Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — European Audio Team (EAT) C-SHARP

European Audio Team (EAT) builds the C-Sharp as a belt drive record player supplied with the in-house C-Note tonearm, pairing a low-profile base with a wide, thin platter that the company presents as an alternative to thick platters of small diameter.

Key specs that matter

Two speeds, 33 and 45 rpm, are selected electronically under microprocessor control, with speed variance of plus or minus 0.08 percent at 33 rpm and 0.09 percent at 45 rpm. EAT quotes wow and flutter below 0.01 percent and a mechanical noise figure of minus 40 dB. The platter is 340 mm in diameter. The deck measures 500 x 400 x 115 mm without connectors, or 500 x 435 x 115 mm including the rear panel connectors, and weighs 13.5 kg, with a separate control panel adding 0.5 kg.

Engineering and use context

The platter is made from an inert aluminium alloy with TPE damping inserts and is built in two parts, a subplatter and a mainplatter, so it keeps its flatness while gaining mass and kinetic energy. A 700 g mass near the bearing absorbs surrounding vibration. The oversized inverted bearing uses a ceramic ball. An ultra-low noise motor sits on the base chassis and is fed by an external DC power supply with an AC generator. The base is made from high-density MDF, and cone-shaped TPE columns carry a sandwich subchassis of carbon fibre and MDF composite, while ten feet of energy-absorbing thermoplastic elastomer support the whole deck. The C-Note arm combines unipivot and cardan principles, with a carbon tube, a light aluminium headshell and copper internal wiring. Effective mass is 16.5 g, effective length 254 mm and overhang 16 mm, and the downforce range runs from 0 to 30 mN. Azimuth and VTA are set with locking nuts, a damped lift and anti-skating are fitted, and silicon-based grease inside the arm cuts arm and cartridge resonance by over 50 percent.

Pairing

Two counterweights are offered - 125 g for cartridges of 5 to 9 g, and 142 g with an insert for 8.5 to 13 g - so both light and heavy MM and MC cartridges can be mounted. Lacking an internal RIAA stage, the C-Sharp must connect to an amplifier phono input or a standalone phono stage. Because speed is switched electronically through the separate control panel, the belt never has to be shifted by hand between 33 and 45 rpm, and the panel can sit away from the deck so the plinth is not touched during play. The decoupled subchassis on TPE columns also helps isolate the arm and platter from shelf vibration.

Alternatives

The EAT E-Flat is another turntable from the same maker, placed below the Forte and Forte S models in the range.