Clearaudio Concept Black review: Unboxing, Setup, and Review!

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

I'm currently rocking a Fluance RT85, which I do like a great deal. Seriously considering moving up to the Clearaudio Concept. If I'm being honest, this was the best video I found about it.

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

Satisfy arm on this table is almost mandatory.

[@TemujinScott80]

What I look for in a turntable NOW.. after owning an audio technica ATLP120 - anti skate, sound, motor noise, durability. I have since upgraded to Technics turntables

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Nice! I think the AT LP120 is a pretty nice starter turntable that can keep people satisfied before moving up higher on the food chain. Congrats on your upgrade 👍🏿

[@carpediem673]

Agree--I like Audio Technica's carts but prefer Technics tables.

[@pointsbeingmade7996]

I have the ATLP2X after not being content with a 1200 from technics mk2 it stuck in the skipping when there was a skip so annoying i could not make it work and neither could any service Guy. I have listened to burned cd:s lately they are more reliable. Options that work are white label vinyl, Vinyl rips and Wavefiles or reel tape.

[@pointsbeingmade7996]

Are you selling the ATLP120 ? What is worse than on the technics except sound decrease and flutter ?

[@TemujinScott80]

@@pointsbeingmade7996 my Technics is great

[@ellismarshall-grant3319]

Try a combination of cartridges through a phono amp to sort out any sound issues through the full range if you can

[@Diploization]

Hi.After swapping cartridge to Ortofon blue, did you manage to set anti-skating on Concept tt with knob underneath by yourself? If so how the heck did you do it, because its a real pain in the a**.

[@brucermarino]

Excellent review. Having a realistic view of turntable mechanical noise is appreciated. Thank you!

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Thanks - - glad you enjoyed it.

[@chrislj2890]

Great video. The turntable seems okay, but too many drawbacks for me, as you noted. I think my TEAC TN-5BB turntable is a better value at the same price. It came with an Ortofon 2M Red which is decent but I replaced it with an Audio-Technica moving coil. It has an "s" shaped tonearm with removable headshell which I prefer, and the anti-skate and VTA are easy to access, and it includes a dust cover, lol. I actually prefer it over my Technics SL-1200GR2 since it has auto stop/lift. It's a shame more people don't know about the TEAC.

[@raymondchan9306]

Great review..I fine it very funny what you said about the dustcover.

[@greydogmusic]

Great review as usual. I think you convinced me not to purchase one. Instead of talking about the lack of a 45 adapter, you can always put an insert in the 45 and use the 33 1/3 spindle. I think it would i’ve been better to point out since it plays 78 RPM, you need a 78 RPM cartridge. It doesn’t look like the head shell comes off for swapping cartridges. And if it did, that Anti skate would really be a pain in the you know what switching cartridges if the tracking is different. I can’t imagine paying that kind of money and having it as a dedicated 78 player. Which I do have. It cost a lot less than that.

[@adriancressy8363]

Looks like the "S" shaped tone arms are gone now. The straight tone arms have better tracking???

[@private_Angus]

Great Video! How long is the built in audio cable? Thanks.

[@klepp19]

Seeing this review I am leaning towards the Rega Planar 3!

[@lucamasud5269]

Nice review! Hard to say the "bass" is a problem of the table vs the combination of cartridge/amp etc. I have this (with Satisfy) and that's definitely not a problem. Setup is: SUT for MC + Audiolab 6000a + Audiotechnica AT33PTGII + a pair of Dynaudio Emit M10 This might not be the cheapest setup (but not that crazy expensive either in this world of people selling you dust covers for 300 bucks...) but just to explain that it's probably a combination of things more than the table. :)

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@poetryonplastic]

Just discovering your channel, but excellent review and your videography is on point!

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Thanks-appreciate you watching 👍🏾👍🏾

[@mostirreverent]

get yourself a nice tupperwear piece for the cover Is the bass issue a funtion of the table or the cartridge?

[@Grandtarkus]

You should test it with your old cart, also, that cart is a at95e with a new shell, please test it with your old cart man, great video too! Subscribed

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

I just might do that, although as much as I love the 2M carts, the Blue and Bronze are a little too bright for my liking. And thanks for subscribing!

[@juandv930722]

@@DevotedtoVinyl try Nagaoka cartridges in a futura, you would be amazed.

[@clairewatkinson7164]

I have a concept and within about 20 records the 33 speed would not get up to speed . 45 was ok though i could not test its accuracy . I sent it back to the shop but they said it was running a little fast at 33 and had no problems over several tests , WTF have i got a lemon . Any ideas ?

[@rickc661]

good honest review I'd say. funny to me the 3 negs are more notable than the 3 +. especially at this price. $2000. to me is getting up there, I know it's possible to spend $10 thou just on a cartridge. or preamp....

