Clearaudio Concept vs VPI Player
Side-by-side specifications and a plain-English account of the recorded differences. Full profiles: Clearaudio Concept · VPI Player.
| Specification | Clearaudio Concept |
VPI Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Highlighted difference. £1,495 | £1,500 |
| Category | High-end | High-end |
| Status | current | current |
| Years | 2009–present | 2020–present |
| Drive | belt drive | belt drive |
| Speeds | Highlighted difference. 33/45/78 rpm | 33/45 rpm |
| Operation | manual | manual |
| Cartridge supplied | Concept MM/MC | Ortofon 2M Red (fitted) |
| Phono stage | No | Highlighted difference. Yes |
| USB output | No | No |
| Bluetooth | No | No |
| Platter | POM | aluminium |
| Tonearm | Clearaudio friction-less magnetic-bearing | VPI gimbal |
| Wow & flutter | — | — |
Practical differences
Highlighted cells show a lower reference price, support for more listed speeds, or the presence of a convenience feature. They are not an overall score.
On price alone the Clearaudio Concept costs less, coming in £5 (about 0%) below the VPI Player.
Both are belt-drive, so that part of the experience should feel similar on either deck: a motor that's mechanically isolated from the platter by an elastic belt, which is the usual route to a quieter noise floor — the default choice across most of hi-fi.
The VPI Player has a built-in phono stage. Skip the phono stage and you'll need one built into your amp, or a separate box, to play through normal speakers.
Bottom line: the Clearaudio Concept has the lower reference price; the table shows which documented features change with the £5 gap.
Live merchant offers
Checking current in-stock offers for Clearaudio Concept…
Merchant searches
4 UK merchants stock Clearaudio — each outbound link searches the deck on that merchant’s site.
| Merchant | Type | Delivery | Product search |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analogue Seduction | hifi independent | Free UK delivery on most items; specialist packing | Search at Analogue Seduction ↗ |
| Criterion Audio | hifi independent | UK delivery; Cambridge demo rooms | Search at Criterion Audio ↗ |
| Doug Brady HiFi | hifi independent | UK delivery; specialist setup | Search at Doug Brady HiFi ↗ |
| The Audiobarn | hifi independent | UK delivery; demo by appointment | Search at The Audiobarn ↗ |
Live merchant offers
Checking current in-stock offers for VPI Player…