Buying a Clearaudio turntable advice

You have a point. It is for overseas but not Europe. More expensive and limited availability there.

 

Thanks for the clarification. There are many options out their that complicates the picture. I'll do some research.

 

I am not new to vinyl. I have been spinning LPs for decades!

 

Hi hifi and TT community,

I had a very bad customer experience with Clearaudio.

I know that there is a lot of knowledge and passion about this fantastic world of music. And I know there are a lot of different brands and experiences that we all have along the way.

To cut the long story short. Here is mine,...I bought Clearaudio Emotion SE in Dubai where voltage is 220v and then moved to US (110v). Before moving, I called all my audio equipment providers and ask for advice.

Naim turned my equipment for free to 110v (power and amp). Simply awesome...I came to US, plugged it...the cable was 230 so it did not work, so I bough the cables and voila, enjoy your music.

Clearaudio however, sent me an email saying, sorry and good luck! I was so disappointed with the response, that I sent them a long note about how can they dare to charge the prices that they do for such a poor customer service. So then, someone from their team replied better, but with no solution.

They directed me to a shop in US, where they offered me another motor (110v) for 500USD...

However, I wasn't happy about the solution. And it is not about the money, but just that I disgust greedy people...finally, after some research, I discovered that there is a very simple solution to the problem I have...get a voltage step-up converter (39usd) and 50/60hz pulley (29usd).

And this discarding that they could get the motor and change its voltage.

I am know trying to convince the owner to offer me this solution. We will see how it goes. I am being respectful of now using the employees and owners names at the time, although you can imagine how frustrating this can be.

Greed is a very bad toxic psychological disease.

Thank you and I hope this help you make the best choice for what you deserve and what you buy.

Mariano

 

Love my Clearaudio Concept Wood

Almost went with a VPI Classic 1 from the internetz, but got to demo this for a few weeks and decided to pull the trigger. I got the Satisfy carbon fiber tonearm. It is my understanding that the Satisfy tonearm rectifies the footfall issue that some people experienced with the Concept

 

My Clearaudio experience - In 2105, after going all digital (CD's) for about 30 years, I decided to come back to vinyl. After doing some research, I ordered a Clearaudio Concept from a US dealer. During shipping, the set screw that holds the tone arm to the plinth had loosened. When I opened the box and removed the turntable, the tonearm was hanging off by the internal wiring. Obviously, disappointed. I took pictures and emailed them to the dealer. The dealer was very accommodating and offered to take it back however I opted for them to talk me through the setup over the phone. After I got it set up, I lived with it for about a year, however I could never walk on the floor (I have hardwoods) in the room while the record played or else I would get loud feedback. I have a remote on my preamp so I would briefly lower the volume, the feedback would stop, then using the remote I would raise the volume again. As long as no one got up and walked across the room, everything was fine. Still, I found it challenging to stay seated all the time. So about a year ago I had enough and traded in the Clearaudio at a different dealer (SSD) and received 100% trade-in towards a new VPI Scout 1.1. The VPI doesn't have the feedback issue I had with the Clearaudio. Life with the VPI has been (for me) a better experience.

 

So here’s my overseas story with Clearaudio: I bought a Concept turntable from official Clearaudio distributor in Indonesia. Because I live in Bali and the distributor is in Jakarta, I had to buy it online. When the turntable arrived it was broken (I couldn’t lower the tonearm because the upper magnet in the bearing was much stronger and the arm was not floating). When I reported the issue to the seller I was told that they don’t have the stock to replace the turntable and if I ship it back they will refund me the money.

Once I shipped it back the seller claimed that he sent me the turntable in perfect condition and that I broke it. I contacted the Clearaudio to ask for help with the situation, but they replied that there is nothing they can do and that I have to talk to the distributor.

The situation like form the Franz Kafka novel lasted for more than one month. Eventually I got most of my money back (with a help from a local online marketplace), but I’ll never buy any Clearaudio gear again.

 

I own the performance dc non-wood and it's an amazing table but the footfall issue has been the brain of my existence. I own a two story condo with a full attic and finished basement and the flooring vibrates apparently and it's been difficult to manage the footfall problem. I have it on a wall mount now but still have 50% of the original problem.

The abutting wall to the next condo is sound roofed and brick walled. My next move is to mount a wall rack to the brick wall....I'm pretty sure that will solve it...just procrastinating for the rest of the summer....I'm gonna move forward with the project late fall.....FWIW...my Technics SL-1600 had no issue in the same spot and room....but because the CA sounds so great I will solve the problem rather than looking for a more isolated table....oh' I have the Clarify tonearm and an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge.

