Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
What are hifi reviews useful for? (1) Identifying products you should demo in person at a dealer. (2) Learning which products reviewers unanimously praise as the best they've heard (this means they probably are legitimately great). (3) Identifying a product's attributes that satisfy your idiosyncratic needs and tastes. Beyond that, we often discount what reviewers say because they heap praise on most products—and are often apprehensive about publishing strong criticism or comparisons between products. Further, they seldom have more than a few products on-hand, often relying on their memories to compare past products. Always listen for yourself.
All
TT2
reviews
Video Review
Manufacturer details
Features
Specifications
- Weight: Approx. 2kg (without tonearm base), tonearm base: approx. 245g
- Dimensions (W/D/H): 12 × 4.33 × 2.56 inches (300 × 110 × 65 mm)
- Construction: Tangential tonearm with mechanical and passive drive
- Material: Aluminium (black/silver), stainless steel, glass
- Cartridge balance range: 5.5g - 15.0g
- Wiring: 2m Super Sixstream terminated with RCA
- Warranty: 5 years
Description
A massive masterpiece that transmits the information extracted from the record groove more precisely and faithfully than ever before, with a decisive impact on the authenticity of the music playback.
Release Timeline
Manufacturer Site
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- Clearaudio turntables are often sold as complete packages, including a pre-mounted and aligned tonearm and cartridge, allowing for a simplified, plug-and-play setup experience.
- The brand utilizes Panzerholz, a dense, resonance-damping "bulletproof" wood, often sandwiched with aluminum in their plinth construction, contributing to a unique sonic signature.
- Clearaudio is an early adopter of ceramic magnetic bearings (CMB), implementing them to reduce friction and noise in their turntables for improved speed stability and transparency.
- They offer various tonearm options, with carbon fiber variants to reduce resonance and improve performance, including innovative, often magnetic, anti-skating designs.
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Select product comparisons
Concept
- Positioning: The entry-level turntable, designed to offer high-end features at an affordable price.
- Description: Features a friction-free magnetic bearing tonearm for low distortion. Unlike the more advanced models like the Performance DC, it offers a simpler setup with a focus on plug-and-play simplicity, making it ideal for small rooms and those new to high-fidelity audio systems.
Performance DC
- Positioning: Positioned as a mid-range model, offering a step up in performance and features from the Concept.
- Description: Known for its excellent tracking and speed accuracy, includes a ceramic magnetic bearing for enhanced resonance control. Compared to the Concept, it offers a more robust build, with options for both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges.
Master Jubilee
- Positioning: A high-end model, offering advanced features and a luxurious design.
- Description: Features a unique motor suspension system and a heavy-duty chassis for exceptional resonance control. It offers more advanced motor control and the ability to mount a second tonearm, setting it apart from the Ovation.
Master Innovation
- Positioning: A premium model, designed for ultimate performance and flexibility.
- Description: Distinguished by its dual-platter system and magnetic decoupling, providing excellent speed stability. It allows for up to three tonearms, offering more versatility than the Master Jubilee.
Statement
- Positioning: Clearaudio's flagship model, representing the pinnacle of their turntable technology.
- Description: A masterpiece of engineering, featuring a massive 350 kg build and advanced optical speed control. It offers groundbreaking sound reproduction, far exceeding the capabilities of the Master Innovation, and is designed for the most discerning audiophiles who demand the ultimate in audio performance.
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Avg. Product Price
$10,001-$20,000
Used For Sale
88
Available (Scroll Down)
Brand Popularity
65
of 900+
Badges
Top 50 Brand
Top 250 Brand
Products Listed
31
Founding Year
1978
Our take on the brand
Clearaudio stands out for its magnetic levitation technology in turntables and tonearms, which reduces friction and wear while enhancing tonal accuracy. The brand caters to both novices and audiophiles with features like their Optical Speed Control system that uses infrared sensors to maintain precise speed, and pre-adjusted parameters for easy setup.
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Brand Page
Our interview with the brand
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What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
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clearaudio
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What if you spend more?
No items found.
What competes at this price?
Kronos
RS
14000
/
Released
2022
Kronos Audio's turntables feature a unique counter-rotating dual-platter system that cancels out rotational forces and minimizes vibrations, setting them apart in the industry. Their turntables also use supercapacitors to operate off-grid for reduced electrical noise, while their Discovery RS tonearm employs a proprietary bearing system for precise playback.
