it could. With my patience wearing thing and wanting to dive right
into my music collection, I was finally ready to spin some vinyl.
