If you’ve got a spare $10,000 lying around and just have to have the coolest-looking, glowy-est, gravity-defying centrepiece for your stereo hi-fi system, then Audio-Technica just announced the turntable for you.
Unveiled recently at Milan Design Week, the Audio-Technica Hotaru is a limited edition all-in-one record player that features a glowing, magnetically-levitating platter that hovers above a built-in speaker base. Limited to 1,000 units worldwide, the visually-striking player is as much an art piece as it is a high-end turntable.
“Hotaru” is the Japanese word for “firefly,” which is an apt description. Audio-Technica says that the Hotaru’s platter and floating base is made with precision-crafted acrylic that it says “enhances the beauty of the lighting,” with stunning effect. The lighting system features a palette of 20 color shades and offers three lighting modes — Basic, in which you choose a single static color; Gradation, where the Hotaru fades through its cycle of colors; and Link mode that moves with the character of the music, “utilizing the music itself as a design element while simultaneously converting sound into light to create a unique ambiance,” Audio-Technica says in a press release. “This multi-sensory design allows listeners to engage with the music — and the space — more deeply to form lasting memories of the entire environment.”
Specs-wise we have no idea if the price of the Hotaru justifies its $10k price tag, but here’s a rundown at any rate. The casing that the floating base sits on houses a speaker system that consists of two 2.5-inch full-range speakers and two 0.75-inch tweeters and features a frequency range of 60Hz to 20kHz. The speaker casing, by way of its floating characteristics, is kept separate from the platter base with the aim of eliminating any resonance. The casing itself is made with high-quality aluminum and it sits on solid brass feet, further adding to its anti-resonant capabilities. “This system exudes a rich and refined feel while also rending sound with unparalleled clarity and dynamic expression,” says Audio-Technica.
The platter is driven by a DC servo motor that drives the sub-platter by way of a concealed belt, with the whole structure floating due to, as A-T explains it, via “magnets in both the upper turntable and lower speaker sections [that] repel one another, causing the turntable section to float, thus isolating it from sound-degrading vibrations.”
The static balanced carbon straight tonearm is mounted on the sub-platter and features a specially-designed VM cartridge (A-T’s VM cartridges are among its most expensive) and headshell. Additionally, the Hotaru features an RCA line output should you prefer to run it through your own hi-fi system like an integrated amplifier, as well as a subwoofer out to add some deep bass to the proceedings.
Reservations for the Hotaru will be open from until May 30, 2025, with deliveries happening in October, and can be made through its website. More information on the Hotaru can also be found through Audio-Technica’s Japan website.