While the world will never go back to vinyl the way it was back in the day, you can’t deny that the platform has seen an incredible resurgence. So much so that not only are we seeing more music in vinyl, we’re also seeing all sorts of creative record players pop up. You know, like that Vertical Player and its standing platter. This time around, there’s Atmo Sfera, a turntable that gets rid of the traditional platter entirely.
Looking unlike any record player we’ve seen, it strips the turntable down to the bare essentials, all without sacrificing the quality of sound. It does that without turning to the usual solution of making the parts as heavy as possible, too, instead removing as much as they can to give the vibration no room to travel and affect the way the music plays.
The Atmo Sfera isn’t entirely platterless. Instead, there’s a small domed fitting on one side that the record sits on top of. Only the center of the vinyl actually sits on the mini-platter, with the rest of it looking like it’s simply floating on air. A low-torque bipolar motor sends the belt-driven turntable spinning, with a static-balanced carbon fiber tonearm carrying an Audio Technica AT95E cartridge. Features include an integrated microprocessor for precise operation, Bluetooth connectivity for wireless streaming to a speaker, and a wooden base that measures 12 x 11 x 4 inches.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Atmo Sfera. Pledges to reserve a unit starts at €895.