Clearaudio Champion Limited w/Unify tonearm & Syncro power supply

Description

The Clearaudio Champion Limited is one of the more distinctive special-edition turntables produced during the company’s influential acrylic-plinth era. Limited to just 1,000 examples worldwide, it combined the Champion’s resonance-conscious acrylic construction with a substantial stainless-steel chassis, Clearaudio’s Unify unipivot tonearm, and a separately housed synchronous-motor drive. The addition of the Syncro power supply makes this particular configuration especially attractive to serious analog enthusiasts, because the Syncro was designed specifically to provide the synchronous motor with a highly stable, precisely controlled power source.

Visually, the Champion Limited is unmistakably Clearaudio. Its transparent acrylic construction, polished metalwork and exposed outboard motor give it a precision-instrument appearance rather than the conventional furniture-like styling of many turntables. The approximately 30mm-thick CNC-machined acrylic platter is supported by an inverted bearing using polished and hardened steel, sintered bronze and a polished bearing housing. The belt-drive system separates the motor from the main chassis, helping reduce the transmission of motor vibration into the record-playing structure.

The Unify tonearm is an important part of the package. Its carbon-fiber arm tube, sapphire-pivot unipivot design and adjustable VTA and azimuth provide substantial cartridge-setup flexibility. Clearaudio direct-wired the arm with its Sixstream cable, eliminating an additional connector junction between cartridge and phono-stage interconnect. Stereophile described the Unify as a “slick-looking unipivot tonearm” with a carbon-fiber arm tube intended to combine low resonance with high stiffness.

The arm does demand careful setup and handling. Stereophile’s Paul Bolin found the Unify/Champion combination “well-matched and satisfying,” while noting that the undamped unipivot arrangement could make cueing and setup unusually delicate. Earlier listening tests were similarly impressed by the Unify’s sonic capabilities, describing it as offering a balanced presentation, taut control, strong imaging and excellent retrieval of fine detail.

The Champion platform itself has generally been characterized by an open, lively and highly resolving presentation. In its review of the closely related Champion 2, Stereophile described the sound as “bold,” “lively,” and “up-front,” while praising its broad soundstage, stable imaging and respectable dynamics.

The Syncro power supply adds another important dimension. Clearaudio designed it specifically for synchronous turntable motors, regulating the power supplied to the motor for improved speed stability and musical definition. Contemporary Clearaudio literature states that the unit was intended to produce a more detailed musical structure through greater stability of the motor supply.

As a complete package, the Champion Limited with Unify and Syncro represents a particularly serious vintage high-end analog source: beautifully engineered, visually striking and capable of excellent resolution, imaging and timing. Its principal caveat is setup complexity, particularly for the unipivot tonearm. Once properly adjusted, however, this limited-edition Clearaudio offers the combination of precision engineering and distinctive musical presentation that made the Champion series a memorable part of the company’s history.

Product Specifications

• Manufacturer: Clearaudio, Germany
• Model: Champion Limited
• Production: Limited to 1,000 units worldwide
• Drive system: Belt drive
• Motor: Separately housed synchronous AC motor
• Power supply: Clearaudio Syncro precision motor power supply
• Speeds: 33⅓ and 45 rpm; 78 rpm optional
• Platter: CNC-machined GS-PMMA/acrylic, approximately 30mm (1.2″) thick
• Bearing: Inverted, polished/hardened steel with sintered-bronze bearing components
• Speed accuracy: Approximately ±0.2% measured
• Tonearm: Clearaudio Unify 9″ unipivot
• Tonearm material: Carbon-fiber arm tube with stainless-steel components
• Tonearm bearing: Sapphire-point unipivot
• Adjustments: VTA, azimuth, tracking force and anti-skating
• Tonearm wiring: Direct-wired Clearaudio Sixstream cable
• Chassis: Resonance-optimized acrylic construction with substantial stainless-steel support structure
• Dimensions: Approximately 18.5″W × 15.3″D × 4.7″H
• Weight: Approximately 20 kg (44 lb)