Clearaudio Compass Turntable, German Engineering. No Passport Required.

Clearaudio just dropped the Compass, and it’s pointing straight to high-end sound without the high-end price tag. Hand-built in Germany and landing this September (2025), this fully analog beast clocks in at just €1,290, a serious bargain for anyone ready to level up their vinyl game.

Built to Play. Priced to Win.

No assembly stress here, the Compass is plug-and-play ready. You get the sleek new T1 tonearm (think: a baby version of the legendary Satisfy), paired with the handcrafted new N1 MM cartridge, a worthy rival to the Ortofon 2M Red. Under the hood? A rock-solid MDF chassis with a steel bottom plate for dead-quiet operation, and a 20mm acrylic platter spinning smooth atop a CNC-milled sub-platter and precision bearing. Translation: your records have never sounded this good at this price. It’s a german promise.

Compact Size, Global Vibes

Got space concerns? The Compass measures just 435 x 340 x 120 mm and weighs a manageable ~8 kg. But don’t let the size fool you, this thing promises to deliver heavyweight performance. Comes with an acrylic dust cover, an external power supply (international voltage-friendly), and a decoupled 12V DC motor with precision electronic speed control. Flip between 33⅓ and 45 RPM with ±0.05% accuracy. Yeah, it’s that dialed in.

Specs That Matter

Tonearm: T1 aluminum with stainless counterweight, external anti-skate, handles carts from 2.5g to 17g.
Cartridge: N1 MM, aluminum body, elliptical stylus, 20Hz–20kHz frequency, 3.3mV output.
Chassis: MDF with a vibration-fighting steel bottom plate. Comes in black or silver.
Platter System: Acrylic (20mm thick) + CNC aluminum sub-platter.
Motor: 12V DC, decoupled, electronically controlled.
Size & Weight: 435 x 340 x 120 mm | ~8kg (with arm + cart).

Bring Your Own Preamp

Heads-up: there’s no built-in phono stage, which means you’ll need an external phono preamp or an amp with a phono input. Why? Purity. Flexibility. The usual audiophile reasons. And honestly, it gives you more control over your sound.

Shipping Soon

The Clearaudio Compass hits stores September 2025. Priced at €1,290, it’s a whole lot of German precision for not a lot of dough.

Clearaudio Webpage