Clearaudio Master Innovation
The Clearaudio Master Innovation is the top model of the German manufacturer's Innovation series. The company itself put it as showing "how even the best is constantly being further developed and brought to new sonic heights." It's a statement turntable, sold without a tonearm or cartridge so the buyer can match their own arm and pickup. In the UK it retailed for around £26,400 - £28,200 including VAT.
The design is built around inertia and bearing technology. The Master Innovation doubles the inertia of the standard Innovation. It gets there with a very thick lower platter, a hefty chunk of translucent acrylic roughly 2.5 to 3 inches thick, plus an additional flywheel and a high-torque DC motor. The platter assembly includes a stainless steel platter with a mounting clip (inherited from the Innovation). The whole thing rides on Clearaudio's patented ceramic magnetic bearing (CMB). That's an inverted bearing with a jewelled, polished ceramic shaft and bronzed liner, meant to run essentially frictionless. A linear power supply was designed specifically for the Innovation and Master Innovation as an add-on, and a 4-tier stand was offered as an optional extra.
One point of confusion: the 364,000,000 Vietnamese Dong price that shows up in some listings is for the "Chân mâm than" - the turntable feet/stand for the Innovation Series - not for the turntable itself. The Master Innovation is the deck only.
The record on this model is thin on hard specs. No production years, no dimensions, no weight, no wow-and-flutter or speed-accuracy figures have surfaced. What's documented comes largely from dealer listings and a user manual. The core facts are consistent across the sources that exist: it's the flagship of the Innovation family, it doubles the inertia of the standard model, and it relies on Clearaudio's CMB bearing to get there.
- Manufacturer: Clearaudio (Clearaudio electronic GmbH)
- Product type: Turntable (no tonearm or cartridge supplied)
- Series: Innovation Series (top model)
- UK retail (period): £26,400–£28,200 inc. VAT
- Bearing: Patented ceramic magnetic bearing (CMB), inverted design with jewelled ceramic shaft
- Drive: High-torque DC motor with additional flywheel
- Platter: Stainless steel platter with mounting clip; lower platter is 2.5"–3" thick translucent acrylic
- Key design claim: Doubles the inertia of the standard Innovation
- Accessories: Dedicated linear power supply; 4-tier stand optional
- Documented specs (weight, dimensions, speed accuracy): None found
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