TEAC TN-4D - Direct-drive Analog Turntable - Black

Also available in WALNUT

Analog Turntable

Employing a new ultra-stable, direct-drive motor, a classically designed turntable with knife-edge tonearm bearings. 

The TN-4D is a direct-drive, analog turntable with an elegant, low-profile design, made possible by the use of a newly-developed brushless DC servo motor.

Our new brushless DC motor (with feedback control system) achieves crystal-locked speed stability and smoother rotation while also eliminating cogging*. This low-profile motor allowed us to design a plinth that’s extraordinarily sleek and stylish compared to that of most other direct drive turntables. The new tonearm employs knife-edge, pivot-point bearings, developed in collaboration with SAEC Corporation, a world-famous, high-end tonearm manufacturer. The result is an insightful, high-resolution sound quality that tonearms with conventional bearings can’t match. Partnering it is a carefully designed PHONO EQ amplifier that allows you to directly connect the turntable to the line-level inputs of your existing hi-fi system. A high quality NJM8080 op-amp, specially designed for hi-fi applications by New Japan Radio Corporation, is employed to convey the finest of musical detail. Additionally, a USB port on the back panel allows you to digitally archive your vinyl collection via your PC/Mac.

To extract the music from your vinyl, the TN-4D comes with a highly-regarded Oyster MM cartridge from SUMIKO – a legendary American cartridge manufacturer. Noted for its innate musicality, the cartridge comes pre-installed on the headshell at the factory, allowing near ‘plug and play’ operation. The S-shaped tonearm meanwhile allows for quick cartridge/headshell swaps, so users can alter the sound quality by experimenting with different cartridges, if the desire takes them.

The TN-4D is an analog turntable that achieves highly accurate rotational speeds and is very distinctive, for a direct-drive design, thanks to its sleek and stylish aesthetics.

Key Features

- Direct-drive analog turntable

- Crystal-locked speed stability, thanks to a new brushless DC motor with feedback control

- Die-cast aluminium platter

- Knife-edge, pivot-point tonearm base, designed by high-end tonearm manufacturer SAEC

- Multi-layer piano black or natural walnut veneer finish

- Built-in PHONO EQ amplifier for high-quality sound (PHONO/LINE switchable)

- Audiophile-grade NJM8080 op-amp used in PHONO EQ stage

- Digital recording on PC/Mac via USB digital audio output

- 2-speed drive offering 33-1/3 and 45 rpm

- Gold-plated oxidation-resistant output connectors

- Oyster MM cartridge by SUMIKO

- Shock-absorbing insulating feet

- GND terminal

- RoHS compliant

What is Cogging?

Cogging is a phenomenon in which the periodic attraction of the armature and rotor inside the motor is dependent on the rotation angle, resulting in a fine pulsing. For example, if you turn the axle of a motor with your fingers, you'll feel the rotation occurring in steps. This phenomenon is known as cogging. In order to eliminate cogging on a direct-drive turntable, a motor needs to have large numbers of poles, along with complex circuits and a mechanism to achieve smooth rotation. As a result, most turntable direct-drive units are relatively large, which is why the resulting turntables are so bulky.

- New motor, developed exclusively for direct-drive turntables

The TN-4D uses a sleek, brushless DC motor, offering crystal-locked speed accuracy, regulated by a computer-controlled feedback circuit and achieving low wow-and-flutter levels for a direct drive turntable, especially one with such a stylish, low-profile design.

- Die-cast aluminium platter

In conjunction with the newly-developed motor, the high inertia, diecast aluminium platter helps to achieve better speed stability.

- Knife-edge, pivot-point tonearm bearings

In collaboration with SAEC Corporation, a world-famous, highend tonearm manufacturer, the TN-4D's tonearm employs a knife-edge, pivot-point bearing. Unlike the case for tonearms with conventional bearings, any fine vertical movements encountered by this tonearm actually help in delivering a more dynamic sound with excellent resolution. The S-shaped tonearm also employs a universal headshell fitting, allowing users to quickly and easily swap cartridges/headshells, and supports a wide range of cartridge weights (from 14 - 23g / 0.5 - 0.8 oz.)

- Precision anti-skating and stylus-pressure adjustment

As you might expect, the tonearm is equipped with a counterweight, for precise stylus-pressure adjustment, and an anti-skating mechanism.

- Built-in PHONO EQ amplifier supporting MM cartridges

The TN-4D comes with a built-in PHONO EQ amplifier that allows you to directly connect the turntable to the line-level inputs of your existing hi-fi system. The NJM8080 IC from New Japan Radio Corporation is employed for op-amp duties, bringing up the level of the tiny signals received via the cartridge up to LINE level strength without any loss of quality.

- USB digital output

A USB port on the back panel delivers CD-quality digital audio to your PC/Mac, allowing you to record/archive your vinyl in a high quality, digital audio format. Once you have archived your vinyl to digital, it’s a simple matter to listen to them while out and about, via a smartphone/portable audio player, or in your car (by burning them onto a CD-R or transferring them to a memory card/stick). And to ensure pristine signal transfer, gold-plated PHONO/LINE output terminals are employed to prevent analog audio signals from losing quality as a result of oxidation.

- 2-speed turntable for 33-1/3 and 45 rpm

The TN-4D supports 33-1/3 and 45 rpm for LP and EP records. Our insistence on quality engineering can even be seen in the construction of the rotary control for start-up/speed selection, formed of machined aluminium.

- Insulating feet with excellent shock absorption

The insulating feet comprise a machined aluminium shell topped with a rubber cushion that is fixed to the high-density MDF plinth. Thanks to their excellent shock absorption characteristics the TN-4D is very resistant to acoustic feedback.

- Pre-installed Oyster cartridge by SUMIKO

The TN-4D comes with a well-regarded Oyster MM cartridge from SUMIKO – a legendary American cartridge manufacturer. Regardless of the type of music, the Oyster cartridge delivers a powerful but insightful performance.