One of the minor annoyances about vinyl, particularly fancy vinyl, is that you can’t really show it off while it’s playing – so if you have an LP with a particularly great color, or one that creates a zoetrope effect as it’s playing, it’s only visible if you’re looking directly down on it. Wouldn’t it be great if your vinyl was vertical instead?
That’s the approach Fuse Audio is taking with its GLD record player. Instead of the familiar horizontal platter, your LP is held up like a Ferris Wheel so you can see it as it spins. It also comes with Bluetooth in and out, a pair of 36W powered speakers to connect directly to it, and it supports 33, 45 and 78rpm records. It’s yours on Kickstarter for $229 plus tax and shipping.
That’s a pretty great price for an all-in-one record player package, especially one that looks as nice as this. Obviously, we have no idea how it sounds yet, but I’m totally charmed by the appearance.
Is vertical vinyl viable?
This isn’t the first vertical vinyl player. I remember thinking the Technics SL-V5 was impossibly futuristic back in the 1980s, and we’ve seen vertical models from firms including Mitsubishi, Sharp and even Sony. For UK readers, there was also an Amstrad vertical “music centre”, the SM104, which currently goes for around £70 on eBay. Vertical vinyl wasn’t just an ’80s fad, though. Pro-Ject made one in the 2010s, the VT-E BT, and you can still buy one for around $499.
But are they any good? Visually yes: they’re great talking points. But as turntables, they don’t have the best reputation. The Amstrad was described by one poster on Vinyl Engine as “possibly the worst turntable ever” while others derided its speakers and stylus; in their review of the VT-E BT, The Audiophile Man suggested that it was “a lifestyle design that sits among a heap of dross”. While that turntable was massively better than other similar models, it still wasn’t one audiophiles should consider.
If you’re looking for the best turntables at any price point, a vertical one isn’t going to be the best buy. It is a matter of basic physics that its going to be easier to rotate uniformly and flatly if gravity is working with you, and the same goes for stable tracking on the tonearm.
But if you want something that’ll get people talking, or just want to stare lovingly at your vinyl as you kick back with one of your favorites, this looks like it could be fun.
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