PP-2 turntable reads vinyls without tonearm and inspires glass listening room in tokyo

waiting for ideas’ PP-2 turntable reads vinyl with light

Paris-based studio Waiting For Ideas has introduced the PP-2, a second-generation aluminum turntable that uses light to read vinyl, alongside [Pause], a conceptual listening room envisioned for Tokyo. Imagined as a glass cube suspended above water, the space places the turntable at its center, with a record collection concealed beneath the floor. Together, the two designs consider how the physical experience of listening to music can extend from an object into architecture.

When the studio introduced the PP-1 in 2025, its appeal was immediately visible: a solid square of machined aluminum with no exposed tonearm. Records sit upside down, with a concealed mechanism reading them from below. The PP-2 preserves that familiar appearance, including the minimal controls, while introducing significant changes to the hardware inside.

PP-2 replaces magnetic cartridges with optical technology

The new PP-2 uses an optical stylus system that detects the needle’s movement through light as it follows the record’s grooves. The needle still makes physical contact with the vinyl, but its motion is translated into an audio signal without the magnets and coils found in conventional cartridges. According to Waiting For Ideas, this reduces the moving mass of the stylus, allowing it to follow the grooves more precisely and retrieve finer details from the recording.

Inside the CNC-machined aluminum body, an axial-flux direct-drive motor adjusts its rotational speed 1,000 times per second, working alongside a Harmony analog preamplifier developed for the optical pickup. New RCA outputs allow the PP-2 to connect directly to hi-fi systems, while a redesigned door protects the stylus from dust between uses. The turntable retains automatic speed detection for 33⅓ and 45 rpm records.

[Pause] imagines a listening room with a library underfoot

Alongside the new turntable, Waiting For Ideas introduces [Pause], an architectural concept that takes the physical experience of vinyl listening beyond the tabletop. Renderings envision a glass cube rising from a concrete platform suspended above water in central Tokyo. The PP-2 occupies the center of the enclosure, surrounded by an otherwise sparse interior. Transparent walls open the room toward the surrounding architecture, while a grid of square panels interrupts the floor.

Each panel conceals part of a vinyl record collection, with artists’ names engraved into the surface. Visitors would lift a hatch to retrieve their chosen album before bringing it to the turntable. It’s a curious reversal of the conventional listening room, where records typically line shelves along the walls. Here, the music library becomes part of the architecture itself, and choosing an album involves physically opening the floor.

a glass cube dedicated to the ritual of listening

The concept draws on the same thinking behind the PP-2, where familiar actions are simplified while the physical character of vinyl remains. Inside [Pause], the process of finding a record becomes an experience of its own. The individual hatches give each album a designated place, while the turntable sits in the middle of an open room. The surrounding water offers a visual separation from the city beyond the glass.

For now, [Pause] exists only as a rendered proposal, with images rendered by Julia Ippolito. The PP-2, meanwhile, is available to order, with an assembly lead time of three to four weeks. While the new turntable refines the technology of the original PP-1, the accompanying architectural concept explores what happens when an entire room is designed around the simple act of putting on a record.

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project info:

name: PP-1 turntable

studio: Waiting for Ideas | @waiting.for.ideas

photography: © Mathilde Hiley | @mathildehiley

visualizations: © Julia Ippolito | @juliaippolito