Comparison Teac TN-3B vs Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN

Model of the pickup (cartridge) supplied with the player. The pickup is one of the most important parts of any vinyl player, the quality of the received sound largely depends on its quality. Knowing the name of the model, you can find detailed data on it and determine how satisfied you are with this particular cartridge.

The shape of the needle in the pickup (cartridge) that the player is equipped with.

— Conical. It may also be called spherical. The simplest type of needles for vinyl players. Such needles are inexpensive, but the sound quality when using them is relatively low — due to the fact that the shape of the needle rather weakly matches the shape of the groove on the record.

— Elliptical. Elliptical needles have a narrower shape than conical (spherical) needles, which improves contact and allows, in particular, more accurate reproduction of high frequencies, and also reduces record wear. Due to the good value for money, this option is very popular.

— Linear. The most advanced variety: sharply sharpened needles of complex shape, following the contours of the grooves on the plate as accurately as possible and having the largest contact area among all types. The downside of this is the complexity in production and, accordingly, the high cost.

The shape of the complete tonearm (viewed from on top). Modern players may have both straight and S-shaped or J-shaped tonearms. It is impossible to say for sure which of them is better: the advantage of the first option is its light weight, the second and third ones are its greater length and low resonant frequency, which reduces the likelihood of interference. Therefore, in practice, the choice depends on the specific situation and personal preferences.

The main material used in the construction of a complete tonearm.

- Aluminum. This is a fairly lightweight and durable material that has average characteristics in terms of sound quality: it does not dampen extraneous vibrations as well as carbon, but for entry-level and mid-level turntables this is quite enough; in expensive models, you can use other methods of eliminating interference, and aluminum is noticeably cheaper.

— Carbon. A high-quality material that is lighter in weight and has more advanced anti-resonance properties than the metal described above. The main disadvantage of carbon fiber is its rather high cost.

- Plastic. Plastic is inexpensive, but this is perhaps its only key advantage: the performance characteristics of this material are quite modest. That is why it is used extremely rarely - mainly in retro-style players, where a plastic tonearm is a necessary part from a design point of view.

The effective length of a tonearm in set is the distance from the attachment point (axis of rotation) to the stylus.

This indicator is important primarily for rotary tonearms: the longer the length, the lower the angular error, the smaller the discrepancy between the direction of movement of the track and the longitudinal axis of the pickup (for more details, see “Type”) and the lower the level of corresponding distortion. In addition, a longer length reduces the resonant frequency and reduces the likelihood of distortion. On the other hand, a longer tonearm turns out to be heavier, which requires certain technical tricks and can also negatively affect the purity of the sound. Therefore, a large length is not always a guarantee of high quality – you should also pay attention to weight (see below).

— USB B port. A connector designed to connect the player to a computer as a peripheral device. This connection is mainly used for converting vinyl records to a digital audio format such as MP3. At the same time, computer processing allows you to "clean" the recording from clicks and other extraneous interference; the necessary software for this may even be supplied in the kit.

— Bluetooth. The presence of a built-in Bluetooth module in the design of the player. This technology is designed for direct wireless communication with other devices at a distance of up to 10 m. The capabilities of such communication may vary, depending on the supported Bluetooth protocols. The most popular use of this feature in players is to broadcast audio to wireless headphones or speakers. Such a connection may be somewhat inferior to a wired one in terms of sound quality, but it does not require fiddling with cables and selecting compatible connectors; and the difference in quality is most often unprincipled, especially considering the characteristics of the sound from vinyl. Other options for using Bluetooth are technically possible — for example, remote control from a smartphone or tablet — but they are extremely rare.

— Audio input. The presence of an audio input in the design of the player; usually in this case it means a linear analogue audio input. In different model...s, it can use different types of connectors — for example, 3.5 mm mini-Jack or RCA "tulips". However, regardless of the type of connector, the purpose of such an input is the same everywhere — it is designed to connect an external sound source and process this sound with the player's built-in tools. For example, you can connect a portable player to the audio input and output sound through the built-in turntable amplifier.

— Digital audio output. The presence of a digital audio output in the design of the player. Usually, this output is made in the form of an S / P-DIF connector — optical or electronic; the first option is less susceptible to interference, the second does not require special delicacy when handling the cable. This connector can be useful for connecting external audio devices with digital inputs to the player. In some cases, a digital connection is preferable to an analogue one — for example, if there are no line inputs in an external device or they are all occupied. At the same time, the digital interface requires an analogue-to-digital converter in the "turntable", and these are additional electronic circuits and a potential source of interference. Therefore, such outputs are not used in audiophile-class equipment.

— Headphone output. The presence of a separate headphone output in the design of the player. Typically, this output uses a 3.5 mm mini-Jack or 6.35 mm Jack. The first variety is found in most modern headphones, the second is more reliable and typical for professional models; both interfaces are compatible through a simple adapter. Anyway, connecting headphones can come in handy in two situations: when it is desirable to keep silence and not disturb others with music, or vice versa, when it is noisy around and the sound from the speakers would be hard to hear. Theoretically, the second use case is popular among DJs — in the overall sound, it is important to hear what exactly the turntable is playing at the moment. However, in fact, DJs prefer to connect their "ears" not to the player itself, but to external equipment. Therefore, its own headphone output is typical mainly for consumer-class models.

The sampling rate of the A/D converter installed in the player. To listen to vinyl in the usual way (cartridge — phono stage — power amplifier — acoustics), it is not necessary to convert the analogue signal coming from the pickup into digital format. This function (and, accordingly, the characteristics of the ADC) is relevant only when recording to a computer or removable media, as well as when using a digital audio output (see "Characteristics").

When digitized, analogue audio is decomposed into separate "pieces" (samples), and the data for each sample is recorded digitally. The sample rate describes how many samples there are for every second of the audio being converted; the higher it is (ceteris paribus), the closer the digital audio signal will be to the original. The most modest converters in modern turntables are capable of operating at a sampling rate of 44 (more precisely, 44.1) kHz — the quality of such a recording corresponds to an Audio CD and can already be indistinguishable from high-end vinyl. And in the most advanced, this figure reaches 48 kHz (DVD and DAT level).

The bit depth of the analogue-to-digital converter installed in the player. To listen to vinyl in the usual way (cartridge — phono stage — power amplifier — acoustics), it is not necessary to convert the analogue signal coming from the pickup into digital format. This function (and, accordingly, the characteristics of the ADC) is relevant only when recording to a computer or removable media, as well as when using a digital audio output (see "Characteristics").

When digitizing an analogue signal, it is decomposed into samples (for details, see "ADC Sampling Frequency"), and for each sample, its own signal level value is indicated. The higher the ADC bit depth, the more accurately this value will correspond to the initial signal level and the closer the digital sound will be to the original. To digitize audio as an Audio CD (which is already considered quite “audiophile”), 16 bits is enough, but in modern players this figure can be even higher — up to 24 bits.

The ratio between the useful signal and extraneous noise at the output of the player. It is also colloquially called "electrical noise" (although this is not entirely true).

The higher this indicator, the quieter the noise (it is impossible to completely eliminate them), the clearer the signal will be. In the case of turntables, the signal-to-noise ratio is considered to be at least 50 dB; and in the most high-end devices it can exceed 90 dB.

Note that this paragraph may additionally indicate the value of mechanical noise. Despite the similarity in name, this is a completely different indicator — it describes the volume of extraneous sounds produced by the motor, drive and other moving parts of the "turntable". Accordingly, for mechanical noise, the lower the decibels, the better. You can estimate its approximate level using special comparative tables.