Clearaudio Precision Bubble Level

A Bubble Level in a Machined Stainless Steel Base

The Clearaudio Precision Bubble Level is a leveling gauge for turntables, sold each. The vial sits in a precisely machined stainless steel base, which is what turns a bubble into an instrument: the reading is only as true as the surface it stands on.

A turntable that is not level makes the tonearm want to fall toward one side of the groove. The stylus is then pushed harder against one wall than the other, which is a lateral force the arm was never designed to resist, and it applies for the whole record.

Accuracy, Range and Fit

What It Reads and How

A bubble level reports deviation from horizontal in two axes at once. What limits its accuracy is not the vial but the base: a plastic housing that is not itself flat introduces an error you cannot see and have no way to correct for.

Clearaudio machines the base from stainless steel to address exactly that. Steel also gives the level enough mass to sit still on a platter rather than skating about while you are reaching for the feet.

Clearaudio publishes no vial sensitivity figure, and nor does any maker of turntable levels — the specification here is the base. It fits any turntable, since it simply sits on the platter. Level the platter rather than the plinth: that is the surface the record lies on, and on some decks the two are not quite parallel.

What Reviewers Are Saying

The Absolute Sound gave the Clearaudio Precision Bubble Level an Editors' Choice Award in each of 2007, 2008 and 2009 — three consecutive years for what is, on the face of it, a bubble in a piece of steel.

Who Is This Level Best For?

• You have just moved the turntable — a new shelf is a new set of feet to adjust
• Your rack sits on a wooden floor — floors move with the seasons and take the deck with them
• You want the base itself to be accurate — machined stainless steel rather than molded plastic
• You want it to stay put — enough mass to sit on the platter while both hands are under the plinth
• You want a reading in one axis at a time — a crosscheck-style level does that; see turntable parts and add-ons

How Do You Use It?

Set the level on the platter, not the plinth, with the turntable switched off. Read the bubble, adjust the feet a little at a time, and rotate the platter a half turn to check the reading holds — if it changes, the platter is not sitting square. Re-check after the deck has been in place a few days.

Pairs Well With

What most owners leveling a turntable shop next.

• Cartridge alignment tools — level first, then geometry
• Stylus force gauges — tracking force is measured on a level platter or not at all
• Test records — for confirming the result
• Record clamps and weights — the other thing that decides how the record sits

Frequently Asked Questions

How many do I need?

One, and it fits any turntable — it is free-standing and sits on the platter, so nothing about the deck matters to it.

How accurate is it?

The vial reports deviation from horizontal in two axes, and the accuracy of that reading depends entirely on the base being flat. That is why Clearaudio machines it from stainless steel rather than molding it in plastic; no maker publishes a vial sensitivity figure.

How often should I check?

After any move, and once or twice a year otherwise. Wooden floors and lightweight racks both shift with humidity, slowly enough that nobody notices until something measures it.

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