Though the arrival of the Compact Disc in the early 1980s was predicted to sound the death knell for vinyl, the format not only survived but sales are on the rise. Hong Kong's CoolGeek is aiming to have your collection stand to attention with a retro-styled record spinner.
The design studio is hoping that its tribute to the golden age of vinyl will follow its CS-01 all-in-one music system to Kickstarter success, and put your spinning vinyl in full view in the process. In fact, CoolGeek has also UV-printed some eye-catching ink splash designs onto the acrylic platter to help the unit become an immediate style focus in any room, even when it's not playing records.
Named the VS-01, the unit features a NIDEC silent high-speed motor "along with state-of-the-art closed-loop control technology" for 33 and 45 rpm playback speeds (selected around back). And though the user manually raises and lowers the carbon fiber tonearm (which ends in an Ortofon OM 5E cartridge), the system does feature an auto stop when the stylus reaches the end groove.
It rocks a built-in sound system made up of 5-W tweeters and a 30-W mid-bass thumper powered by a 30-W + 30-W amplifier. The system also has Bluetooth 5.0 cooked in, allowing users to listen through wireless headphones or speakers, with line-out ports included for cabling up the VS-01 to hi-fi gear. The unit can even function as a Bluetooth speaker, too.
The chassis sits on rather charming vibration-dampening conical feet, while a further two dampening systems help to keep minute shake in check. Volume and system control is via one back-illuminated knob to the right of the retro speaker grille out front. And that's about it.
Kickstarter pledges for the VS-01 system currently start at US$599, and if all goes to plan with the already-funded campaign, shipping is estimated to start in March. It's by no means the first or only vertical turntable we've seen, but it's certainly the most colorful.
Source: CoolGeek