Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — TechDAS Air Force III Premium S

The Air Force III Premium S is a belt-driven turntable from the Japanese maker TechDAS, announced in December 2021 as a variant of the Air Force III Premium. The two share the heavy gunmetal platter that set the Air Force III Premium apart from the compact Air Force III, and the S adds newly developed suspension feet in place of the traditional rigid ones. TechDAS says the new feet give more flexibility when placing the deck in different environments and improve isolation from vibration. The feet are also sold as a set of four so that owners of the rigid version can convert their decks.

Key specs that matter

The platter is precision-cast gunmetal, a copper-tin alloy, weighing 29 kg - more than three times the 9 kg of the aluminium platter in the plain Air Force III. Together with a 21 kg chassis this takes the main unit to 55 kg, and the total moment of inertia reaches 3,506 kg cm2. Speeds are 33.3 and 45 rpm, and wow and flutter stays below 0.03%. The main unit measures 473 x 170 x 363 mm and needs a footprint of at least 564 x 413 mm. A separate pump, power supply and air condenser unit measures 430 x 175 x 370 mm and weighs 14 kg, and the system draws 50 W.

Engineering and use context

Rather than resting on a mechanical spindle, the platter rides on a cushion of air from the TechDAS air bearing, so there is no conventional bearing load, no friction noise and no need for maintenance. A gentle vacuum pulls each record flat against the platter surface to improve cartridge tracing on warped discs without harming the vinyl. Drive comes from an AC synchronous motor in an outboard housing, turning the platter through a polished, non-stretch polyurethane fibre belt. Two 150 W DC amplifiers power the motor, controlling its speed of rotation, and once the target speed is reached its torque is cut to below half. A sensor watches the rotation continuously to hold the speed accurate. The chassis is machined from A5056 aluminium alloy with a black anodised, high-gloss polished finish, and the platter itself is mirror polished and coated.

Pairing

No tonearm is supplied, and the vacuum and air bearing both depend on the outboard pump unit, which connects to the main chassis by air hoses. The deck takes up to four arms between 9 and 12 inches long, and each order includes a tonearm base drilled for the arm specified by the buyer, along with a platter cover, cables, air hoses and setup tools.

Alternatives

The TechDAS Air Force III Premium is the same turntable with traditional rigid feet instead of the suspension version.