Austere office contains record player (6)
I believe the answer is:
stereo
'record player' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'austere office contains' is the wordplay.
'contains' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'STEREO' is hidden in the letters of 'austere office'.
(Other definitions for stereo that I've seen before include "Sound transmitted through two speakers" , "Audio system, hi-fi" , "Description of record" , "Sound coming from different directions" , "Musical sound with two speakers" .)