It has been over ten years since the Clearaudio Concept landed, with the Concept Active adding another option in 2019. However, the German brand has announced its upgraded offering in the shape of the Concept Signature, which, says Clearaudio, marks "an entry point into high-end hi-fi in which accessibility and ease-of-use are as paramount as sonic performance".

Clearaudio's Concept Signature replaces the previous Concept line. It is touted as a complete "package" as you can buy the deck complete with a tonearm and cartridge installed with all the technical parameters pre-set, enabling you to spin your favourite LPs or singles within moments of unpacking it. It even boasts an illuminated touch controller handing you intuitive turntable operation.

The turntable's plinth is made of a resonance-optimised MDF body with an upgrade option of solid wood layers bonded under high pressure if you prefer. The unit's top layer is made from a "high-tech satin-finished plastic" material designed to minimise resonances and offer a sleek appearance, so we are told.

Speed stability is crucial, and the Concept Signature benefits from Clearaudio's new 'Tacho-Speed-Control' (TSC) tech that "constantly monitors the platter's rotational speed and provides real-time feedback to the control electronics". This ensures you receive a consistent speed (Speed accuracy (measured) < ± 0.05 %) regardless of any degradations in the belt tension, friction between the platter and bearing, or even temperature. Moreover, the turntable performs an automated calibration at every restart, and you can even have it checked at the push of a button.

Regarding platter and bearing, the Signature sports a 30mm main platter mounted atop a high-density aluminium sub-platter. Meanwhile, the bearing comprises a tempered steel spindle and a sintered bronze bushing running on a Teflon thrust pad. The platter is belt-driven by a resonance-damped DC motor that's decoupled from the main chassis via a more modest version of Clearaudio's "Innovative Motor Suspension" design, whose full-fat version is enjoyed by the upper-tier Reference Jubilee model. Finally, a "generously dimensioned and highly stable" external power supply unit delivers go juice.

The Concept Signature has been created to be modular. If you want to, you can buy the turntable by itself or purchase a Signature package fitted with your choices from Clearaudio's range of tonearms and cartridges.

The Clearaudio Concept Signature turntable is now available at £1,200 without tonearm or cartridge or with the Concept Signature Wood finish costing £1,450. An example of a Concept Signature package with Verify tonearm and Concept V2 MM cartridge comes in at £2,223.

Visit Clearaudio for more information