Clearaudio " Innovation" - What?

Where'd you get Magnetic Drive? What Clearaudio offers is a ceramic magnetic bearing. From the english version of their German website:

Ceramic-Magnetic-Bearing
The Clearaudio CMB (Ceramic Magnetic Bearing) is a result of long-term research and development and is based on a Clearaudio patent. Two aligned opposing magnetic fields are perfectly aligned one on top of the other, thereby rejecting each other. The magnetic fields are completely shielded from the outside through the careful application of very sophisticated materials. A high precision ceramic vertical axe fits perfectly into a bronze bearing. This perfect fit is essential and can only be achieved through the highest precision hand polishing.

High-performance synthetic oil is used for lubrication. The combination of these carefully selected components produces the effect of the platter floating by itself on an air cushion, and not on a ball bearing or bearing point.

The results of this magnetic bearing are one of the lowest frictions in turntable bearing design and until now, un-reached rumble measurements, and an unbeatable new standard in speed accuracy.

^^^The new (not yet on the CA site) is a quad plinth'd magnetic driven Innovation called the Master. The lower platter is belt driven w/ optical speed control and it magnetically coupled with the record platter above in the same way their statement table does. Both platters (drive and record are on ceramic bearings) As mentioned, I will have the first copy in North America...bought and paid for, should arrive w/in 2 weeks. There is a picture of the protoype in my system link below.

Rockitman
Congratulations ,nice Christmas gift to yourself, look forward to hearing more about it.

Whats in a name, if Andy Rooney had ever done a piece on product names of the audio industry it certainly would of been highly entertaining.

Rockitman posted some pictures in another forum of the Clearaudio Master Innovation "magnetic-drive" turntable, ie, a belt-drive turntable's platter is driving a turntable above it via magnetic coupling. It's a doubledecker!

Clearaudio Master Innovation pix

It's a noncontact approach. A belt is compliant and so is magnetic force so it's a double compliant system. Why not simply drive the platter with magnetic force using some ironless & coreless coils underneath it and tweak the magnetic force/compliance via precision electronics..... oh, voila, it's a coreless direct drive motor. Oh my god, it's a direct drive turntable! Who wants that?! :-D

P.S. My concern with the Clearaudio approach is the top deck's bearing. To allow the driven platter underneath the top platter the bearing shaft has to protrude down to hold a platter so naturally it cannot allow for single ball bearing well and my guess is a type of angular contact bearing --similar to the EAR Disc Master turntable-- that has more contact point than a simple one baller. To gain no contact on the platter you have to add more contact points on the bearing. You gain something, you lose something. No free lunch.

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Verdier, Kenwood (in the L07D), Transrotor, and EAR (among products I know about) have each done something like either the magnetic drive or the magnetic bearing descxribed above. This is not to say that the ideas are not good ones, just not new ones.