Clearaudio Innovation turntable wood/aluminium - less tonearm

This is the third Clearaudio turntable I have reviewed. Clearaudio is a German company that has been dedicated to advancing the art of analog playback for the last 32 years. Their cartridges were well received from the start and many considered them to be the absolute state of the art. One of their early turntables, the Master Reference, was The Absolute Sound’s first five-star component in the late 1990s. Almost everyone found them beautiful to look at, too. Most of all their turntables have from the very start set new levels for transparency and speed for playing vinyl. Still, there were others who felt they had sacrificed the natural warmth and tonality of vinyl for speed and transparency. I, for one, commend them for their 32 years’ devotion to vinyl playback and not abandoning it for something more profitable.

If you haven’t noticed, about three years ago Clearaudio started making some major changes with their turntables. It started with making the plinth of some of their turntables out of layers of “Panzerholz”, a solid bulletproof wood that is used in Germany for limousines and some special armored trucks. They flank the top and bottom of this very special wood with solid aluminum sheets. The result was to produce the first turntables I had heard from Clearaudio with real warmth and transparency at the same time. Their newest turntables from the Ambient model on up have “Panzerholz” for their plinths, and all of their tables above the Emotion model have the new “Ceramic Magnetic Bearing” that literally allows the platter to float on a layer of air. In my opinion, these two things have transformed the sound of Clearaudio turntables.

The addition of “Panzerholz” to the plinths seems to breathe life, warmth, and an overall more musical sound into their tables. The magnetic bearing brings a level of transparency and quietness to vinyl that I did not know was possible. Now they have come out with their new turntables that use a high torque DC-motor, a newly developed optical speed control that consists of an infrared sensor, a high precision reflection scale, and a corresponding speed circuit. They also added a stainless steel sub-platter and change the platter from acrylic to a much deader, durlin type of material. I mention all this because in my opinion, the house sound has significantly changed at Clearaudio.

I feel compelled to say that today's Clearaudio is a turntable maker whose products deserve to be revisited if you were one who found the early ones too analytical. If you had written off Clearaudio turntables, then I'm here to tell you they will hold their own with some of the most musical tables being made, and at the same time bring a level of transparency and quietness these other tables I've heard can't match.

Description, Design Goals and Setup

First, let me tell you nothing prepared me for how powerful the magnetic bearing is on this table, or how heavy the stainless steel sub-platter is. This heavy sub-platter mounts to the magnet bearing thus creating a big and powerful magnet. The bottom of the 70mm durlin platter has a metal shield to provide protection from the magnet affecting the cartridge. All of this goes over the tall thin ceramic vertical bearing while the heavy platter and sub-platter float on air above the magnet bearing. Even though the platter and sub-platter of the Innovation is nearly 10 pounds heavier than the platter of my Clearaudio Anniversary, it still floats noticeably higher and has more of a suspension feel.

This is not the only difference between these two turntables from Clearaudio. Both the Anniversary and the Innovation sit on a three-spoke shaped sheets made of Panserholz, sandwiched between heavy aluminum plates. The Anniversary has one thick, three-spoked sheet while the Innovation has two thinner ones like the Clearaudio Master Reference turntable.

At the end of each spoke, there are very large spikes that go down to support the turntables, but the ones on the Innovation are a new design that makes it much easier to level the turntable. Above the end of each of the three spokes are large and very heavy pods. These serve two important design plans. First, they make the table even more resistant to vibration. Second, they serve as a place to attach your tonearm mounting boards.
With the Anniversary, it is possible to mount three tonearms since the isolated motor sits on its own heavy pod and is completely separated from the turntable itself. It has a pulley that allows you to play at different speeds by moving the belt up and down the pulley, or you can purchase Clearaudio’s “Synchro Speed Controller” separately. With the Innovation, you can only use two arms because the motor/speed controller is mounted on one of the pods. This speed controller makes the external “Synchro Speed Controller” unnecessary. This in itself is a savings of $1,500. This new motor is a high torque DC-motor with a newly developed optical speed control that consists of an infrared sensor, a high precision reflection scale, and a corresponding speed circuit. The same peripheral ring system works with either turntable, but so far the stabilizer only comes in clear, but of course you can’t see it with the peripheral ring on, so you can’t tell the difference.

Clearaudio says that with the Innovation they have set their sights on new standards in high-end turntable manufacturing. It comes with a newly developed optical speed control that consists of an infrared sensor, a high precision reflection scale, and a corresponding speed circuit. This results in speed stability that I bet you notice the minute you listen to the Innovation. According to Clearaudio, Independent German laboratories say the Clearaudio Innovation turntable had the lowest measured speed variation they had ever measured.
 
Review System & Listening

I was in the middle of reviewing Clearaudio’s new radial tonearm, the Universal, when the Innovation turntable showed up at my house. I had listened to this arm long enough on my Clearaudio Anniversary to know how my system sounded with that combination. So, I started the review of the Innovation Wood turntable by pairing it with the Universal tonearm and the Miyabi Standard moving coil cartridge. I also used it with the Clearaudio Carbon Fiber Satisfy tonearm, as well as the Benz TR moving coil cartridge.

The rest of my reference system consist of the Shindo Masseto preamp, used with both its internal SUT and the Audio Note AN-S8 SUT, the Wavac EC300B, and the Teresonic Ingenium Silvers. The power cords were the Audience Au24 powerChords and they were all plugged into Audience’s aR-6 T, while speaker cables were the Teresonic Clarison and interconnects were their 24-carat gold cables.

