TEAC TN-4D-SE

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

The TN-4D-SE 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.

Its 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.

To extract the music from your vinyl, the TN-4D-SE 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-SE 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.

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.

Spec description

Turntable section TypeDirect DriveMotorBrush-less DC MotorRotation Speeds33-⅓ rpm, 45 rpmWow-and-Flutters0.1%S/N Ratio67dB or higher (A-weighted, 20kHz LPF)Turntable (Platter) MaterialAluminium Die-castDiameter30cmTone-arm section TypeS-shaped, Static-balanced Effective Length223mmNeedle Pressure Range0g to 5.0g

Compatible Cartridge Weight3.0g to 12.0g, 14g to 23g (including Head-shell) Head-shell and Cartridge sections TypeMM-type (SUMIKO Oyster factory installed)Output Voltage4.0mV (1kHz)Needle Pressure1.5 to 2.5g (appropriate value: 2.3g)Weight5.3gHead-shell weight11g (including nuts, screws, and wires)Compatible StylusStyluses for SUMIKO OysterAnalog Outputs ConnectorRCA Pin jack × 1 pair (PHONO/LINE switchable)Output Voltage PHONO4.0mV (1kHz)LINE224mV (–13dBV)Operating PowerAC 100 to 240V, 50/60Hz

Power Consumption2W Standby Power0.5W or less

Overall Dimensions (W×H×D)420 × 117 × 356 mm /

16.5" × 4.6" × 14.0"

WeightApprox. 6.1kg / 13.5 lbs.

Included AccessoriesFelt Mat, EP Adapter, Counter Weight, Head-shell (SUMIKO Oyster installed), Platter, Dust Cover, Hinges × 2, RCA Audio cable with GND terminal, AC Adapter (GPE036W-24015), Owner's Manual