[@LutherusPandragon]

Very nice review

[@bfigs100]

Do you think that the reduction in surface noise was more due to the cart or the tone arm itself? This is a huge focus in my new tt.

[@haroldm4600]

I believe the reduction in surface noise is due primarily to the cartridge and it’s stylus geometry, less to the tonearm and little due to the turntable itself.

[@NoEgg4u]

1) The anti-skating control, located on the bottom of the turntable, should not be a problem -- at least not a prolonged problem. Clearaudio claims to have set it at the factory. So unless you change the cartridge or the tone-arm, you will never have to adjust it (assuming that you trust that Clearaudio set it correctly at the factory). In the event that you do have to adjust it, it is a one-time adjustment. Or, a once in a very long while adjustment. Short of doing upgrades, once you have it set, you will likely never have to adjust it again. 2) As to the motor noise, that is a deal-breaker for me. The motor should be super quiet. You should need a doctor's stethoscope to hear it. If you can put your ear close to it and hear it, that is not good. And with that motor being seated / connected to the turntable's plinth, the vibrations are getting to the stylus, and affecting the sound quality. I used to have a bad feedback problem, due to my turntable having to sit close to my right speaker. My room had no other location to place it. And I had the turntable on a household piece of furniture. I ditched that furniture, and I purchased an HRS audio rack, and my feedback problem was gone (or so I thought). I no longer heard feedback -- but unbeknownst to me, it was still there. A friend whose ear I trust, and has critical listening skills, suggested that I put my turntable on Aurios Pro Media Isolation Bearings. So I did. No risk, with the seller's return policy. I was astounded at how much better everything sounded. Everything had better focus. The bass was tighter. And somehow, I thought that, previously, I had no feedback. I now have my eye on a Townshend Seismic Vibration Isolation Platform, for my turntable. I put one under my pre-amp, and it made everything sound better (not night and day -- but definitely better) -- including digital content. So I thought that perhaps such a platform for under my turntable would do a better job than my Aurios bearings? Alas, my wallet has run dry. So I am content with what I have. But my point is that if you can hear the motor, then your stylus is picking it up, too. I would report the noise to the manufacturer. Perhaps they can warranty the motor for a quieter one. Clearaudio is known for attention to detail, and for going to extremes to isolate vibrations. I do not think that they would knowingly include a motor in any of their turntables that you can hear.

[@olaniyi570]

Bass performance may improve after playing it for an extended period of time.

[@santiagojaviers]

did the bass improve to you?

[@jean-martingauthier5551]

The Concept Wood is made out of wood, it's not just a wood trim. But nice review!

[@sjefhendrickx2257]

What dies he know?

[@doodahdavesrecords4319]

78 and semi automatic looking at Thorens and Technics

[@santiagojaviers]

the clearaudio concept is considered high end??

[@TemujinScott80]

I would love for you to review the TECHNICS 1210 GR. Same price point as this turntable

[@TemujinScott80]

Leon thepro his opinion. I have one

[@pointsbeingmade7996]

Good point. New technics aint like mk2-5 though.

[@ghiagoo]

Clever tracking force gauge

[@greydogmusic]

It’s not cleaver. It’s cheap. Had one 40+ years ago. Because It was cheap. It did work. That said as cheap as you can get a digital one today, for the price of this turntable it should be included. So should a 45 RPM adapter. Ridiculous.

[@roxy4877]

Great Review!

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@stevecrawford9027]

I'm looking at Thorens or Denon SemiAutomatic Turntable. What you U thinks 🤔??

[@greydogmusic]

I see an answer, so I will say this, which models?

[@rickc661]

I have 2 Thorens full auto , around $ 1000. ea. IF Ya want thorens has a $4200. semi auto - lift / shutoff. ( td 1601 I think ) for me, I learned long ago (original AR way back when , Im 73 ) that a full auto handles the critical needle / stylus contact far better than my hand. especially if 'enhancements' are in play . I don't hear any operating sound even using H'phones well above normal vol.

[@techguy534]

I'm shocked that you can hear motor noise from a belt-driven turntable. It makes sense on a direct drive system, but a belt-drive system has a much smaller motor inside.

[@TemujinScott80]

New video! Watching!

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Temujin Scott Thanks for watching 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@AJ61209]

"Get some saran wrap and call it a day." 😆 I'll be sticking with my Fluance RT 83 for now. "Free" dusty cover and all. Lol

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

😂 Nice buddy!

