If you ’ve got a spare $ 10,000 lying around and just have to have the coolest - looking , glowy - est , gravitation - resist centerpiece for your stereo hi - fi organization , then Audio - Technica just announcedthe turntablefor you .
Unveiled recently atMilan Design Week , the Audio - Technica Hotaru is a limited edition all - in - one record player that features a glowing , magnetically - levitating platter that hovers above a build - in speaker base . Limited to 1,000 social unit worldwide , the visually - striking player is as much an artistic production piece as it is a gamy - end turntable .
“ Hotaru ” is the Japanese countersign for “ Pyrophorus noctiluca , ” which is an apt description . Audio - Technica aver that the Hotaru ’s platter and float root word is made with preciseness - crafted acrylic paint that it says “ heighten the dish of the light , ” with stunning effect . The lighting system features a palette of 20 colouring shades and pop the question three lighting modes — Basic , in which you choose a single static color ; Gradation , where the Hotaru fades through its cycle of colors ; and Link mode that affect with the character of the euphony , “ utilizing the music itself as a design element while simultaneously converting auditory sensation into light to create a unique ambiance , ” Audio - Technica order in apress release . “ This multi - sensational innovation allow for listener to engage with the music — and the outer space — more deeply to organise lasting memories of the integral environment . ”
Screenshot / Audio-Technica
Specs - fresh we have no approximation if the price of the Hotaru apologize its $ 10k price tag end , but here ’s a rundown at any rate . The casing that the float foundation sits on houses a verbalizer system that consists of two 2.5 - column inch full - range speakers and two 0.75 - inch tweeters and features a frequency stove of 60Hz to 20kHz . The speaker case , by mode of its floating characteristics , is kept separate from the platter substructure with the aim of get rid of any resonance . The casing itself is made with high - quality atomic number 13 and it sits on solid cheek feet , further adding to its anti - resounding capability . “ This system ooze a rich and graceful flavour while also rending sound with unparalleled clarity and dynamic formulation , ” say Audio - Technica .
The record is driven by a DC servo motor that drive the sub - platter by way of a conceal belt , with the whole structure float due to , as A - T excuse it , via “ magnets in both the upper turntable and lower speaker plane section [ that ] repel one another , causing the turntable section to swim , thus isolate it from sound - degrading quivering . ”
The static balanced carbon copy straight tonearm is hop on on the sub - platter and features a specially - designed VM cartridge ( A - tonne ’s VM cartridgesare among its most expensive ) and headshell . to boot , the Hotaru features an RCA business line output should you choose to run it through your own hi - fi system like anintegrated amplifier , as well as asubwooferout to add some deep bass to the proceedings .
Audio-Technica
Reservations for the Hotaru will be open from until May 30 , 2025 , with deliveries happening in October , and can be madethrough its website . More info on the Hotaru can also be establish throughAudio - Technica ’s Japan website .
screengrab / Audio-Technica
