- Miniot Wheel 3 has a great sci-fi look and really smart design
- Optical stylus, hidden tone arm and integrated preampy
- € 2,900 / $ 3,443 / £ 2,550 / AU $ 5,351
The new Miniot Wheel 3 is exactly what I expected the Music hardware from 2025 to look like when I grew up in the late 1970s and early 1980s: I knew my huge, airy and vertical vinyl in 2025 knew my huge, airy and affordable apartment on Vinyl. So it’s nice to be proven right about one of these things, at least.
As the name suggests, Miniot Wheel 3 is the third generation of Miniot’s vertical vinyl player. And there is some smart technology to match the retro-futuristic design.
A turntable that seems to be good
This is not the only vertical turntable around: We have seen different models since the 1980s, and among the current crop you will find Pro-Ject with its VT-LOVERTE TLACKLIGHT and last year’s Fuse Audio Kickstarter that looked impressive.
But this is a much more premium model with a price tag that matches: It is listed for € 2,900 / $ 3,443 / £ 2,550 / AU $ 5,351.
Miniot says the pen is optical. It’s not a laser – it’s a diamond stylus – but instead of using magnets or coils to convert the vibrations that Stylus reads into an audio signal, it uses an optical sensor.
Stylus is together with an optical sensor -controlled direct drive engine and an integrated preamplifier. There is a hidden tone arm under the record that moves vertically from bottom to middle, and the wheel 3 can be laid flat, hung on a wall or stands on its stand.
Although pre-orders began in May, I have not been able to find any reviews of the wheel 3-but there are some reviews of the previous model on YouTube from them like Techmoan, which was not very enthusiastic or damn: it was an impressive bit of design and unlike something else on the market, but Audiophiles would probably get more mile from something more traditional and affordable.
But then you don’t buy a record player like this for its sound. You buy it to interfere with the rest of your apartment on the moon.
Miniot Wheel 3 is now available from Miniot.com. The United States, Australian and British orders are expected to ship in about 10 weeks.
