The road to nirvana

My journey into Photography, Horology, and Audiophilia


My analog journeys

Upgrade Bugs

The Clearaudio Concerto

Clearaudio released a new line of cartridges, replacing their "hammer-head" style line. The new cartridges boasts of an extremely dynamic performance with a different tone. I traded my Sigma for the entry-level model, the Concerto.

  The Concerto cartridge

Read my impressions of the Concerto.

The Magnum Upgrade

This upgrade made my Champion look more "macho" with the 70mm thick platter, massive feet, motor elevator, and new bearing (ceramic ball). The package also came with new tools, accessories and "Clearaudio Champion Magnum" aluminum badge.

Sonically, the Magnum upgrade resulted in more focus and dynamics.

 

The Ceramic Magnetic Bearing (CMB)

This new bearing technology spells state-of-the-art!

It features a ceramic shaft for near friction-less operation, and magnetic levitation eliminating the use of a contact-type method such as the ceramic ball used in the standard versions. The use of magnetic levitation, allows my 70mm platter to be somewhat suspended in air.

The Zyx R50 Bloom

Due to an unfortunate need, I had to sell the Concerto and was using the Clearaudio Alpha for a few months. I miss the sound of MC and I looked for a more affordable cartridge and I'm glad I found the Zyx R50 Bloom.

The ZYX R50 Bloom

Read my Zyx R50 Bloom review.