Thursday, April 30, 2009

Expensive Turntables II

Yesterday we looked at 6-10 of the top ten most expensive turntables according to www.bornrich.com, today let's look at 1-5:

5. Continuum Caliburn

Price: $90,000 to $112,000



Vinyl isn’t dead, and the Continuum Caliburn turntable is the thing to prove that. The pricing for the turntable starts at $90,000 and goes up to $112,000, depending on finishes and includes some remarkable technology. The tonearm alone sells for $12,000. The turntable employs a magnetically levitated magnesium platter, which is suspended in a vacuum to guarantee there are no vibrations.







4. Clearaudio Statement

Price: US $125,000



The pertinently named Statement is a $125,000 assembly of wood, aluminum, and other sundry bits that has only one endeavor, to play records, and play them outstandingly well. Weighing 770 pounds, the Statement derives its rotational motivation from the same type of electric motor used to propel the Mars Rover. It touts a patented magnetic driven sub platter, dynamic balanced platters, Kardan turntable chassis suspension, real time speed control and active blue LCD display.









3. Transrotor Artus

Price: US $150,000




The Artus turntable comes straight from the house of German company Transrotor. It weighs 220 kg and the record is being held by the 350 kg Clearaudio STATEMENT. The Artus has a contact-less magnetic field drive, a balanced arm and new electronics. The reason for the high price is being a 4-in-1 product as it includes a LP player, phonograph, gramophone, and a turntable.










2. Basis Audio’s ‘Work of Art’ turntable

Price: US $150,000




Basis Audio is one of the leading turntable manufacturers of the world, which guarantees high quality systems to the music-lovers. Audiophiles fancy the quality of vinyl as a musical source, and the very best turntables are built on a philosophy of weight and stability. Basis Audio’s ‘Work of Art‘ turntable turntable makes use of a self-contained Resonance Annihilator, which plays the role of isolating it from vibration. The vibrational energy is neutralized by being transformed into heat energy, which is then efficiently dissipated. At $150,000, the Work of Art is definitely one of the most expensive consumer audio devices out there. It boasts features such as Resonance Annihilation, which attempts to remove all vibrations from the record, thereby creating a more pure sound.




1. Goldmund’s Reference II

Price: US $300,000



This turntable is without doubt every music enthusiasts’ dream gadget but only the uber-rich will be able to buy it as the price tag reads a cool $300,000. There are only 25 on the planet. The Reference II turntable features a degree of refinement and a number of never-seen-before features. The turntable features a 20kg platter machined to a hundreth of a millimeter, a motor vibration-shielded by 15kg of brass, and teflon-insulated signal-carring electronics. Other specs include cog-free motor with lowest electrical and mechanical noise, liquid-nitrogen-rectified belt, touch controls integrated in the tabletop specially designed new Goldmund T8 straight-line tone arm with total weight of 7 kg. Limited editions of 25 units are sold on subscription with a maximum production of 5 units per year.

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