Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — McIntosh MT5

The MT5 is a belt-driven turntable from McIntosh supplied as a complete package with its own tonearm and a pre-installed Sumiko Amethyst moving magnet cartridge. The top is black glass over a stainless steel chassis, and the platter edge glows green. Cartridge alignment, tracking force, anti-skate and arm height are set at the factory, and a clear form-fitting dust cover is supplied with it. This deck is part of the McIntosh Precision turntable range.

Key specs that matter

Silicon acrylic, dense and vibration-damping, forms the platter, which is carried by a ceramic bearing with magnetic suspension. A DC motor with stainless steel brushes turns it under servo speed control at 33-1/3, 45 or 78 rpm. McIntosh quotes wow and flutter of 0.15 to 0.20 percent with signal-to-noise quoted at 36 to 41 dB. The deck measures 445 mm wide, 178 mm high and 432 mm deep, rising to 483 mm with the dust cover, and weighs 14.3 kg. A single unbalanced stereo output connects it to the amplifier.

Engineering and use context

The tonearm tube is made of dural-aluminium, a light yet rigid alloy, and its bearing combines magnetic sapphire and ceramic elements. An eccentric counterweight balances the arm. The Amethyst cartridge has a nude extended line contact diamond stylus, an output of 2.5 mV at 5 cm per second, a tracking force of 2.0 g, a frequency response from 12 Hz to 35 kHz, channel separation of 30 dB at 1 kHz and a total mass of 6.5 g. Magnetic suspension lifts part of the platter weight off the bearing, which reduces friction and wear. The 78 rpm setting covers older records cut at that speed. Illumination through the platter edge matches the green lighting on other McIntosh components.

Pairing

The moving magnet cartridge needs a phono input with MM gain, such as one on a McIntosh preamplifier, integrated amplifier or dedicated phono stage. The 2.5 mV cartridge output suits a standard MM input, so no step-up transformer is required. Because arm and cartridge arrive preset, the turntable only needs levelling and connecting before first use. Owners who later fit a different cartridge can reset VTA, azimuth and anti-skate on the arm, and the servo speed control keeps the platter at the selected rpm without manual trimming.

Alternatives

McIntosh also makes the MT2, a belt-driven turntable with a polyoxymethylene and aluminium platter, a Sumiko Moonstone cartridge and two speeds.