Turntables — TEAC TN-4D-SE

The TN-4D-SE is a TEAC direct-drive turntable whose low plinth was made possible by a newly developed brushless DC servo motor, a slimmer unit than the drive systems of most direct-drive decks. It comes with a SUMIKO Oyster moving-magnet cartridge mounted on the headshell at the factory and an MM phono equaliser inside, and it is sold in piano black or walnut veneer.

Key specs that matter

Speed is held by feedback control with crystal-locked accuracy at 33-1/3 and 45 rpm, and TEAC quotes wow and flutter of 0.1% and 67 dB or better S/N (A-weighted, 20 kHz LPF). The platter is die-cast aluminium, 30 cm across. An S-shaped, static-balanced arm with 223 mm effective length offers 0 to 5.0 g of stylus force and takes cartridges from 3.0 to 12.0 g, which equals 14 to 23 g once the headshell is included. The Oyster weighs 5.3 g, delivers 4.0 mV at 1 kHz and is set between 1.5 and 2.5 g, with 2.3 g recommended, while the headshell adds 11 g. Its RCA sockets are gold-plated and switchable between PHONO at 4.0 mV and LINE at 224 mV (-13 dBV). Outer dimensions are 420 x 117 x 356 mm, weight is approx. 6.1 kg and consumption is 2 W, with 0.5 W or less on standby.

Engineering and use context

TEAC explains that removing cogging, the stepwise pulsing caused by the attraction between armature and rotor, usually needs a motor with many poles plus complex circuits, which is why most direct-drive decks are bulky. The new low-profile motor avoids that, and the high-inertia platter works with it to steady the speed. The tonearm base uses knife-edge pivot bearings designed with SAEC, a high-end arm specialist, so fine vertical arm movement is permitted instead of damped by conventional bearings. Tracking force comes from a counterweight, and anti-skating is adjustable. A universal headshell fitting lets owners try other cartridges. The phono stage relies on the NJM8080 op-amp from New Japan Radio. Insulating feet combine a machined aluminium shell and rubber cushion fixed to the high-density MDF plinth to resist acoustic feedback. Start and speed selection sits on one machined aluminium rotary control, and the deck has no USB digital output.

Pairing

In LINE mode the TN-4D-SE plugs straight into the line-level inputs of an existing system, so no separate phono preamp is required. In PHONO mode an outboard MM preamp takes over amplification. The box includes a dust cover with two hinges, a felt mat, an EP adapter, an RCA cable with ground wire and an AC adapter.

Alternatives

The TEAC TN-3B-SE is a belt-drive alternative that drives the outer rim of its platter and ships with an Audio-Technica AT-VM95E cartridge.