Clearaudio Owner's Thread

[Rotoplooker]

I thought the Marantz was strictly a rebadged Emotion as it has been around for a while, long before the Concept. Does anyone know what the similarities/differences are? That price sounds amazing especially with that cart.

 

[scottyh777]

I would like to join the club.

Clearaudio Concept

Clearaudio Meastro MM

Clearaudio Quatro Clamp

Clearaudio Smartphono (defective) was removed and replaced with Musical Surroundings Nova.

I love the setup and pleased with the purchase.

 

[scottyh777]

Can this be our mascot

 

[scottyh777]

I forgot.Just saw this the other day.New clearaudio concept MM for $199.They also have a new clearaudio concept MC for $800.Curious about the $199 MM and how it stacks up at that price.




http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CLEMCONC

 

[WmAx]

I thought the Marantz was strictly a rebadged Emotion as it has been around for a while, long before the Concept. Does anyone know what the similarities/differences are? That price sounds amazing especially with that cart.

It has nothing in common with the Emotion. It is a higher quality table and has all different parts and heavier build quality and higher level of fit and finish overall. The only common parts between the Emotion and Marantz are the motor( a very high quality motor, btw, in terms of build quality and speed stabilty(measured performance greatly exceeds the broadcast standards and international tape system standards) and the series of tone arm(the Satisfy series arm is used on many tables, however, all the way up to the $5000+ ClearAudio Ambient; this is a very high grade/performance/netural arm). I am not sure why some people think the Marantz is a re-badged Emotion, except for perhaps the price similarity between the Emotion SE and Marantz TT-15S1; but the Marantz is a higher quality table above the Emotion, and is between the Emotion SE and Performance in terms of build quality and features, being closer to the Performance.

-Chris

 

[mhardy6647]

I thought the Marantz was strictly a rebadged Emotion as it has been around for a while, long before the Concept. Does anyone know what the similarities/differences are? That price sounds amazing especially with that cart.

Thicker platter and bigger feet.

 

[Art K.]

I would like to join the club.

Clearaudio Concept

Clearaudio Meastro MM

Clearaudio Quatro Clamp

Clearaudio Smartphono (defective) was removed and replaced with Musical Surroundings Nova.

I love the setup and pleased with the purchase.

You are in Scotty!

 

[Number 6]

Interesting thread. Not intending to jack the thread but as I mentioned earlier, I am poised to upgrade to a Clearaudio table in the near future so any thoughts on your cartridges choices(and why) would greatly help this Clearaudio wannabe. (but soontobe)

Fwiw-I am leaning towards the Emotion and starting with the prefitted CA cart.

I would have to recommend starting with a ca cartridge, one that comes with the tt as a a package. You'll probably get a better deal, and I can recommend the ca Maestro. That's the one that came with my performance/satisfy table, and it sounds great! It really is an amazing package, and you get the benefit of the synergy of products that were engineered together.

 

[JohnVF]

Thicker platter and bigger feet.

The feet are matches (though taller) to the feet on my Marantz reference gear. The taper at the bottom is the same as the feet on my preamp and CD player, though I"d assume there is a performance gain as well.

 

[Art K.]

It has nothing in common with the Emotion. It is a higher quality table and has all different parts and heavier build quality and higher level of fit and finish overall. The only common parts between the Emotion and Marantz are the motor( a very high quality motor, btw, in terms of build quality and speed stabilty(measured performance greatly exceeds the broadcast standards and international tape system standards) and the series of tone arm(the Satisfy series arm is used on many tables, however, all the way up to the $5000+ ClearAudio Ambient; this is a very high grade/performance/netural arm). I am not sure why some people think the Marantz is a re-badged Emotion, except for perhaps the price similarity between the Emotion SE and Marantz TT-15S1; but the Marantz is a higher quality table above the Emotion, and is between the Emotion SE and Performance in terms of build quality and features, being closer to the Performance.

-Chris

You have been misinformed. The Marantz is higher in quality than the original Emotion however the Emotion SE bears less in common with the original Emotion than the Marantz. The Emotion is SE is a very good table and a step up from the Marantz. Everything from the arm to mount to the bearing are all better on the SE.

In the end it doesn't matter because any CA built table whether Marantz or McIntosh, are all welcome here.

Original Emotion with very few changes

http://www.clearaudio.de/eng/lw_emotion.html

Marantz

http://us.marantz.com/Products/1197.asp#

Emotion SE

http://www.clearaudio.de/eng/lw_emotion_se.html

 

[Art K.]

