A file participant that stands upright, hangs on a wall, or lies flat, all whereas utilizing gentle to learn vinyl grooves—Miniot’s Wheel 3 feels prefer it rolled in from a Wes Anderson movie. Handmade by a small Dutch household enterprise, the Wheel 3 combines a phenomenal design with intelligent expertise that makes you rethink what a file participant can do.
Miniot, based mostly in Schagen, Netherlands, created waves in 2017 when it launched a Kickstarter marketing campaign for its first product, the Wheel, a vertical turntable with a tonearm hidden beneath the platter. That first mannequin had flaws—manufacturing delays and a steep studying curve—nevertheless it created the groundwork for one thing extraordinary. The Wheel 2 ironed out most of the points, and received reward for its appears and sound. Now, the Wheel 3 is the end result of years of refinement, with a sophisticated aluminum design and an optical stylus system.
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In contrast to conventional turntables that use magnets and coils to translate stylus vibrations into audio, the Wheel 3 makes use of gentle. A diamond stylus tracks the vinyl grooves, however as a substitute of magnetic pickups, a tiny plate connected to the stylus collects gentle from an optical sensor. Because the stylus strikes, the plate shifts, producing a shadow that’s detected by the sensor. These tiny modifications change into electrical alerts, fed right into a customized constructed preamp for what Miniot claims is phenomenal readability. This optical method can detect stylus actions all the way down to 0 Hz, and seize low frequencies that magnetic techniques battle to match. The lighter stylus additionally follows excessive frequency grooves extra precisely, for a cleaner and extra detailed sound.
The Wheel 3 is powered by a customized axial flux direct-drive motor, a giant improve from the belt-drive techniques Miniot initially used. This motor was developed in-house over months of engineering and makes use of 24 neodymium magnets and 5 optical sensors to maintain the pace exact. The system displays each rotation, and corrects for warped or off-center information to make sure pitch good playback from the primary notice. This degree of management is uncommon, particularly in a turntable this small, and retains the optical stylus free from interference from magnetic fields.
The tonearm is new for the Wheel 3 and strikes vertically alongside a monitor within the aluminum rim, hidden beneath the file. This linear monitoring design retains the arm in good alignment with the groove, lowering distortion in comparison with conventional pivoting arms. Whether or not it stands on its anodized aluminum base, lies flat on a desk or hangs on a wall with one screw, the tonearm and optical system adjusts itself. You’ll be able to even flip it the wrong way up and it’ll maintain enjoying. It’s a flexible match for any house.
The entrance is milled from a thick aluminum billet and polished to a mirror end that displays the spinning information. The again is produced from a stable composite materials, with a particular version having a picket again for a hotter look. A dimmable show and contact slider sit on the prime to regulate quantity or skip tracks with a faucet or swipe. Energy is by way of USB-C and audio outputs by way of stereo mini-jack – though some audiophiles would possibly wince on the lack of RCA outputs, it simplifies setup for most individuals. Each unit is hand in-built Europe with domestically sourced supplies, as per Miniot’s philosophy.
At $3,350 (€2,900) the Wheel 3 could be very a lot a excessive finish product. It’s not for tinkerers who like to swap cartridges or advantageous tune their setup – this can be a closed system with no person replaceable components past the diamond stylus.
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