Clearaudio Concept MM V2
Clearaudio is an established German company that makes a range of turntables, arms and cartridges, including some extremely exotic kit. The flagship Statement model, for example, is an enormous stainless-steel and acrylic homage to vinyl that carries a price tag of (are you sitting down?) over £100,000.
The Concept MM V2 isn’t quite so ambitious. It’s Clearaudio’s leastexpensive cartridge that, as the name suggests, is a moving-magnet type. The stylus is fixed, so if it gets damaged you have to replace the whole cartridge. On the plus side, fixed-stylus cartridges generally sound better than the alternative and, as with any delicate instrument, if you treat it with care it will give you many years (2000 hours, says Concept) of listening pleasure.
The immediate issue
One of the most appealing things about vinyl is the sense of immediacy that you can get out of it with a good record player. It’s something that digital systems often struggle to compete with and a key reason the analogue format sounds so musically compelling.
Unfortunately, it’s not something the MM V2 is obviously good at. It’s not really a balance thing – tonally the Clearaudio is fairly even. It’s more that the bass is a little lacking in clarity and the midrange could do with being more open.
If a beat is strong enough then the V2 will let you know there’s a rhythm to enjoy, but it’s unlikely to pull you out of your seat and compel you to boogie.
Elgar’s Cello Concerto Op.85 retains its sad beauty and the clicks and pops on our pressing are kept from ruining the effect because of the aforementioned clouding of the midrange. This cartridge can also deliver bass weight where it’s needed, albeit with limited precision. Anyone looking to calm down an overly lively vinyl system might find this Clearaudio offers some useful restraint, but we would recommend doing this with a better turntable. There are certainly better alternatives at this price.