CL12 Primo — idler wheel turntable

 

CL12 Primo — First Unit Available (Page still under construction). Please contact me for photographs and additional information.

After five years during which almost ten CL12 turntables have been built, the time has come for a further evolutionary step in the Clinamen Audio idler-drive turntable. This new model, identified as the CL12 “Primo”, is now available for purchase. The first unit was completed in summer 2026.

It can be seen in this video on the Clinamen YouTube channel.

Detail of the burl veneer top with an open-pore finish.

Primo was my grandfather’s name. He was a skilled and honest cabinetmaker, and his craftsmanship has been passed down to me through the precious influence of my father, Nazzareno. I felt it was only right to honour my roots.Primo also underlines the absolute excellence of this handcrafted piece.

The CL12 Primo is supplied without a tonearm. The price of the CL12 Primo includes the design and supply of a custom-made armboard specifically designed for the tonearm chosen by the customer. A tonearm fitting and calibration service is also available at an additional cost.

 

Before reading the tech data sheet of the CL12 Primo, please watch the impressive coast-down of the CL12 Primo platter, demonstrating its exceptionally high moment of inertia and the extremely low friction of its spindle, achieved through a purely mechanical and natural approach.

 CL12 Primo main features:

• Spindle and platter MK3: an evolution of the previous version, which remained in production until early 2025.

• The new Mk3 bearing/spindle system features a larger 14 mm diameter spindle, with mixed lubrication. The hub has also been increased in diameter for greater stability and rigidity. It is secured to the chassis plate with four screws rather than the three used on the Mk1 units.

• The platter is approximately 1 kg heavier, now weighing 5.9 kg. However, the main focus of the development was to increase its moment of inertia, which is 25% higher than that of the previous platter, reaching approximately 850 kg·cm². The distribution of mass also lowers the platter’s centre of gravity, reducing the overturning torque around the rotational axis and consequently reducing radial loading on the plain bearings. This improves free running and helps maintain the stability of the hydrodynamic lubrication regime within the oil film.

• The plinth is the same design used for the CL12, made from solid birch plywood with exposed end grain and a veneered top. It can accommodate a 12-inch tonearm in the primary position and a 9-inch tonearm at the rear.

• The plinth uses a removable tonearm-base system, allowing different tonearms to be installed. The rear 9-inch tonearm position is closed by a veneered plywood insert using the same wood species as the plinth when not in use.

• The main 12-inch tonearm base is machined from 12 mm AISI 304 stainless steel and is supplied as an accessory (€280). It is custom-designed around the tonearm supplied or selected by the customer.

• Four-pole shaded-pole AC induction motor, selected for high torque and extremely low cogging.

• AudioCreative StealthDrive idler wheel.

Please also watch the video showing the platter rotating in a precision mechanical workshop, mounted on a grinding machine while a dial indicator measures the concentricity error at the platter rim. The measured deviation is in the order of just one hundredth of a millimetre.

View of the CL12 Primo with a mirror-polished anticorodal platter and dynamic CLAB titanium tonearm.

 

CL12 Primo data sheet

The CL12 Primo turntables incorporate the following features:

• Solid birch-plywood plinth, constructed from CNC-machined layers that are bonded together. The top is veneered and finished with a high-gloss open-pore finish. Plinth dimensions: 570 × 480 × 90 mm. Weight of the plinth alone: 17 kg.

• Plinth prepared for two tonearms: 12-inch and 9-inch.

• Clinamen Audio BTF3 mirror-polished stainless-steel plate system.

• New proprietary Clinamen Audio MK3 spindle/hub system.

• Oversized 14 mm spindle with a proprietary hydrodynamic lubrication system, using plain bearings lubricated by gravity and centrifugal action, a bronze thrust pad and a silicon-nitride thrust ball.

• New 330 mm diameter Anticorodal platter, approximately 5.9 kg in weight, with increased inertia (+25% compared with the already highly inertial CL12 platter), 12 mm thick, and plain bearings machined from solid.

• Platter finish: polished metallic or gold anodized finish, replacing the painted finish used on the CL12.

• AudioCreative StealthDrive idler wheel.

• Rebuilt Lenco motor, fully serviced using the complete Audio-Creative refurbishment kit.

• 12 mm-thick mirror-polished AISI 304 stainless-steel tonearm base, supplied as an accessory on request (€280), custom-made for the tonearm supplied by the customer.

• Veneered plywood cover for the unused 9-inch tonearm position, finished in the same wood species and with the same finish as the plinth.

• Leather mat.

• Clinamen Audio Anticorodal 7075 coupling feet.

• Dimensions: 570 × 480 × 90 mm.

• Total turntable weight: 25 kg.

• Finished turntable price: €8,200, without tonearm. The price includes a custom AISI 304 armboard, specifically designed to mount the tonearm chosen by the customer onto the CL12 Primo plinth.

• Tonearm installation and calibration service available at an additional cost.

• The recommended accessories are Clinamen spring-decoupled feet, the Harmonico wooden headshell and clamp.

Please contact me for further information.

Stefano Buttafoco