Clearaudio Concept MC: A classic high-end vinyl player

The Clearaudio Concept MM(MC) is a high-end vinyl player that impresses listeners with its remarkably smooth, balanced, and clear sound. It offers a broad and dependable soundstage, a strong sense of rhythm, and outstanding dynamics. The Concept Active MM version stands out from the MC model due to its inclusion of either an MM or MC cartridge. In its price range, the Clearaudio Concept player truly represents the finest in vinyl sound quality.

Clearaudio Concept is a high-end vinyl player that’s ready to go right out of the box, with no extra adjustments needed. The tonearm’s clamping force, the cartridge alignment, and the anti-skating settings are all pre-configured at the factory. Weighing in at 7.5 kg, it features a specially designed anti-resonance chassis. The stylish table, with its smooth, rounded edges and decorative silver trim, looks fantastic. Plus, the package includes a level to help you adjust the legs for perfect horizontal alignment with the surface.

A quiet DC motor delivers torque to the platter hub through a broad belt. The platter, measuring 30 mm thick, is crafted from tough polyformaldehyde (POM). A polished spindle made of hardened steel spins within a bronze bearing sleeve that has been specially treated through a sintering process. You can choose the rotation speed using a switch located in the lower left corner of the turntable, with options for 78, 45, and 33.3 rpm. The power supply comes from a separate external adapter, and there’s also a grounding cord along with a built-in cable for connecting to an amplifier.

The company highlights that the Verify tonearm on this model is mounted on a unique magnetic bearing, which nearly eliminates friction. The distance from the axis to the needle is 222 mm, while the effective length of the tonearm is 239.3 mm. This model features a high-precision audiophile cartridge with a moving coil made from oxygen-free copper, weighing 8.4 grams. The needle is designed in the Micro Line (elliptical) shape. If you want to swap out the pickup head, keep in mind that you’ll need to redo all the settings. The same goes for the tonearm.

The Clearaudio Concept turntable isn’t overly bulky or showy; instead, it boasts a sleek and elegant design, even though it weighs nearly ten kilograms. Without the lid, it stands at just 3 cm tall. The casing features a thick plastic band that resembles machined aluminum. Advanced techniques were employed in crafting the chassis to reduce resonances and vibrations. It has a well-shielded motor that runs quietly on direct current. Plus, the player comes with a remote power supply, which helps eliminate any interference from the power source. A high-quality precision belt transfers the motor’s rotation to the platter, which is quite substantial at 3 cm thick and made from polyformaldehyde, commonly known as acrylic. This material is highly effective at resisting various resonances. The main bearing sits in a bronze bed that has been sintered, while the platter’s spindle is crafted from hardened polished steel.

The cup’s inner sleeve is made of bronze and features a Teflon insert at the bottom along with spiral grooves on the sides. These grooves help circulate lubricant within the bearing. The steel pulley and sub-disk are combined into one unit, with the sub-disk driven by a flat belt connected to a compact, quiet DC motor housed and damped within the system. Surprisingly, this small motor packs more power than you’d expect. While there are no speed adjustments, it offers three preset speeds: the standard 33.3 and 45 rpm, plus an additional 78 rpm. It’s a bit unclear why the 78 speed is included since shellac records need different heads, but having that extra option doesn’t hurt and might be handy for some users. On top of the sub-disk sits a 30 mm thick acrylic main disk.

The kit doesn’t come with a clamp, and based on my experience, using clamps can really affect the device’s performance by reducing its dynamics. If you must use them, do so only when absolutely necessary, and opt for collet designs if possible. Also, the mat isn’t included with the disk, which aligns with the manufacturer’s vision. You can experiment with different mats; I think cork and other lightweight options work best with this device. Avoid using ceramics, copper, or glass, as they don’t mix well. Interestingly, felt and leather didn’t work out either—while some aspects of the sound improved, others didn’t, leading to a loss of overall coherence. Ultimately, it’s worth trying out different clamps, mats, and vibration isolation methods, as these are some of the easiest ways to tweak your sound.

The tonearm of this player is surprisingly intriguing. What makes it stand out is the unique design of the rotary unit, which is based on the idea of complete decoupling. Instead of traditional bearings, the tube is held in place and centered by a string at the bottom, while a strong magnet at the top provides tension and supports the whole setup. It may look a bit unconventional, but it performs flawlessly—there are no issues with how the rotary unit operates. As for the anti-skating adjustment, it seems to be done by tweaking the tension of the centering string. However, adjusting the anti-skating can be a bit tricky. Thankfully, it’s pre-set at the factory, but if you need to make changes, you’ll have to lift the table and turn the regulator located underneath the tonearm’s support platform. There are no indicators to guide you, so you’ll need to keep lifting the table, adjusting, and testing with a test disk until you achieve the right setting.

When it comes to adjusting the clamping force, everything feels pretty standard, but the range of adjustments is quite impressive. However, you can’t set the clamp without some specific scales. It’s easy to get the tonearm tube to “zero,” but things get trickier from there, especially since the counterweight has no risk markings. While the manual doesn’t mention azimuth adjustments, you might be able to tweak it slightly by loosening the screw on the fixed headshell. The effective mass of the tonearm isn’t specified, but it likely falls into the medium-heavy category. One downside I noticed is the non-removable phono cable; it would be nice if it could be swapped out without messing with the design. Having that extra option to tweak the sound would definitely be a plus.

Clearaudio Concept MC Specifications

• Drive type belt
• Supported disk rotation speeds 33.3 rpm, 45 rpm; 78 rpm
• Automatic speed control
• Support disk material polyformaldehyde (POM)
• Main bearing polished hardened steel spindle; sintered bronze bushing; Teflon-coated heel segment
• Platter thickness 30 mm
• DC motor on low-noise bearings
• Verify tonearm (pivoting; straight; anti-skating; axis-to-stylus distance – 222 mm; effective length – 239.3 mm; cartridge weight balancing range: 2.5 – 17 grams)
• Cartridge model and type Concept MC (MC cartridge with oxygen-free copper coil; weight – 8 grams; stylus shape – Micro Line;
• recommended tracking force – 2 g (+/- 0.2 g); frequency range – 20 Hz – 40 kHz; output voltage – 0.42 mV at 5 cm / s; resistance – 11
• Ohm; material – aluminum-magnesium alloy with a ceramic layer)
• Rotational speed deviation ± 0.04%
• Dimensions (HxWxD) 420x140x350 mm
• Weight 7.5 kg (including motor, tonearm and cartridge)