[gtranslate]
News

Who needs a needle anyway? This Kickstarter record player is “just the wheel”

A little while go we posted an article about a record player that was just a floating needle that glides across the vinyl autonomously. Now we’ve found basically the exact opposite: a “needle-less” turntable that is just the wheel.

The Wheel record player

 

Who needs a needle anyway? This minimal record player is an upside down deck with everything hidden under the trunk.

Fittingly named Wheel, the minimal record player is the product of a Kickstarter campaign by Dutch family-business Miniot. It isn’t actually needle-less, you’ll find the stylus mounted under the record instead of on top, with the drop-down function controlled by the centre stick. This means that the needle is protected from interference from dust – the record itself acts as a dust cover.

the wheel record player

As stated on the Kickstarter page, the design was inspired by the gramophone players of old:

“I’ve always admired the technical marvel of gramophone records,” says Miniot co-founder Peter Kolkman. “And for years, I wondered why the ritual of record playing wasn’t more elegant. The cd made this even worse, and streaming music definitely anesthetized the experience. Thank God the record got a second chance. With Wheel, we aim to honour vinyl and bring Emile Berliner’s creation full circle.”

Wheel contains all its mechanics within the platter to give the impression of a minimal, spinning record without visual interference. There are no buttons on the deck itself, Wheel is controlled by tweaking the centre spindle, and connects wirelessly to your audio system or can be plugged into your amp, speakers or headphones.

Oh and it can be played on its side too.

miniot record player

You can read more about the specs of this killer little record player here. It’s already more than doubled its 50,000 euro goal so maybe save your coin there.