Audio Note

Analogue Products | Turntables

The biggest news is that the new TT Three Reference is finally in production.

The new TT Three Reference have 3 of these massive motors each pulling with about 2 BHP, giving a platter mass-inertia equivalent of well over half a ton (!) but without the usual and considerable energy storage drawbacks of a high mass platter. The motors draw so much power that each motor has its own power supply, so that makes 3 boxes:

The additional control unit has 3 speed settings, 33, 45 and unusual for a turntable in this price range, 78, all speed settings have adjustment, the 78 setting requires a different pulley to be used on the motor spindles, this is done to allow us a range from about 60 RPM to over 120 RPM, as many very old 78's were not cut at a true 78 RPM.

To facilitate the 78 ability the TT Three can be ordered with two or three tone arms.

The turntable itself has many novel features, and incorporates what I consider to be the final solutions to most of the solvable problems in vinyl replay, for example,

The Drive System

1.) High mass torque without high mass platter energy storage problems. By having a very light, highly inert platter made from Lexan (bullet proof glass or polycarbonate) which has virtually no reflective or resonant storage problems, driven by 3 immensely powerful motors, whose speed is "locked" together by a master control unit's digitally synthesized frequency, the best of both worlds is achieved, where the high mass is stored in the motors' torque which rotates a light inert platter thus minimising all problems of stored and reflected energy in the platter, which is such a problem in normal high mass turntables.

2.) The rubber belt drives the platter on the outside which makes changing belts and pulleys (or 78 RPM) a simple and easy matter, unlike most suspended turntables where when the platter is removed to install the belt, the suspension moves enough for the belt to ride and fall off again when the motor(s) are started.

The Suspended System

3.) As with our other turntables, the TT Three is a 3 point suspended design, but unlike the previous Voyd and early TT Three designs, the new TT Three's suspension is centred at the bearing, which is also the epicentre of the motors'inertia is as well, thus completely removing the most common problem in suspended turntables, where the motors and suspension are misaligned and as a result generate a "resonance" where the platter is moving between the centre of the motor and the centre of the suspension.

4.) To provide as even a balance as possible the sub chassis is designed with 3 "wings" one has the arm in the standard position on the far right, the other two hold mass balancing weights, which provide an exact weight equivalent of the arm - cartridge mass and thus load each spring with the exact same mass, thus removing the necessity to adjust the suspension, making the set up and installation of the TT Three Reference the simplest of all top levelturntables.

5.) The new TT Three Reference can be ordered to accommodate 1, 2 or 3 tone arms. As is the case with the motor and suspension points, the sub-chassis is also laid out as an equidistant triangle, which will come pre-cut for whichever number of arms required, and to maintain the mass equilibrium a weight matching the weight of the arm is supplied to ensure that the ultra low system resonance frequency of 2.4 Hertz is maintained.

6.) Lowest possible suspension resonance, as mentioned above the suspended system resonance is set at 2.4 Hertz, which is low that it makes the turntable virtually impervious to outside interference. A properly dimensioned 3 pointsuspension is a natural 18dB per octave third order mechanical filter and with a resonance frequency as low as 2.4 Hz the new TT Three has a minus 55dB immunity at 20Hz.

The Materials

7.) All parts of the main frame and suspended system on the new TT Three are made from aircraft grade aluminium, the most ductile and therefore naturally inert aluminium available, making it perfect for dealing with the wideband energy generated by the stylus tracking the groove and the speakers resonating the environment in general.

8.) The TT Three Reference can be ordered with a base made in finishes matching our loudspeakers, anything from Black Piano Lacquer to Poplar Burl will be available.

The Arms

9.) The TT Three sub-chassis will be cut for two tone arms only, the Rega and the Audio Note™ AN-1s, rightly or wrongly I consider most other tone arms unsuitable, because their energy transmission and dissipation behaviour is not designed in such a way that it leads the resonance's away from the cartridge, down the arm tube through the bearings and arm pillar into the sub-chassis, to be dissipated there. There are NO plans to offer the TT Three Reference or any of its later derivatives cut for other tone arms, so don't ask

The Setting Up

No longer a problem, the TT Three Reference comes with everything ready for the arm to be dropped in with cartridge in place and height preset, all that needs to be done is fit counter weight and set tracking weight.

Tone Arms

We have revised the bottom range of tone arms, here is why.

Having compared the RB250 and the RB300 with the same cable (AN-V) it became clear that the RB250 really is better sounding, so we now only offer the Rega RB250 as the base for the ARM One (AN-A), ARM Two (AN-V) and ARM Three(AN-Vx).

This has allowed us to maintain the price of these arms, in the face of an increase from Rega of over 15%.