Clearaudio Concept vs Concept Active

Planning my future purchases for this year which will include a new TT.

I have my mind set on a Clearaudio concept. I planned on getting the satisfy carbon tone arm and MC cartridge. Since my Peachtree Nova just has the MM phono stage, I would need either SUT or MC phono preamp. With a TT of this caliber, I would assume the MM stage on the Nova wouldn't do justice to the concept paired with an SUT. So either I get a separate phono preamp or I could go with the Concept Active and eliminate an additional component. I haven't been able to find much info on the quality of the internal preamp on the Concept Active. I also don't need the headphones amp that us part of it.

Also, how does the satisfy kardan aluminium tone arm on the Active compare to the satisfy carbon?

 

Why do you feel you have to go with MC? I see the Concept MM model but that Clearaudio Concept MM cart option is not a good enough cart for that table. See if you can just get the Concept Table with satisfy tonearm and your choice of MM cartridge. I do see they are having big sales on the Active model-not necessarily a good thing.

Clearaudio Concept Turntable (Tonearm and Cartridge Options Available)

 

Well I don't have to get an MC, but from what I read, that particular one is quite good. Maybe in my setup it wouldn't be worth it though? I currently use a vm540ml cart, what would be a step up from that?

 

I don't think MC is worth it with your current setup. You have other better options on spending money.

That turntable deserves more than a $250 cart IME. So you have many steps up. Just depends on where you want to go. I'd at least consider the $500 cartridge range. That would be a big leap up and you will still have room for improvement down the road.

You have so many choices, I like Soundsmith and use the Zypyre moving iron high output cartridge. They have been recently updated. Other good models (I would look $700 up to $1500 depending on your budget) come from Goldring 1042, 2300- the AT OC9 series, ART9 series. I like the Clearaudio Maestro (use as back up) but beware of how easy it is to bend the exposed cantilever. I would stay away for that reason alone.

Check out this quote.

The stylus used is a large part of what makes it special; an ultra-low mass occlusion free nude diamond cut and polished into a true hyper-elliptical shape. The combination of low tip mass and the Fixed design gives the Carmen a tremendous resolution advantage over MC designs selling for more than twice the price. Housed in a handmade solid Ebony case, the Carmen delivers.

Soundsmith Carmen mk II ES Series High-Output Phono Cartridge

 

That Carmen does look like a good option. It's at the top of the range for what I would be willing to spend.
As far as the tone arm goes, between the satisfy black and carbon. Do you think I would notice a difference between the two? Price difference is about $300, but that is one of the things I would rather get right up front

 

In early February 2018 I made the decision to get a turntable and I had the problem that I had no room near the rest of my system for a turntable on my equipment stand. I had a 65" HDTV sitting on top of the equipment rack where the TT would normally go. I had not planned on a turntable when I planned out my home theater 4 months earlier. Like you the Clearaudio Concept with the satisfy carbon tonearm and MC cartridge was my choice. The sales person made me aware of the newly announced Concept Acitive that would be available in In March. I liked the idea of an all in one solution made by the same manufacturer who in theory would have the advantage of knowing the TT, arm and cartridge they were designing for. I could run a line level input out of the Active to my amp 10' away. That didn't pan out and in November 2018 it still wasn't out. My dealer made me a good deal on a different turntable and he included the Clearaudio Nano v2 which he said was the same electronics as they were trying to build into the Concept Active. The Nano v2 went for around $450 to $500 at the time and had good reviews. My new phono rig sounded so good I was very surprised, the Nano did have good sound but I wanted to see if I could improve things even further. I upgraded my electronics further and ended up selling the Nano and getting Parasound JC3-Jr. But without spending significantly more money I'd say you would be happy with the Active.

FWIW my EAT C-Sharp has strikingly good looks, but I always thought the Concept had the look of THE classic TT and for me the clean, simple look was the best looking TT I have seen. Obviously other peoples mileage may vary.

 

Yeah, I definitely like the clean simplicity of the Concept. The phono stage in my Peachtree has been compared to a schiit mani, so while decent, there is certainly improvement to be had. I would prefer not having an additional component though which is why the Active was appealing

 

a sut is not a compromise, it is the best way to get a lomc up to a workable level.

 

I don't think an SUT in itself is a compromise either. My only concern was that spending money on an SUT that would then go through the phono stage on the Peachtree might be a compromise. Being that the Peachtree would be the weakest link

 

The more I look at the Active, even though I like the idea of it, the $1000 upcharge doesn't seem worth it. Especially since I don't need the headphone amp and and the internal phono preamp is at most worth $500

 

I would definitely go with the satisfy arm without a doubt. That table with satisfy carbon is $2300 without cart. I don't know if that carbon arm is clearly better than the regular Satisfy arm (which is beautiful btw). So you could save $300 there. Add a clearaudio virtuoso vII ebony or soundsmith Carmen ES (both around 1k) and you will be set. Check it out on your current preamp and go from there. I don't think the active stage in most any turntable will be better than your current stage.

Your next step would be a nice phone stage, maybe one that can handle both MM/MC but I really like the MI (moving iron) design and think you will be happy Think Graham Slee!

 

There is a possibility I was given incorrect information but this is what I was told. Another thing that may contribute to the added cost was the reason I heard from several sources for the over a year long delay was the way it was made. They essentially were taking the solid base from the Concept and and carving out a well to house the preamp electronics. This process was problematic and they were not getting the yields they needed to go forward with product. It was costing more not less to reuse the same base. Of course not a great reason for you to pay more. The Concept Active has been very well reviewed as I have followed the line out of interest in having almost gotten it. Your fallback could certainly be the Concept and your choice of preamp. This gives you flexibility going forward in not having to upgrade both.

I will add that I am a long time lover of MC cartridges having a Micro Acoustic 3002 early moving coil cartridge on my Thorens TD 160. I wanted an MC cartridge for my new TT when I got into vinyl again in 2018.

 

It can be an advantage to keep it simple. The concept active has everything on board, no extra cables and components are required and it received indeed very good reviews.
Obviously you can always get even better with separate components, but then it will cost you and the Concept may become the bottle neck.
Should you feel to upgrade in the future you can trade in the concept active and go for new set up with a next level TT.
Just my thoughts......

 

Well you sold me on that combo. I wasn't initially planning on jumping on it so quickly, but the more I looked the more I wanted. I went with the carbon arm and the Carmen ES. I got it through Upscale Audio, but they won't have the silver/black color in until next week. I did get 15% off the cartridge by bundling it though.

I did like the idea of the Concept Active, just didn't want to spend the extra $1k right now. This setup was already pushing my upper limit

 

Congratulations and Enjoy! That is a great sounding, great looking TT.

 

It should be a fantastic setup. Are they preinstalling the cartridge?

 

Yup they also said that they will use tape to mark where the counterweight needs to be adjusted to as well, as they don't like to ship it with that attached. At least going from Cali to Utah it won't have too far to travel. They package it in triple boxes for extra protection as well

 

This isn’t the perfect thread to ask this question, but what the heck. Does anyone know the dimensions of the feet on the Clearaudio Concept? I want to make sure it’s a good match with my current wood isolation block, so I’m curious how many inches are between the feet (outer edge to outer edge).

 

I can’t give you precisely what you’re asking for because I’ve replaced the stock feet on my CC with Isoacoustic Gaia III feet but the distance between the outer edges of the threaded nuts near the top of the Gaia feet is 12 1/4 “. Those nuts on the Gaia III feet appear to be very close to the diameter of the stock CC feet so my guess is the distance between the stock feet would be very close to the same.