[@jro7075]

to Devoted To Vinyl excellent video and review I like the way you explained your likes and dislikes the only thing I will say is for 1800 dollars it better do more than play records I would maybe expect it to fly dance or something talk to you that to me way too much for a Manual TT I grew up with TT's and a lot of the audiophile TT's at my time were automatic TT;s and they did not cost over 1 thousand and you did mention that it did not have much bass in my day we had equalizers they helped to tailor the music you would listen to ,cause a lot of record comp had recording engineers and they were the ones tailoring the music some records had too much bass or treble and every cartridge is going to be different I can bet you that every auidiophile had a good equalizer in their system and as for foot fall every TT I had always suffered from that cause some houses were not built well the one I grew up in had hard wood flooring we would have parties and tone arm would not skip but whem I moved out to another place my same TT would skip cause house was newer there are ways to fix that my projct debut does not suffer from motor noise and when I play albums I donot hear hear surface noise or on my other TT I like to see reviews on TT's yours very very detailed your very good but this TT is out of my price range

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts 👍🏿

[@pointsbeingmade7996]

1800 for low noice is a great pro. Planars do that on p10 for 4000

[@adamstumpp9892]

Would you (or anyone) recommend upgrading to the maestro cart? I am planning on buying a concept and upgrading to satisfy tonearm and I'm wondering if it is worth also upgrading to the maestro (about $2900 for the combo)

[@jackc.g.8628]

I have the Concept with the Satisfy tonearm and upgraded to the Clearaudio Jubilee MM cart. Sounds great and the Bass is good on mine.

[@haroldm4600]

As I just posted in my comment above, I have a Concept Black with Satify Carbon tonearm and am now running a Soundsmith cartridge retailing for $2k. Sounds awesome. I am truly wondering how much better it could be with a higher model turntable. I think the greatest improvement in sound comes with cartridge & phono stage upgrades, much less with turntable upgrades (after a certain point).

[@tuturuism]

The cost of this turntable is like 5 salaries of mine. Great review nonetheless

[@pointsbeingmade7996]

You dont need it get an ATLP2X for 170 on eBay.

[@AlGibani123]

That’s so sad

[@jamesmiller8183]

Nice job, Mr. Devoted. Important to me? Bang-for-buck (duh). Reliability. Ease of set-up/use.

[@stevetwilley1471]

Good job I like edit

[@TheVinylGuru]

LMAO @ get you some plasti bags and call it a day!!! Honey! 250 for plastic?!?! Come on now! haha! The x400 ROI on that is wild.

[@pointsbeingmade7996]

Hahaha!

[@olegariomartinez6807]

Subscribed. Great job on the review.

[@DevotedtoVinyl]

Thanks for subscribing 👍🏾

[@TeensierPython]

I wish I could get this for 1800$ Lowest price I’ve seen on these (without cart) is over 2200$

[@romywebster7728]

There is a newer version called the Concept Air

[@pointsbeingmade7996]

Since the TT is more expensive perhaps compare to rega or a technics 1500c/1210/1200 Loved the vid 9/10 Haha 250 for the lid. Perhaps buy cheaper gear. I gave the ATLP2X with a new strömwire silent and sounds fantastic with a at150mlx. Trying a goldring Elite as well but it was quiet it tracks such s bummer. I think the dislike of the 250 lid is you feeling not enough projecting. Save up or by cheaper dont blame the product.

[@SuperLber]

Never had issues with debut carbon in 3 years of hard usage. It works like a turntable should. You'll find problems with bad records even with this turntable. It's a matter of headshell at least. Unfair review

[@SuperLber]

And my debut costs like the dust cover of that one.

[@paulgonzales5086]

Price is what I look for basically what am I getting for my money hard-earned money

[@stevecrawford9027]

Semi automatic turntables Decent price under $700.00 dust cover AntiSkate auto lift or Automatic Return 🤔 Removable Headshell. At least come with good Cartridge & Stylus. You pay a lot and get less

[@romeliapolly2519]

I did it with the Stodoys plans.

[@sjefhendrickx2257]

Why did he not buy a concept white?

[@jamesmiller8183]

Because there isn’t one?

[@CortinasAndClassics]

#4 no auto return. I will never use a deck without auto return.

[@JohnJohn-lk4lq]

Then you will never own an audiophile TT

[@greydogmusic]

John John says you "will never own an audiophile turntable". Somebody needs to get a good definition of that word. Just so you can broaden your choices. Look into an auto lifter. It doesn’t return the tonearm but it lifts it off the record. I put one on my manual. It’s terrific. You got to go over and change the album anyway

[@CortinasAndClassics]

@@greydogmusic who's he?

[@greydogmusic]

@@CortinasAndClassics I edited my post..John John is the he. says you will never own a audiophile turntable. If one gets an autolifter because they do not want a manual turntable, the added autolifter can give one many choices of turntables that they would not consider being totally manual. . So .... John John is wrong. one can own a audiophile turntable (what ever that is).

[@haroldm4600]

@@greydogmusic I put an auto lifter on my CC TT and after some initial finicky adjustments it’s worked flawlessly. It’s saved countless hours of my stylus circling in runout grooves after nodding off listening to music.