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TEAC TN-300 Belt Drive Turntable Initial Impression and Review
- Thread starter Tharbamar
- Start date
johnda
Addicted Member
I have the Denon DP300F and it has been a reliable and good sounding turntable with the Grado Green cartridge. I have not seen the "bashing" that was mentioned, in fact from what I have seen folks have enjoyed their DP300F's. I have to say that the looks of the TEAC TT are really nice, but the mention of the slow service after it had a problem are a concern. The UTurn Orbit has been on my radar for quite awhile and if the Denon ever gives up the ghost, I'll be checking them both out.
P.S. Tharbamer, thanks for the great pictures and the video, it is a real nice looking turntable, for sure!
P.S. Tharbamer, thanks for the great pictures and the video, it is a real nice looking turntable, for sure!
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iLUVanalog
Addicted Member
Calm down.
mjw21a said IRRELEVANT, not FORBIDDEN. And just like you, mjw21a is allowed to express his opinion...he was obviously responding to Tharbamar's post (#153), not to any of yours.
You're creating a problem where there isn't one...and where there shouldn't be one.
As JOHNDA notes re the slow service for the Teak turntable but if he should decide to go with the U-Turn Orbit that wont be the case, U-Turn customer service is one of the best, very responsive to their customers needs and located right here in the USA with no difficulty speaking/understanding English. In fact service issues with U-Turn Orbits are a rarity and just about all the calls/emails from customers are re how thrilled the customers are with their Orbits.
Garven
Active Member
Turning off ignore temporarily kinda reminds me of visiting the "people of walmart" site.
guitarman50
Super Member
Was the Teac TN-300 ready to go out of the box or was there some setup to do? Was thinking of buying it to transfer some of my vinyl to digital (some vinyl that never got released on CD) and then give it to my grand daughter.
Tharbamar
Active Member
Almost ready out of the box, all you have to do is set the counter weight balance and adjust the anti-skid.
The tracking is not set by the actual cartridge, it's set to match the suspension of the stylus assembly... Not saying that 2 is wrong, but every time you switch styli, you must set to the requirements of that styli. In this case it's the factory stylus. So 2 is a good starting point. But there is some variability in production. So play it from 1.75 to 2.25 and see what works best 
This is an analog system. It is highly susceptible to "tuning"
I really like the looks of this table. It might not push some higher end machines aside, but I can definitely see it in a living room system that needs looks as much as performance. And where the audience might not be tied to "critical listening" so much ...
Only time will tell if it is robust and reliable... TEAC is part of TASCAM and they are very good at what they do
This is an analog system. It is highly susceptible to "tuning"
I really like the looks of this table. It might not push some higher end machines aside, but I can definitely see it in a living room system that needs looks as much as performance. And where the audience might not be tied to "critical listening" so much ...
Only time will tell if it is robust and reliable... TEAC is part of TASCAM and they are very good at what they do
Defbrit
New Member
I'm not going to look through all the previous threads, although from this page it seems I've missed out on some 'fun'. It's amazing how worked up people become when discussing who/what they believe to be better/best.....
(Background: Not an audiophile - the only significant differences I can determine between systems come from 1. speakers, 2. speaker/room configuration, 3. cartridge / stylus combination, in that order, all the rest - unless the TT has tracking issues or significant rumble, wow, flutter - is, for me, literally, lost in the noise!. Most cd players and amps sound virtually the same to me, provided they're not right at the bottom of the barrel).
Set one of these up this week. Piece of cake. Worked right off the bat. Then spent a bit of time tuning the anti-skate, etc. to optimum. Result: Very good value. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as a starter table to someone who doesn't want to fool with tuning up a vintage table. Yes, you'll get a 'better' table for the same outlay if you select a good vintage option, but unless you're experienced at tuning up an old TT it's unlikely the sound will be any better, and it could very well be worse.
Extremely low rumble... (I have test LP's I use for set-up/evaluation). Adequate tracking/compliance (didn't like high volume mixed steady tones, but then only the best can handle some of my test tracks). Good separation and soundstage, no discernible distortion or fluttering (piano, flute, tuba, organ, etc.). Tracked and played the end of Stravinsky's Firebird just fine and Steely Dan sounds great! Tone-arm is basic but the sounds generated work for me. There's no doubt that a different cartridge and stylus would be an improvement, also I used its inbuilt phono pre-amp as my current set up - Acurus DIA100 into JR149's with a B&W Acoustitune sub-woofer - doesn't have phono input. I'll do some testing over the next couple of weeks with different cartridges and a phono-equipped pre-amp. Reliability? We'll see.
So, I'm not saying this is 'better' than the alternatives. But it works well, is easy to set up, and looks better than average (high WAF).
