Remember when vinyl was declared dead? Those dusty black discs relegated to thrift stores and your parents’ attic? Well, the format has stubbornly refused to die, instead experiencing a renaissance that’s now in its second decade. And with renewed interest comes innovation, pushing beyond the boundaries of what we thought a turntable could be. The Miniot Wheel 3 represents perhaps the most visually striking and technologically innovative leap in turntable design I’ve seen in years, combining Dutch craftsmanship with optical technology that literally sees music rather than feeling it.
The vertical orientation immediately sets this turntable apart, transforming vinyl playback from a horizontal experience to a vertical spectacle. Your records appear to float in mid-air, spinning like actual wheels against the polished aluminum front plate that reflects light through colored or transparent vinyl. But what truly elevates the Wheel 3 beyond mere visual novelty is the revolutionary technology hidden beneath its sleek exterior. This isn’t your grandfather’s record player, with its magnets and coils and mechanical compromises. Miniot has reimagined how we extract sound from those tiny grooves, using light in ways that could potentially redefine vinyl playback quality.
Designer: Miniot
The most fascinating aspect of the Wheel 3 is undoubtedly its optical stylus system. Traditional turntables use a mechanical process where physical vibrations from a diamond stylus tracking record grooves get converted to electrical signals via magnets and coils. Miniot throws this century-old approach out the window. The Wheel 3 still uses a diamond stylus to physically track the groove, but instead of magnets, it uses light to detect the stylus position with incredible precision. This approach potentially eliminates electromagnetic interference and the associated distortion that plagues traditional cartridge designs. The optical system creates a purer signal path, theoretically resulting in cleaner, more accurate sound reproduction. For vinyl purists who obsess over every nuance of analog reproduction, this represents a genuinely novel approach to an age-old problem.
Driving this innovative record player is an equally impressive motor system. Miniot developed a custom axial flux direct-drive motor specifically for the Wheel 3, featuring 24 neodymium N52 magnets in its rotor assembly. The company initially experimented with belt drive systems but ultimately opted for direct drive to achieve better control and stability. The motor development alone reportedly took several additional months of engineering work. What makes this particularly impressive is how Miniot managed to design the motor to remain incredibly flat, allowing it to fit within the slim profile of the turntable while ensuring the optical stylus remains unaffected by magnetic fields from the motor. The motor speed is optically controlled for precise, stable playback, addressing one of the traditional weaknesses of direct-drive systems.
Hidden beneath the record, the rigid linear tonearm has been completely redesigned for the Wheel 3. Unlike traditional pivoting tonearms that sweep an arc across the record (creating tracking angle errors), linear tonearms maintain perfect tangency to the groove throughout playback. Miniot claims their tonearm design is both geometrically precise and whisper-quiet. This approach potentially eliminates tracking distortion while contributing to the minimalist aesthetic by remaining completely invisible during playback. The combined effect of the hidden tonearm and vertical orientation creates the illusion that the record is simply floating and spinning in space, with no visible mechanism supporting it.
Completing the technical package is a bespoke preamplifier engineered specifically to complement the optical stylus. This integration eliminates the need for an external phono preamp, simplifying setup while ensuring the unique characteristics of the optical system are properly translated into a signal your amplifier can understand. Controls are elegantly minimalist, with a slider embedded into the side of the device handling volume and playback functions. The entire package comes in at $3,355, positioning it firmly in high-end audiophile territory, with deliveries expected to begin about 10 weeks after ordering. A special edition with a solid wood back has been announced, though pricing remains unconfirmed.
What makes the Wheel 3 particularly intriguing is how it manages to be both radically innovative and deeply respectful of vinyl’s inherent qualities. Vinyl enthusiasts are notoriously conservative, often preferring vintage equipment and proven designs over newfangled technology. Yet Miniot has created something that pushes boundaries while still honoring what makes vinyl special. The physical diamond stylus still traces the actual groove, maintaining that direct mechanical connection to the music that digital formats lack. The analog signal path remains pure, just with light rather than magnets doing the sensing work. It’s a fascinating blend of tradition and innovation that could appeal to both design-conscious modernists and sound-obsessed audiophiles alike.
The post Miniot’s $3,452 Turntable Uses Light Instead of Magnets to Play Your Vinyl Records first appeared on Yanko Design.