Transparent Turntable Black Review: Vinyl Sound Meets Sculptural Design

We independently consider all advisable services and products. Any services or products put ahead seem in no specific order. should you click on on hyperlinks we offer, we could obtain compensation.

The vinyl revival has produced no scarcity of report gamers designed to appear like furnishings first and hi-fi tools second. The Transparent Turntable in Black ($1,400) sits on the sharper finish of that development, constructed from tempered glass and aluminium somewhat than the walnut veneer and brushed metal that dominate the class. We’ve spent a number of weeks dwelling with it, working it by way of each day use, and the enchantment goes nicely past the way it pictures.

Timeless Design

Clear describes the turntable as a reinvention of a traditional vinyl participant, constructed for a contemporary residence somewhat than a classic one, and that’s precisely the way it feels in individual. It’s meticulously put collectively from aluminium and tempered glass, with the belt drive and full mechanism left seen somewhat than hidden beneath a lid. The impact is nearer to a bit of lab tools than a conventional deck, and it reads as thought of somewhat than gimmicky, the form of object you’d select to depart out somewhat than tuck away.

That openness carries by way of to the elements. The cartridge is a pre-mounted Ortofon OM5E, a revered Danish identify within the class, paired with an elliptical diamond stylus. There’s no cartridge alignment to fret about out of the field, which issues greater than it sounds. Lots of turntables on this value bracket ask you to arrange the cartridge your self, and getting that unsuitable is the simplest solution to undercut the sound high quality you’ve paid for. Right here, that threat is eliminated totally.

The unboxing expertise issues greater than manufacturers usually credit score, and Clear has clearly considered it. The packaging is minimal however protecting, and the included equipment, proper all the way down to the cotton dealing with gloves for the platter and cartridge, really feel like a real improve over what equally priced turntables sometimes embody. It’s a small element, but it surely alerts the form of consideration that carries by way of the remainder of the product.

Setup4

Setup is the place a variety of premium turntables lose individuals, and it’s the realm the place the Clear Turntable most exceeded our expectations. The directions are clear and illustrated nicely sufficient that anybody comfy assembling flat-pack furnishings shouldn’t have any hassle. With the belt drive and pre-mounted cartridge doing the heavy lifting, the entire course of took us underneath fifteen minutes, together with levelling. For a product that appears this intricate, that’s a real level in its favour.

Modular By Design

The place a variety of design-led turntables deal with the internals as mounted as soon as they go away the manufacturing facility, Clear has constructed this one to be opened up. It follows the identical modular philosophy as the remainder of the model’s vary, engineered for flexibility, upgradability and repairability somewhat than substitute. The cartridge mount is a regular half-inch becoming and the headshell makes use of the SME normal, each broadly supported codecs somewhat than a proprietary design that locks you into Clear’s personal equipment down the road. If you wish to improve the cartridge in just a few years, or the stylus wears down earlier than then, you’re working with elements any hi-fi specialist will recognise. It’s a genuinely forward-thinking method in a class that too usually treats the turntable as a sealed unit.

Clear Sound

The turntable will play by way of any sound system by way of a regular cable connection, but it surely’s constructed with Clear’s personal audio system in thoughts, and that’s the place it performs finest. Wi-fi playback runs over Bluetooth 5.0, and there’s a built-in preamp with its personal on/off change, so the deck works whether or not or not your amplifier has a devoted phono enter.

We examined each connections. Wired into an present amplifier, the elliptical diamond stylus and built-in preamp delivered a clear, well-balanced sound with extra heat than we anticipated from a turntable this design-forward. Over Bluetooth, paired with the Transparent Speaker ($1,200), pairing was close to instantaneous and the sound held up nicely, with low sufficient latency that there was no noticeable lag between the needle and the audio. That is the place the modular pondering behind the model exhibits its actual worth: the turntable and speaker are clearly designed to be purchased and used collectively, and the mixture sounds noticeably higher than both product does paired with generic options.

Technically, the turntable runs at 33? and 45 RPM with velocity variance stored inside half a p.c, and the monitoring pressure sits in a regular 1.5 to 2.0g vary, in keeping with different belt-driven decks at this value. Not one of the numbers are chart-topping for the devoted audiophile class, and vinyl purists chasing the final phrase in constancy could discover higher worth in a much less design-focused deck at an identical value. However for a purchaser prioritising each sound and the way the factor appears sitting in a room, the stability struck here’s a truthful one.

A Couple of Sensible Notes 

Residing with an uncovered glass and aluminium turntable does include a few small trade-offs value flagging. Mud is the apparent one. With the mechanism left open to the room, it settles on the platter and tonearm sooner than it could on a closed deck, so we’d advocate utilizing the quilt each time the turntable isn’t in use somewhat than leaving it on everlasting show.

The glass panel opens by way of a small ridge alongside its edge, and it’s not instantly apparent on first look. As soon as you understand it’s there, it’s straightforward sufficient to make use of, however anybody dealing with the panel with out recognizing it’s going to find yourself urgent on the glass itself, which picks up fingerprints rapidly. A fast wipe with a microfibre material kinds it out, but it surely’s value figuring out the ridge is there earlier than you dive in.

The Verdict

The Clear Turntable Black isn’t attempting to compete with specialist hi-fi manufacturers on pure audio efficiency, and it doesn’t have to. What it provides as an alternative is a genuinely well-built, thoughtfully engineered object that occurs to play information correctly, backed by thought of packaging, an easy setup, a modular design constructed to final, and a sound profile that holds its personal, notably when paired with the matching speaker. At $1,400 it’s a thought of buy somewhat than an impulse one, and it comes with a few small on a regular basis quirks value figuring out about. However for anybody constructing a contemporary, design-led listening setup, it stays one of many extra fascinating choices at present out there.

The place to purchase: Transparent Turntable Black, $1,400

Fast Specs

The editorial staff at FashionBeans is your trusted accomplice in redefining trendy males’s model. Established in 2007, FashionBeans has advanced into a number one authority in males’s style, with thousands and thousands of readers in search of sensible recommendation, knowledgeable insights, and real-world inspiration for curating their wardrobe and life-style.
Our editorial staff combines over 50 years of collective expertise in style journalism, styling, and retail. Every editor brings specialised experience—from luxurious style and sustainable model to the newest grooming know-how and perfume science. With backgrounds starting from GQ and Esquire to non-public styling for celebrities, our staff ensures each suggestion comes from a spot of deep trade data.