Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — TEAC TN-3B-SE

The TN-3B-SE is a belt-drive turntable from TEAC with an internal MM phono equaliser and an Audio-Technica AT-VM95E cartridge, made exclusively for TEAC, already fitted to the headshell. Its tonearm uses knife-edge pivot bearings developed together with SAEC, a maker of high-end tonearms. Finishes are cherry, piano black and white.

Key specs that matter

An aluminium die-cast platter 30 cm in diameter is turned by a DC motor at 33-1/3 or 45 rpm, with wow and flutter of 0.1% or less and an S/N ratio of 67 dB (A-weighted, 20 kHz LPF). The arm is S-shaped and static-balanced, with an effective length of 223 mm, a stylus pressure range of 0 to 5.0 g and accepts cartridges of 3.0 to 12.0 g, or 14 to 23 g with headshell. The VM-type cartridge weighs 6.1 g, puts out 4.0 mV at 1 kHz and 5 cm/sec, tracks at 1.8 to 2.2 g with 2.0 g advised, and has an elliptical tip. Its replacement stylus is the AT-VMN95E, with an average life of about 300 hours. Gold-plated RCA outputs can be switched between phono level and line level of 224 mV (-13 dBV). The deck measures 420 x 117 x 356 mm, weighs about 5.0 kg and draws 1.5 W from an external AC adapter.

Engineering and use context

The belt drives the outer rim of the platter, where diameter and mass are greatest, which limits the effect of motor cogging, the fine pulsing a motor can produce as it rotates. With knife-edge bearings, small vertical movements of the arm are allowed rather than resisted. A counterweight sets tracking force and a separate anti-skating mechanism balances the side pull. The universal headshell mount makes it quick to swap in another cartridge. The built-in equaliser uses the NJM8080 op-amp to raise the cartridge signal to line level. Everything sits on a high-density MDF plinth with a multi-layer lacquer finish, and the underside panel carries a honeycomb pattern to stiffen it against vibration. Feet with a machined aluminium shell and a rubber top help to resist acoustic feedback, and the start and speed control is a machined aluminium knob. There is no USB output.

Pairing

Switched to line output, the TN-3B-SE works with amplifiers that have no phono input at all, while phono mode sends the unamplified cartridge signal to an external MM stage. Since the VM design is a moving-magnet type, it works with any conventional MM equaliser. A ground terminal, an RCA cable with ground lead, a dust cover, felt mat and EP adapter come in the box.

Alternatives

The TEAC TN-4D-SE uses a brushless DC direct-drive motor with feedback control and ships with a SUMIKO Oyster cartridge installed at the factory.