(Background: Not an audiophile - the only significant differences I can determine between systems come from 1. speakers, 2. speaker/room configuration, 3. cartridge / stylus combination, in that order, all the rest - unless the TT has tracking issues or significant rumble, wow, flutter - is, for me, literally, lost in the noise!. Most cd players and amps sound virtually the same to me, provided they're not right at the bottom of the barrel).
Set one of these up this week. Piece of cake. Worked right off the bat. Then spent a bit of time tuning the anti-skate, etc. to optimum. Result: Very good value. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as a starter table to someone who doesn't want to fool with tuning up a vintage table. Yes, you'll get a 'better' table for the same outlay if you select a good vintage option, but unless you're experienced at tuning up an old TT it's unlikely the sound will be any better, and it could very well be worse.
Extremely low rumble... (I have test LP's I use for set-up/evaluation). Adequate tracking/compliance (didn't like high volume mixed steady tones, but then only the best can handle some of my test tracks). Good separation and soundstage, no discernible distortion or fluttering (piano, flute, tuba, organ, etc.). Tracked and played the end of Stravinsky's Firebird just fine and Steely Dan sounds great! Tone-arm is basic but the sounds generated work for me. There's no doubt that a different cartridge and stylus would be an improvement, also I used its inbuilt phono pre-amp as my current set up - Acurus DIA100 into JR149's with a B&W Acoustitune sub-woofer - doesn't have phono input. I'll do some testing over the next couple of weeks with different cartridges and a phono-equipped pre-amp. Reliability? We'll see.
So, I'm not saying this is 'better' than the alternatives. But it works well, is easy to set up, and looks better than average (high WAF).
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DustyOldPile
Vinyl Goddess
I've had a lot of time to digest this Teac issue, and I think that the only truly disparaging thing I can say about the Teac as opposed to, say the Orbit, is in the area of customer service. I had a friend with a Teac stereo/dvd combo unit about 6 or 7 years ago who wanted to get it serviced, as something or other had stopped working. Customer service? Zippo. Zilch. Nada. In the dumpster it went. I think the true test of the newer units will be "will they function in 5 years?", and to most, that's irrelevant as younger customers and many of us older ones have been conditioned to expect < 5 years out of anything bought new these days. But to someone like myself...I have a toaster that's older than I am. I got tired of replacing plastic coffee makers and got a vintage 60's big heavy chrome percolator. My turntables are old enough to buy wrinkle cream. I expect things to last. It's a big pita to look for a replacement _____ all of the time...it wastes my time, inconveniences me with the loss of use of said failed thingus and with the search for something worthy to replace it.
That all being said, if you like the Teac, go buy one and enjoy it.
That all being said, if you like the Teac, go buy one and enjoy it.
Braunbear66
Active Member
Hello been a while since Ive been here. I'm in Amsterdam now moved here from Los Angeles. I'm looking for a new turntable. Ive seen the Tech TN and the one with curved tone are that also has BT DAC etc I don't need that. Whats better sounding Tech or the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon or the Rega RP1. Ive been looking at these. My problem is I want to bring it back to the US when I move back. DC power supply would be my choice as many turntables here are 220 volt and would not work for me in the US. I since purchased a NAD C 368 Hybrid DAC amp that I really like because its sounds nice and it runs on 110-220 and comes with both us and European plugs it does have a built in phone MM.
Update: Purchased PJ Carbon very nice set up in 10 min. So nice. Power is DC and comes with plug adapters UK- Europe and USA done.
Update: Purchased PJ Carbon very nice set up in 10 min. So nice. Power is DC and comes with plug adapters UK- Europe and USA done.
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hifitommy
Super Member
i have the AKAI BT500 tt and it is exactly the same tt as the TEAC TN300 except for the shape of the gimbal tower. same controls, same headshell. WHICH brings me to the headshell topic and that is....what is it called and will it be available for other arms.
it has the same detachable collet that a universal headshell has but is angled for the straight arm of the akai and teac. if one uses it ont a straight armed tt like some of the stantons and ions, will it be a proper alignment result? i do so love the removable feature because it makes mounting a cartridge a much easier job than one that is stationary.
it has the same detachable collet that a universal headshell has but is angled for the straight arm of the akai and teac. if one uses it ont a straight armed tt like some of the stantons and ions, will it be a proper alignment result? i do so love the removable feature because it makes mounting a cartridge a much easier job than one that is stationary.
Just found this thread. I recently bought a TN-300 as a secondary table on ebay new for less than $200 after an ebay bucks promotion. I put a Denon DL-110 cartridge on it, run it through a Vincent PHO-700 phono amp and I can't believe how good it sounds. The TN-300 is a great value buy.
Jbl Joe
Well-Known Member
Stacks up well against the Rega 1 and destroys the Pro jects. Swapped out the mat for a Herbie mat, installed a Grado Blue with a 8mz stylus, damped the aluminum platter and wrapped the tonearn. Sounds better than my daughters MoFi Studio deck