TechDAS – Air Force Turntables
Image Credit – Tech DAS. Air Force Zero – The Ultimate Engineered Vinyl Playback Machine ?
Image Credit – Tech DAS. Air Force One – An outstanding, and beautiful, piece of engineering.
My 2 Cents
I cannot imagine paying more money for a turntable than you can pay for a high end home in many regions of the civilized world…….but you can. Well at least somebody can!
So why am I posting something that is probably out of the reach of all my readers, including myself, and only in the reach of a handful of people, some of whom would probably only buy such a turntable for its status value?……but I could be wrong. It is interesting to see how the other <0.0001% of the audiophile population play back their vinyl!
Can you hear the improvement over a turntable costing a lot less than one tenth its cost? I have no idea, when the playback turntable mechanical specifications exceeds the cutting lathe technical specifications. At least it will never detract from the vinyls’ replay.
After designing and manufacturing my own turntable, I am impressed by such a design and offering. They say form before function. Well this is both function before form and form before function. It is a work of art both visually and technically. Certainly an impressive piece of engineering to say the least.
Introduction
Tech DAS manufactures eight turntables. Its latest and most expensive being the Air Force Zero that it premiered at a recent event in Japan that commences a “world tour” for this ‘beast’ of a turntable. It should make its American debut April 9th and 10th at The Audio Salon in Santa Monica California and will next appear at Munich High End May 9-12th. It is rumored that this top of the line ‘monster’ weighs in at 770lbs (including separate motor). With a base frame of 220pounds and no less than five platters weighing a total of 260lbs, plus the base platter of 77lb. As with all their turntables it is belt driven, with this model using a 3 phase 12 pole AC synchronous limited edition German Pabst motor. Holding up this enormous design are the air pumps and of course three power supplies, adding another 83 pounds! Price, rumored at €390,000 ($350,000).
The platters are as follows:
- Bottom platter: 66lbs, forged Stainless Steel SUS 316L
- Second platter: 44lbs, forged Stainless Steel SUS 316L
- Third platter: 44lbs, cast Gunmetal
- Fourth Platter: 44lbs, forged Stainless Steel SUS 316L
- Top Platter: 62lbs, powder sintered Tungsten
So lets take a more detailed and brief look at its little brother, the ‘more affordable’ Air Force One also pictured above, that has similar features.
Technical Overview-Air Force One
The Air Bearing
The turntable uses an independent air bearing system with the platter installed above a polished glass plate. The central shaft is only used to align the turntable platter that sits on the polished glass plate when no air pressure is applied. Once the air pressure is applied the turntable will rise to a height of 3mm above the glass plate, floating on an air cushion. This removes all frictional forces between the turntable spindle and bearing.
The Disc Suction & Air Suspension System
Warped discs are no problem as vacuum maybe applied at the press of button that holds the disc down to the floating plater, removing most warps. This intimate contact with the platter removes any tone arm movement and sympathetic vibrations, providing an improved signal to noise ratio.
Turntable isolation is achieved by an air suspension system. Three large feet with rotary height adjustment support the turntable. Each contains, internal air suspension with variable damping that is capable of varying its air pressure to adjust the turntables height, keep it level and isolate vibrations.
Chassis Construction
The main chassis that is supported by three large puenmatic feet is composed of three layers of dissimilar materials. A base chassis made of magnesium alloy A 5052, a middle layer of zinc-based aluminum alloyA7075 and top layer of aluminum alloy A5052. In total 95lbs. This arrangement ensures the complete elimination of any structural resonances.
Main Platter
The main lower platter is made of non-magnetic forged stainless steel SUS316L, weighing 42lbs. Two non-magnetic materials are available to the purchaser for the manufacture of the upper plater; A7075 (9lbs) or SUS316L (24lbs). A very thin sheet of a special material covers this upper platter that has a superior ability to eliminate all the effects of static electricity.
The Drive System
Drive to the turntable uses a 4mm wide polyurethane flat fiber belt with a highly polished surface. It is driven by a AC synchronous motor, weighing 15lbs, that is controlled by a two phase DC amplifier circuit that maintains the platter speed through the use of a local microprocessor and none contact sensors. Adjustment of speed between 33 1/3 RPM and 45 RPM is possible with a 10% pitch control in +- 0.1% steps.
Air Pump & Power Supply
A separate air pump with an air condenser/reservoir/silencer and independent power supply are provided to perfectly smooth out and regulate the air supply to both the platter and turntable legs. The compressor design is such that it is totally quiet in operation. The separate and isolated power supply that drives the pump and turntable contains four distinct power sources; motor drive, rotational control, operational circuits and LED/display drive.
Technical Specifications – Air Force One
Main Body
- Drive System – Belt Drive, Surface polished polyurethane fiber flat belt
- Platter: Main Platter – SUS316L Non-magnetic forged stainless steel. Weight 19 Kg (42lbs)
- Platter: Upper Platter – Choice of A7075 (4Kg) (9lbs) or SUS316L (11 Kg) (24lbs)
- Motor – AC synchronous motor. Rotating speed controlled by DC amplifier. Motor weight 6.6 Kg (15lbs)
- Chassis – Three different material sandwiched structure (95lbs)
- Rotational Speed – 33-1/3 rpm / 45 rpm with precise speed adjustment function
- Wow & Flutter – below 0.03% (W.R.M.S)
- Minimum Dimension for setup – 680 (W) x 480 (D) mm
- Total Weight – 79 Kg (174lbs)
Power Supply & Pump Unit
- Power Suply Unit -Power consumption: 60W,. Dimension and weight : 430(W) x 150(H) x 240(D) mm, 10Kg (22lbs). Operation voltage: 100 / 120 / 220 / 240 V (50 / 60 Hz)
- Air Condenser Unit – Dimension: 260 (W) x 160 (H) x 240 (D) mm 4Kg (9lbs)
Price for the Air Force One – $100,000, (£75,000).
For more information on these extreme turntables click here TechDAS