One of the things that continues to surprise me in comparing turntables is what a big difference the table itself makes on the amount of record or surface noise you hear. The Merrill/Scillia MS21 and the Clearaudio Anniversary both raised this to a whole new level. It seems that everybody who listens to either of these tables at my house has asked me how I get my records to sound so quiet. The Innovation manages to slightly raise the bar in this area over the other two great turntables I mentioned.

The Innovation also slightly raises the bar by being even more transparent, quieter, and more dynamic than my Anniversary. Where the Innovation really is innovative and sets a new standard is in regard to speed stability. In my review of the Clearaudio Anniversary, I wrote, “The Anniversary with the Synchro Speed Controller had exceptional pitch control, the best I had ever heard from any belt-drive.” That was certainly true, but the Innovation is even better. I would go so far as to say it keeps the speed more stable than any turntable I have ever heard, including the SP-10, or any rim drive table. The new optical speed control obviously works beautifully without any of the negative effects that the early quartz-locked systems had on direct drive turntables. This ability to keep the speed spot on probably explains how downright stable music sounds on this new turntable from Clearaudio.
 
Silence

Isn’t it amazing how much difference the quality of the silence of music varies from one audio component to the other? When I first heard MS21 I was simply amazed by the quality of its silence. In my favorite TV show of all time, “Northern Exposure”, Maryland said that you couldn't be a great dancer if you didn't have good stillness. It is equally true that in order to reproduce music that's not artificial sounding, you have to have good silence. The Innovation actually betters the MS21 in its quality of silence.
 
Transparency

Transparency is a priority to me when evaluating gear, because to me it is one of the major traits of going to hear live unamplified music. With the CMB bearing technology, I feel this is also an area where Clearaudio is breaking new ground in vinyl playback. The huge magnetic bearing of the Innovation furthers the transparency of my system. I was able to hear plucked strings, fingering work, and bowed strings in a way that made beautiful music. Add to this the visceral and emotionally satisfying way my system sounded, and you have a real winner on your hands with the Clearaudio Innovation Wood turntable.

I have met several vinyl aficionados in both the floating-suspension and the rim-drive camps who don' t think a turntable could be this transparent and detailed while still retaining the magic of vinyl. Well, I’m here to say this turntable has all the drive, flow, and power of any of these type of turntables I have heard. What it does not do is add any warmth to recordings. One visitor who listened for a couple of hour to my system commented that it took a little time to get used to how warm my system sounded on certain recordings, how neutral it sounded on others, and then sometimes it even sounded slightly forward. I know that is exactly what we should be looking for, namely the ability to hear what is on the recording, but to be honest: many recordings are more listenable with a little added warmth.

If you have not had a chance to hear one of the new Clearaudio tables with their “Panzerholz” plinths and “Ceramic Magnetic Bearings,” I encourage you to do so. Even if in the end it’s not the table you choose to own, I think you owe it to yourself to hear this level of transparency, speed, and neutrality from vinyl.
 
Drive, Dynamics, PraT, and Scale

These are areas where the new high torque DC-motor is a real improvement. Its ability to give my system the drive of live music along with lifelike pace and rhythm really let me get emotionally involved in the music. I don’t want to belittle the great sound of a good rim drive turntable, because I fall into the group of those who love them. Still, I would encourage those of you who love rim drives to hear a great belt-drive turntable that uses high torque motors. There are three that I’ve heard, the Audio Note, the Clearaudio Innovation, and the Voyd. All three of these tables have incredible drive and dynamics.

The Innovation has world class dynamics and micro-dynamics for any source, including the best digital or tape. The dynamics are great fun and lifelike and the micro-dynamics bring recorded music to life. The Innovation has a big, dynamic, powerful sound. Instruments have a life-like size. You should hear the lifelike scale and power of a well recorded standup bass or the bloom of a full orchestra.
 
Bass

The Bass is the first thing that some listeners commented on about the Innovation, and that includes some pretty well respected ears. It’s not that it necessarily goes deeper than other great tables, but it’s the way the bass comes out of such a quiet and natural environment. The bass breathes, and lets you easily hear the air, and the wood bodies of bass instruments when well recorded. The bass you get is tight and well-defined; but you get to hear more. You can easily hear the nuances, timbre, and rhythm of real instruments.
 
Midrange and Treble

We have already spent a good bit of time discussing these, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how clean, clear, and beautiful they are. Pianos, maybe more than most instruments, benefited from the solidity of the sound you hear when using this turntable. The Innovation plays music that is just so engaging. It is so easy to hear both the attack and the decay of instruments. The Innovation allowed my system to play brushes and sticks as they come in contact with cymbals and drums with such lifelikeness. They sounded so correct and beautiful while having a space all their own in the soundstage. With either the Benz Ebony TR or the Miyabi Standard, it was very satisfying just how pretty the midrange and treble could sound. The treble was delicate and had such natural shimmer.
 
Conclusion

The Clearaudio Innovation seems to be the final step in the changes in design that began with the company’s Statement and Ambient turntables, and then moved into more of their tables. They first started using “Panzerholz” instead of acrylic for the base of the turntable. Then came the incredible Ceramic Magnetic Bearings, and with the Statement table, a real Magnetic Drive. Now with the Innovation, they have moved away from even a “clear” platter; they have moved from acrylic to a combination of a composite durlin platter with a stainless steel sub platter. Then, there is the new high-torque motor. These design changes are great examples of the trickle down theory of engineering.

The Innovation brings significant improvements over early and more expensive turntables. It brings incremental improvement over their Anniversary Wood CMB table and gives you a better motor, it’s own speed control and a substantially deader platter. If you are in market for a turntable in this price range and you value transparency, speed, and drive you should give the Innovation a listen. It is a wonderful turntable.