Welcome to the 24th edition of Record Roundup, my regular feature on all things vinyl-related. While I’ll be touching on a few items of interest this month, the stars of the show are a pair of stunning, see-through turntables from Pro-Ject and Transparent.
Transparent Turntable
Swedish audio brand Transparent has made a bit of a name for itself by selling transparent speakers, with the drivers, amps and wiring fully visible. Thus the name… Now the company has turned its attention to the turntable market with: the Transparent Turntable!
This two-speed, belt-drive turntable is made to complement a Transparent speaker–although it will work with pretty much any other audio system thanks to a built-in Phono stage and Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity. Crafted from tempered glass and aluminum (available in black or white), the Transparent Turntable is equipped with an Ortofon OM5E cartridge. You can pick one of these up directly from Transparent for $1,300 or pair it with a Transparent Speaker for a 20% bundle discount.
Pro-Ject Perspective Final Edition Suspended Turntable
What are the odds of two new see-through turntables being released at around the same time?
Pro-Ject is also wowing TT shoppers with the Perspective Final Edition Suspended turntable. This one feature a unique design with a one-piece carbon tonearm and a die-cast aluminum platter mounted to a sub-chassis that floats on springs above the main plinth, reducing vibration. That plinth is made of clear acrylic and it’s equipped with height-adjustable spike metal feet. Altogether, this monster of a turntable tips the scales at 17.6 pounds.
A limited edition of just 400 units, the Pro-Ject Perspective Final Edition Suspended turntable is priced at $1499 with a Sumiko Rainier cartridge.
Toneoptic RPM Record Storage
In Record Roundup Volume 12, I wrote about the premium, handcrafted record storage/showcase solution being offered by Toneoptic–at an eye popping $3,750 starting price. The company is back after “two years of ongoing feedback from the community and strenuous R&D.”
The new Toneoptic RPM with a 90-degree revolving design is being offered as a modular solution that can be wall mounted or used on a flat surface. The Toneoptic RPM still offers a (literally) revolutionary way to store and display your records, but this time the price is much more reasonable (although still a splurge). Available in black or white powder-coated aluminum, Toneoptic RPM units start at $325.
U-Turn Orbit Basic Turntable Review
In case you missed it, my latest review was the Orbit Basic turntable from U-Turn Audio. Although solidly built, offering some good components for its $249 price (including an an Audio Technica AT91B cartridge), and making good on its promise of easy setup, I wasn’t a fan of cost-cutting measures like making a cue lever a $50 extra. You can read my Orbit Basic review here.
Vinyl Me Please Record of the Month
I’ve started to include the monthly offerings I’ve received from my membership with record subscription service Vinyl Me Please. This is Record Roundup after all… As part of the “Rock” category subscription, the most recent record I received in the mail was Stone Temple Pilots’ No. 4.
This VMP-exclusive pressing includes a black, gatefold album cover with embossed logo and title on the front and very cool black and clear Cornetto vinyl. When STP’s fourth studio album with tracks including “Sour Girl” and “Down” was released in 1999, CD sales were just a year from their 2000 peak. Records were antiquities. Although you couldn’t buy No.4 on vinyl in 1999, it’s nice to have the option of seeing–and hearing–this grunge era album in analog format today.
Disclosure: Vinyl Me Please provided a record membership for evaluation purposes but had no input into this review.
Read the full article here
