So clever it might tempt you back to wax as vinyl sales continue to soar.
Despite my enthusiasm, it’s important to remember that this is a Kickstarter project and that means there’s risk involved for you, the potential backer... Miniot’s expertise is in selecting wood and then milling it into finely crafted cases. Wrangling electronics suppliers is hard work, especially when you have to ship at scale and support a finished piece of consumer electronics.
Miniot has totally refreshed its production since my last visit in 2014. The CNC machines, lathes, and lasers once used to produce wooden cases for iPads and iPhones have either been replaced with 3D printers or recast in new roles to produce components for its Wheel turntables.The first question I had for Kolkman was the obvious one: what the hell happened?
The family also had to downsize their living situation by reconfiguring their home to not only accommodate a small factory but also create a separate unit that could serve as a vacation rental for a little bit of semi-regular income while development continued. The Wheel was given a complete reset — not just once but multiple times — such that there is almost nothing from the original Wheel present in Wheel 2. Whereas the Wheel 1 was composed of some 400 parts, the Wheel 2 is made from about 80 and is designed to be easily serviceable should something go wrong.
Kolkman says 90 percent of backers and preorder customers already switched to the Wheel 2. In total, Miniot has shipped about 100 of the original Wheels and over 100 of the new Wheel 2 turntables. When I ask Kolkman if it’s been worth it — all the financial stress, angry backers, delayed retirement, and life-saving heart surgery — he responds simply and matter of factly:What makes the Wheel 2 unique?
The Wheel 2 is handmade almost entirely from parts designed by Miniot. Refreshingly, most of those parts are manufactured by Miniot itself in an annex to a large but otherwise unassuming family home located in a small Dutch village. Playing marbled vinyl on the Wheel 2 elevates the listening experience with a new visual aesthetic that’s not normally visible when played horizontally. Tyler the Creator approves.
To begin playback, you can either swipe left on the record’s edge or push the play button. That causes the tonearm to slide across the underside of the record to count the tracks and display them as a series of lighted dots on a curved line at the top of the player. The tasteful pattern of 120 white LEDs visually mimics the width of each track pressed into the vinyl out of view. This is important because the Wheel is playing the bottom of the record, not the side you can see.
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