The Wheel 3

I wonder why the black edition is £1500 more expensive than the silver? Looking at the cartridge cost (about £400 I recall) which lasts 800 hours playing - that makes it 50p/hour which must be close to a streaming service cost.

But late to the party. I wondered about this thing ever since it was announced. It looks really cool, but wow, is it a lot of money! So thanks for buying one and reviewing it! What a cool thing that is! Also optical, quite interesting! Recently I also started looking for a thoroughly modern record player next to my very vintage Thorens from 1965. Perhaps a Technics SL-1200, a modern one, as they seem to stop making the better model (don't know what it costs though). Smart move to get a slightly used one though.

1940’s idea ?

Very interesting video so much information a good addition to your setup. Glad the Denon is working again.

Lovely product, it's the kind of thing that will hugely collectable one day, costs a pretty penny but looks fabulous, very slick, minimalist design. Another great video, thanks Matt

I'm not particularly happy about the comments being turned off. For me that was one of the perks

When I saw "optical" in the title I thought that meant it has an optical digital audio output. The new optical cartridges are mostly just a curiosity among audiophiles; most are sticking with MM, MC, or my favorite, moving iron, a.k.a. induced magnet, which is supposed to give you the advantages of MC while retaining MM's higher output level and thus not needing a special pre-amp.

Thanks for showing this nice piece of engineering! I still prefer my more basic Pro-Ject however, not because I need it to be manual, but the simplicity of the (technical) design I like much more... I got a warped record (Revolver from the Beatles) and 2 heavily warped EPs (Magical Mystery Tour, also from the Beatles) which probably spend some time on the heating during my mother's youth... They play actually perfectly well on the Pro-Ject, and also the much more low-end Philips I had before...

What a lovely looking record player. I'm guessing the answer is "no" but I'd like to ask can it play your inside-to-outside orelob record?

It's a cool looking thing, I'd never own one because I don't want to spend thousands on a cool looking anything. I had a friend who owned one of those silly "laser turntables", he insisted it was the best sound he'd ever heard but I imagine he was trying to justify the stupid amount of money he spent.

Around 9:30 the commentary audio sounds like you have dunked your mic into a bucket.

I do think it is a testament to the wheel3 that it could play that warped mess at all. Many would just hop and skip like a kid on a playground. As a side, I have a warped record, it is a factory defect and was sold cheap as "warped, 3 outer tracks unplayable". Luckily I have an old well adjusted player and it can play that "ski jump" just fine.

This was very interesting. Wish I had the funds to get one.

When I got to the very end of the video, I couldn't help imagining a Benny Hill Show sketch in which an elite Army parade unit's immaculately rehearsed formation is disrupted when the record they're meant to be marching to past the grandstand of dignitaries gets warped.

Great video. Interesting device. Looks good. I like the thinking behind it being desirable; if it had been made 20 years ago, we'd be hunting one down on eBay.

So unless I've missed something, the optical cartridge has no issues with detecting where the tracks are on a clear vinyl record, whereas one of your earlier record players did?

I wish there was more history to the optical pickup to explore - your synthesis of the research of ideas and histories to tell a story is always the best part of your videos, and what made me fall in love with them when I first stumbled across them all those years ago. I suppose it's good that you can't see the body of the cartridge in use, as that 3D printing really doesn't sit well with the premium look of the rest of the player, but perhaps that's necessary to reduce the costs for such a low production device, where custom injection moulding just isn't feasible. However, if someone gave m one of these I think, on balance, I could probably live with that... As always, thank you.

Wheel meet again… 🎤

Maybe call it „the third wheel“.

I for one missed the 'oh hello' surprised type start of the last few videos, but I know you got grief for that, so hey ho

Does the Denon like your somewhat-warped record?

Looks like the record player B&O never made. :)

Did you use the camera's audio instead of the mic's audio from 9:20 to 12:20? It sounds a bit muffeled. Great video. 😀

• First off, is it really 72°F there at 8:40 PM? 🥵 I've been looking for reasonable weather places to escape to right now, and yet such places as Baker Lake Nunavut Canada is 74°F. • The effect at 5:12 is really nice. When I went back to rewatch it, I noticed on my phone that the YouTube play/pause button lands perfectly within the center of the wheel and record label. • I'm impressed that they decided to put a headphone jack into this - everything seems to be geared more toward Bluetooth nowadays. 🫤 So just to be clear, no Bluetooth with this one? • Does the 45 rpm adapter pop out of the center when you press it? • I could have missed the answers to the above questions as I am not feeling my best right now. I'm laying on my bed, sweltering, with a tummy ache. 😞 I fell asleep halfway through watching this the first time. I'm ashamed. • I haven't read the other comments on this yet but I am sure someone already pointed out the editing error near the beginning of the video. That's about all for now, I'm probably going to go back to my nap. Take care 🤍.

That’s fascinating. Thank you. I don’t think my “audiophile” bullshit friends would be very impressed with having the stylus and arm supplied by the same company. (But they are quite mad. And think paying thousands of £ for cables is sensible). 🙄

It's a nice device. Cool that something like this can be produced here in the Netherlands. The price is a bit steep, as is the replacement cartridge. Therefore the Wheel 2 would be more interesting to me personally, especially since I probably can't hear any difference 😅

Sounds like a YouTube flaw. They should clearly mark early comments as pre-release comments to encourage the audience to become patrons. Though I’m sure YouTube would prefer people subscribe through their own platform rather than Patreon. It was also creator-hostile for YouTube to enable a “jump commonly skipped section” option which devalues creator monitizing in favour of their own ads only. I never use that for channels i support through views rather than being a patron.

Really great vid, Mat. I loved the history lesson. And what a great update from your video on the prior model. This gorgeous player is firmly in the really really really want but don't need camp for me.

Thanks, Mat. I’d love a 2 or 3 but haven’t seen anyone selling them used. Guess that means people are liking them

“Hang on a Miniot” maybe? Nah, it’s too hot to think of witty titles (that’s my excuse anyway). I don’t envy you having to be creative at the moment!

Is there supposed to be silence from 1:07 to 1:15?

Thanks Mat, I'm interested in what you thought about it! Smart about the YouTube comment situation. If it makes your life easier/simpler, it's a good idea. I know you mentioned you'll be taking another pass on this edit, so fyi there's a silent bit around the 1:00 minute mark. Thanks!