Model
Model of the tonearm — the movable lever on which the pickup is attached — supplied with the turntable. The tone arm is responsible for the correct position of the needle and the accuracy of its movement along the grooves, which is critical for sound quality. Therefore, many music lovers try to clarify not only the general data on the tonearm, but also its specific features in each particular “turntable”; in order to be able to find this information, the name of the tonearm is given in the characteristics.
Cover
The presence in the design of the player or a dust
cover, or devices for its installation (the cover itself is not included in the kit).
Both vinyl records and the equipment for playing them require protection from dust: settling on the tracks, dust leads to extraneous noise and increased wear of the records and needle. Thus, for normal listening to music, it is highly recommended to have a turntable with a lid — otherwise you will have to regularly clean up. But for a DJ "turntable", the lid, on the contrary, is an excess.
Frequency range
The range of frequencies that the player is capable of outputting when using a standard pickup.
The wider the frequency range, the more complete the sound picture will be, the less low and/or high frequencies will remain behind the scenes. However, from a practical point of view, it does not make sense to expand the range beyond the values \u200b\u200bof 16 – 22000 Hz — it is within these limits that the human ear hears the sound (and even then not everyone). In high-end audio equipment, including turntables, there are more extensive ranges; however, such characteristics are a kind of “side effect” of high-end technology that manufacturers use for advertising purposes.
In addition, we note that an extensive frequency range is not yet a guarantee of high-quality sound: the sound picture depends on many other parameters, from the amplitude-frequency response to extraneous interference.
Knock ratio
The maximum knock factor that the turntable is subject to under normal conditions.
Detonation in this case is called sound distortion associated with short-term periodic irregularities in the rotation of the disk. The lower the detonation coefficient, the lower the level of such distortions; it is believed that for audiophile-class equipment it should not exceed 0.2%, although in more modest models it may be higher.
Note that for different playback speeds, knock coefficients can also be different. Manufacturers in such cases may indicate the minimum value, despite the fact that it can be achieved not at the usual 33 rpm, but at 45 or even 78 rpm. Therefore, when choosing a high-end turntable, it's ok to clarify this point.
Speed deviation
The maximum deviation of the disc rotation speed from the nominal, which can occur during normal operation of the player. This indicator should not be confused with the detonation coefficient (see above): in this case, we are not talking about constant irregularities, but about the largest deviation possible in principle. Such a deviation can reach 1.5%, although for high-end equipment, 1% is considered the maximum value (and in general, the lower the better).
Power consumption
Rated power consumed by the player during normal operation.
Modern turntables are very economical: most models, even those equipped with built-in acoustics (see "Features"), the power consumption does not exceed 15 W, and there is no need to talk about any serious impact on congestion in the electrical networks (as well as electricity bills). The exception is some premium-class devices, in which the weight of the platter (see below) reaches several tens of kilograms, and the corresponding engine power is required to rotate such a mass.
Platter weight
The weight of the disk on which the record is mounted. The smoothness of the ride and the ability to compensate for uneven rotation of the engine due to the inertia of the disk directly depend on this indicator. Therefore, among audiophiles, there is a reasonable opinion that the more massive the disc, the better; in top models, its weight can be measured in tens of kilograms. On the other hand, a heavy disk accelerates slowly (in some models it even needs to be pushed by hand at the start), and scratching on such a “turntable” would be very difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, for a DJ player, a large disc weight, on the contrary, will be redundant.