 

I used an Avid Isolation platform underneath my Concept (before I sold it). Problem solved.

 

Here is my experience. I ordered from a local dealer - she set it up perfectly and it sounds incredible. Spooky good.

 

If you dont mind, can you elaborate on how sensitive to footfalls your setup was before you got the Avid?

 

Extremely. Unfortunately, my floor joist run towards the turntable, not across it. It was so bad that a double bass drum kick on an lp would rattle the arm.

After the Avid Platform, didn't have the problems again, unless you tried to do the Lindy 2-3 feet away from my rack.

 

That sounds a bit more severe than my situation. My speakers' at a loud enough position will cause a warbling sound but no jumps.... a simple "soft shoe" dance anywhere within 8 or so feet from the table or a heavy footed Walker will cause skips.....I have had to learn how to walk softly like a wood nymph or forest fairy when playing vinyl.....and preferably when no one else is home.

 

Did you ever resolve your footfall issues? I have a Concept and have similar problems to those you describe, though I haven't run into high volume causing a warbling. I always figured it was the low tracking force of the Ortofon 2M black I have. Everyone in my apartment has learned the wood nymph walk you describe, so it isn't the end of the world; the thing sounds great. But a simple fix would be a real dream.

 

Actually yes did....the warbling turned out to be microphonic tubes in my phono preamp......

The footfall issue was solved for less than $5.00

I was seriously considering buying one of those isolation platforms for a few hundred bucks but decided to try one last method I had read about a while back....

It involved buying 3 plastic ash trays from walmart ( the type people keep on a picnic table.....I also bought a bag of #67 rubber bands.

I took each ash tray and criss-crossed maybe 20 or so bands across the ash tray indents where the cigarette would sit....essentially making mini trampolines. I had a few attic furniture leg plastic cups (approx. Size of a half dollar) and placed them in the center of the ash tray trampolines and then set the turntable feet onto the cups.

I had to adjust a bit to get table level and I was good to go.....I can walk heavy footed across the floor now and even jump lightly and the table is dead stable....

This worked for me and I have been playing more vinyl now than ever...I used to only play vinyl when no one else was home because even when people walked up the stairs in my house outside of my music room I could hear it in the music........

So you can spend a good chunk of money for a "professional" isolation system or you can spend less than 7 or 8 bucks like I did....

 

Fantastic. Thanks for the response. I may need to go with the Avid isolation platform Guitarded recommended, as my roommate is big on aesthetics and the rig is in the living room. But I might give your creative DIY solution a shot just for kicks.

 

Cool. It's a tunable suspension, I would guess, based on the number of rubber bands and the size/tension of each.

I'll have to file that away for use in a possible future home (currently on concrete). Likely an old folks home, but still.

 

I would think you could make a wooden box the size of the platform you need with 4 sides and get something shaped like a hockey puck but smaller to sit on the ash trays and then flip the platform box over on top of the trays and the platform would use the ash trays as the suspension and you would only see the platform....you could stain and polyurethane the box/platform to your liking.....the ashtrays would be hidden.....
Using scrap lumber it would be cheap....hmmm sounds like a saturday project...

 

PM me if you want a black Avid Platorm. I built a fancier one for myself, so it is going unused at the moment!

 

I guess my creativity and cheapskate nature are not appreciated....i get no respect i tell ya....

 

Ha! Much appreciated and much respect! But as awful as I am with these sorts of projects, I usually (and pathetically) grab for the checkbook before destroying a precious, free Saturday.

 

Lately I have been robbing the feet off of old Denon Decks (DP Series) and then making platforms from MDF, Plywood and Veneering them.

If you do it right, you can drop the edge to under 1/8" of the surface of your rack and not even see the feet. Which are big, ugly and quite effective at vibration reduction.

Technics 1200 feet are also good for this, but they require a bit more work as they are threaded.

 

Here's some more Ovation porn, this one with Universal arm, Dynavector XV-1s cartridge and Clearaudio's outer limit ring. I'll second what a great table this is. Build quality is superb, and in the U.S. customer support/service from Musical Surroundings is second to none.

 

I hear you on that...i do want to make a modified platform now after thinking about it...i went with ash tray setup because my footfall issue was so severe i didnt think an "Avid" type platform would suffice...and im cheap!!