So this is the story.
I went to an audio show and met Pete Curran from Claro (he's their in-house designer) and saw his deck. I was increasingly fed up with the Clearaudio Unify unipivot arm. So I called Pete. The history was that some years earlier Claro was paid about $75,000 to assist on design and to fabricate a turntable. The work proceeded and then the client disappeared. So they finished it and sold the 25 or 50 units they'd planned to produce. They had good feedback, made some improvements and brought out a new version.
Claro's in-house fabrication facilities are of very high quality. It was obvious from looking at the product. It had also garnered three reviews, one by Jimmy Hughes. He is a well-known reviewer, he wrote the manual on LP12 set-up, very technically knowledgable and owner of perhaps the finest vinyl collection in the UK. What's more, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of classical recorded music like none other. Here's an article about Jimmy. You can tell from his listening room he's a little unusual.
www.thevinyladventure.com
Jimmy is reserved and fastidious in equal measure. His review involved using the machine for 3 months. He's extremely analytical and to the point. I knew him as his day job was Head of UK Customer Service for Leica. He did my sensor cleans, we'd chat about music and as it was a free service I'd try and find him a record he didn't have. So I went to see Jimmy, I got a sensor clean and a lecture about this turntable. After that it was a simple decision.
Jimmy was also an expert on cameras - all cameras, besides Leica. I frequented a used camera store next door to the Savoy Hotel. The manager told me Jimmy was often in there picking out another camera or lens he'd not used. He probably dismantled them all as well. He had a great eye for value.
Anyway, this is the bearing and drive mechanism.
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This is the underside of the plinth. One piece construction, two recesses for the motors and speed control circuits, power cable and arm mount points.
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p.s. Whilst typing I received an email copy of Hifi+. Therein Jimmy reviews a Wolfgang Schneiderhan 34 CD box set and the Lowther Hegeman Sound Reproducer floorstanding loudspeaker. The latter is a thing of beauty that first reared its head in 1951. They now cost £54,000 for one or £96,000 for two, he says you could happily live with one. Both reviews are concise (2 pages for the speakers, one for the CDs), erudite and masterful compared to the streams of garbage you normally get these days.
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