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Our Summary
Product Strengths
- The Discovery RS brings a 'naturalness' and 'effortless' quality to the music, making it more 'soulful' and 'engaging'
- The Discovery RS opens up the soundstage, providing a broader and more expansive listening experience
- The Discovery RS delivers a significant reduction in 'groove rush,' resulting in nearly complete silence between cuts and in the lead-in groove
- The Discovery RS provides more refined and better-delineated bass extension with a more faithful sense of speed and texture
- The Discovery RS is designed with a unique resonance suppression system to minimize unwanted mechanical and acoustical contributions
Product Considerations
- One reviewer had trouble getting the right alignment, because the cartridge was too light for the tonearm
- The upgrade offer for existing Kronos owners won't be available much longer, so do not miss out
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Compared to the Black Beauty tonearm, the Discovery RS brought a significant improvement to the entire sonic tapestry of the turntable
Takeaway: The Discovery RS is an exceptional tone arm with innovative technology that really gets the music out of your records. It provides a monumental improvement in LP playback.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Kronos Audio's turntables feature a unique counter-rotating dual-platter system that cancels out rotational forces and minimizes vibrations, setting them apart in the industry. Their turntables also use supercapacitors to operate off-grid for reduced electrical noise, while their Discovery RS tonearm employs a proprietary bearing system for precise playback.
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Graham Engineering
Phantom III
19250
/
Released
Phantom III is the same specification as the Phantom II, but has an updated arm wand, new internal wiring for arm wand and bearing housing. The Phantom III has exceeded our highest expectations, surpassing even the highly-rated Phantom II. And when compared to other tonearms on the market, tests and preliminary user comments have confirmed that the Phantom III is in another, altogether higher level of performance.
Graham Engineering is known for their tonearms that use magnetic stabilization to control wobble and allow users to adjust tracking angle while records are playing. Their flagship Phantom series features interchangeable armwands in different lengths and a unique unipivot design that minimizes resonance through its removable headshell.
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Our Summary
Product Strengths
- The Phantom III does not impose a consistent signature or coloration on the music, leaning towards an ideal of neutrality that allows cartridges to express their individual character more overtly
- Offers a proportionate blend of resolution, detail, bass response, soundstaging, and imaging—creating 'wholeness' in musical reproduction
- Provides stable and repeatable adjustments for fine-tuning tracking force, azimuth, overhang, zenith angle, and VTA/SRA
- Facilitates easy daily operation
Product Considerations
- The price point may be prohibitive for some
- Initial leveling may need to be checked and adjusted after a few weeks due to settling
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Graham Engineering Phantom II Supreme: The Phantom III's bass reproduction was far more robust and controlled
Takeaway: The Graham Engineering Phantom III is a high-quality tonearm that allows for precise adjustments and stable performance, letting the true character of cartridges shine through. Its ability to trace grooves accurately and portray subtle differences in recordings makes it a worthwhile investment for serious audiophiles.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Graham Engineering is known for their tonearms that use magnetic stabilization to control wobble and allow users to adjust tracking angle while records are playing. Their flagship Phantom series features interchangeable armwands in different lengths and a unique unipivot design that minimizes resonance through its removable headshell.
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J.Sikora
KV9 Max
10352
/
Released
2022
J.Sikora stands out for being the only hifi brand to use Kevlar in their tonearm tubes, combining this unique material choice with a unipivot bearing design for optimal sound performance. Their tonearms feature a distinctive VTA adjustment mechanism modeled after a photographic lens, allowing precise adjustments during playback, while incorporating a mix of aluminum, bronze, and brass to enhance sound quality.
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Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Unique, highly engaging, and factual rendition of the music
- Design builds on the best aspects of the KV12 tonearms, and takes performance to an even higher level by reducing weight and increasing rigidity
- New, unique bearing is made of zirconium oxide, and improved damping guarantees maximum stabilization of the tonearm with unsurpassed tracking
- Most of the aluminum elements of the arm are replaced with bronze, contributing to an increase in stability and a further reduction of resonances to an exceptional level
- Ability of unique playful interaction with the cartridge and turntable opened up a deeper interaction with the music, that is normally associated with pricier tonearms
Product Considerations
- Significantly more expensive than other models in its category
- Returning the tonearm after testing it without the hope of purchasing it will be difficult
- Even poor releases are clearly shown for their weaknesses
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs KV12: KV9 Max offers even better resolution, even better differentiation, even better insight into the smallest details and subtleties of every recording, or into even the most delicate tonal shifts and texture changes
- Vs KV12: KV12 is the clear winner when it comes to macro-dynamics
- Vs KV12: On the Dead Can Dance's Spiritchaser, what the KV9 Max did with the powerful, deep, almost subsonic electronic bass was brilliant—truly impressive, but the KV12 added even more mass and powerful slam to these deepest, lowest sounds
Takeaway: The J. Sikora KV9 MAX Zirconium is a high-performing tonearm that delivers exceptional sound quality, with great detail and clarity. This tonearm could be a worthwhile investment for those seeking the best in analog audio reproduction.
Video review
Our take on the brand
J.Sikora stands out for being the only hifi brand to use Kevlar in their tonearm tubes, combining this unique material choice with a unipivot bearing design for optimal sound performance. Their tonearms feature a distinctive VTA adjustment mechanism modeled after a photographic lens, allowing precise adjustments during playback, while incorporating a mix of aluminum, bronze, and brass to enhance sound quality.
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