Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — MoFi Electronics Fender American Vintage

The Fender American Vintage is a belt-drive turntable developed jointly by MoFi Electronics and the guitar maker Fender. It was devised, engineered and manufactured in the USA and is built on a solid alder plinth hand-sprayed in California with a sunburst finish that refers to a 1954 Fender Stratocaster, finished off with a metal nameplate. MoFi lists it at USD 2,995 without a cartridge, USD 3,495 with the MasterTracker moving magnet cartridge and USD 3,995 with the UltraGold moving coil cartridge.

Key specs that matter

The platter is about 3.1 kg of Delrin, a material MoFi chose for its impedance match with vinyl. Speeds are 33 1/3 and 45 rpm, selected by push button. The motor is a DC synchronous type with built-in electronic speed control. The 10-inch straight aluminium tonearm has a gimbaled bearing, an overhang of 18 mm and an offset angle of 22.8 degrees, adjustable by 2 degrees either way, and accepts cartridges from 5 to 10 g. The deck measures 527 x 152 x 394 mm and weighs about 11.6 kg.

Engineering and use context

Under the platter is a hardened-steel inverted bearing built from steel, bronze and sapphire, with a sapphire thrust pad. Constrained layer damping is used in the construction to cut resonance in the structure. The feet are height adjustable and were developed with Harmonic Resolution Systems to keep vibration away from the plinth and arm. The arm lets the owner set VTA, azimuth, anti-skate and downforce. Signal wiring is by Cardas Audio throughout and ends in gold-plated RCA connectors, and copper foil shielding guards against RF noise. A hinged smoked amber acrylic dust cover is supplied and can be removed.

Pairing

Either factory cartridge option matches the arm's 5 to 10 g window. The MasterTracker is hand-built in Japan in an aluminium housing milled in the USA, with Ohno continuous-cast copper coils and a Micro Linear diamond stylus shaped like a lathe cutting head. The UltraGold moving coil, voiced by Spiral Groove founder Allen Perkins, uses a nude Shibata stylus on a boron cantilever, a neodymium magnet paired with a yoke of permendur in a hybrid aluminium and brass body. Because no phono preamplifier is built in, the deck needs a separate stage set for moving magnet or moving coil to suit the chosen cartridge.

Alternatives

The MoFi UltraDeck is a turntable from the brand's regular line that shares the Delrin platter and arm geometry.