Product Comparison: Marantz TT-15S1 vs Clearaudio Concept

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Marantz TT-15S1 Reference Belt Drive Turntable with Cartridge (Transparent White)

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Clearaudio Concept Turntable with Pre-Mounted MM Cartridge

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General Specifications

Brand

Marantz

Clearaudio

Model

TT-15S1

Concept

Origin

Japan

Germany

About the Product

Analog recording is still very alive. Quality turntables are still in demand. Digital discs simply set new performance standards that turntables must meet. Many cherished records may never be issued on digital formats. Good turntables are now more important than ever. Marantz embraces an audiophile quality turntable with AC servo belt-drive and low-coloration tone arm to answer the need for a high performance source component for the analog record.

Clearaudio's vision for the concept: design an elegantly styled turntable package featuring a level of groundbreaking technology usually only found in high-end turntables, combining plug-and-play simplicity with outstanding sound quality and affordability.

Key Specs

Drive Type

Belt drive

Operation Type

Manual

Semi-Automatic

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Marantz TT-15S1 Reference Belt Drive Turntable with Cartridge (Transparent White)

Drive Belt - Not difficult at all, just take your time.
Take care to mount the plastic motor drive correctly.
Also you may use a speed control on an AC motor for exact speed.
In addition, the leveling method is stupid because there is no way to level the motor, so the drive belt slips off if you try to use more than a small amount of level adjustment.
The drive could definitely be improved, and for very little additional cost.
The belt is just plain inferior. It is cheap silicone rubber, poorly molded, and it jumps around as the platter rotates.

Size & Weight

Height

5.4 in.

4.92 in.

Width

16.5 in.

16.54 in.

Depth

14.2 in.

13.98 in.

Weight

19.6 lbs.

16.5 lbs.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Clearaudio Concept Turntable with Pre-Mounted MM Cartridge

Materials and build quality are top-notch.

Audio

Record Sizes

Playable Record Speeds

33 ⅓, 45

33 ⅓, 45, 78

Stylys/Cartridge

Moving Magnet (MM)

Integrated Preamp

What customers say about "Audio"

Marantz TT-15S1 Reference Belt Drive Turntable with Cartridge (Transparent White)

The sound was great for certain recordings that had a certain sound.
When the record is silent I used to hear a low rumble but not with this table.
If you're searching for an audiophile turntable, I would highly recommend this one, and you'll hear an immediate improvement in you vinyl record sound, and you'll hear detail you've never heard before.
The actual speed stability is probably even better than I measured.
One problem if you have scratchy records they sound scratchier on this turntable because of it's subtle accuracy.

Clearaudio Concept Turntable with Pre-Mounted MM Cartridge

A fantastic turntable. Sounds incredible.

Features

Control

On/Off switch

Functions

Vinyl player

Platter Material

Acrylic

Teflon

Dust Cover Included

Speaker(s) Included

Interfaces

Stereo RCA audio out

Extras

Low-Resonance High-Density Acrylic Chassis and Platter, Asynchronous AC Motor

Decoupled DC motor with low noise bearings, Polished and tempered steel shaft in a sintered bronze bushing

Speaker(s) Included
Dust Cover Included

What customers say about "Features"

Marantz TT-15S1 Reference Belt Drive Turntable with Cartridge (Transparent White)

The record will be best dampened by direct contact with the acrylic platter. Use a clamp to keep the record tight against the acrylic.
The motor has a machined acrylic pulley attached to it with 3 set screws. I wish the would have used aluminum, just for cosmetic reasons. The acrylic is fine in this capacity. This is a precision machined acrylic part - not a cheap molded plastic piece.
The acrylic is fine in this capacity. This is a precision machined acrylic part - not a cheap molded plastic piece.
There are 2 grounding cables one under the table body, and one on the RCA plug cable.
The only thing bad I can say about it is the record clamp that comes with it, it's pretty much useless.

Clearaudio Concept Turntable with Pre-Mounted MM Cartridge

The sensitivity comes from the tonearm design: it's drawn to the top of the housing via magnets, but is separated by a tension wire, which means the tonearm basically floats.
Be warned, though: you MUST have a solid, isolated platform or the tonearm is very likely to pick up vibrations. Mine had to be wall mounted to avoid skips caused by footfalls.
You are stuck with a useless turntable unless you have it mounted on a platform on a solid concrete floor. Any apartment or home with wood floors is a guaranteed fail as far as being able to play this and they offer no remedy whatsoever. I was told to buy a wall mount.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

2 year(s)

Certifications