Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — Burmester 217

The 217 is a belt-driven record player from the Top Line of Burmester, a Berlin maker in business since 1977, and it arrived as only the second turntable in the firm's history. It comes as a complete system, with tonearm, moving coil cartridge and phono lead already fitted at the factory, and in the UK it was priced at GBP 18,700.

Key specs that matter

Two AC motors turn the platter through belts, and both motors and pulleys sit beneath the drive axle out of the owner's reach. Only two speeds are offered - 33 and 45 rpm - selected by two front buttons next to a separate power switch. The straight, gimbal-mounted arm has an effective length of 239.1 mm and its offset comes from the shape of the headshell rather than a bent tube. The pickup is an MC design in an aluminium body with a Shibata stylus. It measures 482 mm wide, 165 mm high and 283 mm deep, and the unit weighs 31.5 kg. The mains input accepts 100 to 240 V at 50 or 60 Hz, and consumption is 11.8 W while playing at 33 rpm and 0.09 W on 100 V or 0.12 W on 240 V in standby.

Engineering and use context

A single massive block of solid aluminium, chosen for its low resonance, forms the housing, which stands on three adjustable feet rather than a sprung subchassis. Hiding the belts and motors under the axle means there is nothing to replace or re-tension during normal use. The arm tube is made from a unidirectional fibre composite, while the headshell and arm base are aluminium. Tracking force and anti-skating are set by Burmester before shipping, so the buyer does not align the cartridge, although professional installation is still advised. A mat of bitumen-treated composite leather is supplied, and the fascia is finished in chrome.

Pairing

Signal leaves the arm through a standard five-pin SME socket, and the supplied high-grade lead ends in two XLR plugs. That makes a phono stage with balanced MC inputs the natural partner, since no adapter is needed to keep the connection balanced from cartridge to preamplifier. Because the cartridge is fixed at the factory, the phono stage should offer gain and loading suited to a moving coil pickup.

Alternatives

The Burmester 175 is the brand's other turntable, placed in the higher Reference Line rather than the Top Line.