Crutchfield.com currently has the Marantz TT-15S1 on clearance, for about $1200 or so w/free shipping. This is a highly reputable retailer, so no chances of scams like on some questionable sites with prices too good to be true. Incredible deal for someone looking for true high end performance and build quality for a value price. Even at the regular price of $1700, the TT-15S1 is a steal and superb value; perhaps the best current value in the industry. It even comes with the highly regarded Ebony Virtuoso Clear Audio cartridge; which sells for over $800 at it's cheapest!

The Marantz TT-15S1 is a CA table custom made for Marantz; it fits between the CA Emotion SE and CA Performance tables in features/specifications. If the TT-15S1 was sold with a CA nameplate, I expect it would retail for about $2750.

Photo angles of my actual tonearm:

Phot of my table as set up in my main system:

-Chris

Very nice pics!

 

[Art K.]

Thicker platter and bigger feet.

That is pretty much the difference between the original Emotion and Marantz...dead on!

 

[Number 6]

Nice new clamp just for the tables with the Delrin platters from Clearaudio. I like!

http://www.clearaudio.de/eng/z_iz_recordclamp.html

I just bought the 'twister' clamp, and my first impression is that it adds a new dimension to the bass. The bass is tighter and extends far deeper with it. This is what it looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqYTXIL4mRs

 

[Art K.]

I just bought the 'twister' clamp, and my first impression is that it adds a new dimension to the bass. The bass is tighter and extends far deeper with it. This is what it looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqYTXIL4mRs

Very nice and thank you for linking the video. I ordered the Concept clamp and it should be in in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile I forced myself to use the Clever Clamp all weekend last weekend and I felt that better than 8-% of the records I listened to were improved. I'm impressed...Clearaudio are "people of the clamp"!

 

[WmAx]

Very nice and thank you for linking the video. I ordered the Concept clamp and it should be in in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile I forced myself to use the Clever Clamp all weekend last weekend and I felt that better than 8-% of the records I listened to were improved. I'm impressed...Clearaudio are "people of the clamp"!

There is a guy selling a very nice record weight on eBay for about $52, comparable to the ones that sell for over $100 on retail sites.

EDITED

It is not polished to a mirror like finish, though. But you can polish it yourself with about $8-$10 in materials from your local Automotive Parts store. Here is mine before/after polishing to a mirror finish:

Polished and on my table:

-Chris

 

[Art K.]

That looks very nice! I've been told that the Delrin platters aren't fond of the record weights and that clamps are a better option for them so I'm gonna give that clamp a try. I really love the looks of that weight though. TT Weights also has some fabulous options.

 

[WmAx]

That looks very nice! I've been told that the Delrin platters aren't fond of the record weights and that clamps are a better option for them so I'm gonna give that clamp a try. I really love the looks of that weight though. TT Weights also has some fabulous options.

I have no idea how a weight would hurt Delrin. It is a relatively strong/stiff plastic and a simple weight like this? The weight is not even heavy except in relevance to the warping resistance of a vinyl record.

-Chris

 

[AudioSoul]

It's not the delrin platter that is the problem. It's the delrin thrust plate on the bottom of the spindle well. It was not designed to take that kind of weight. That's why a clamp is better. I contacted the distributor (Musical Surroundings) and they said the same thing. I was inquiring about the twister clamp at the time and they said it was ok. I am glad I waited thou because the came out with the new clamp designed especially for the Concept TT.....

 

[WmAx]

It's not the delrin platter that is the problem. It's the delrin thrust plate on the bottom of the spindle well. It was not designed to take that kind of weight. That's why a clamp is better. I contacted the distributor (Musical Surroundings) and they said the same thing. I was inquiring about the twister clamp at the time and they said it was ok. I am glad I waited thou because the came out with the new clamp designed especially for the Concept TT.....

Thank you for the explanation.

-Chris

 

[guiller]

You have been misinformed. The Marantz is higher in quality than the original Emotion however the Emotion SE bears less in common with the original Emotion than the Marantz. The Emotion is SE is a very good table and a step up from the Marantz. Everything from the arm to mount to the bearing are all better on the SE.

According to my local CE dealer, a plain Emotion has the advantage of being upgradable to the Emotion SE, at each own's pace and budget (basically, it needs a bit more than 1000 $ in parts replacements, including the platter). For this reason I've chosen the Emotion over the Concept, as my intention is to arrive to the SE perhaps next year or so. At the time in which I bought the Emotion , the dealer basically had both the Emotion and the Concept at the same price.