Technics SL-M3 linear-tracking turntable – functional test with an Audio-Technica AT85EP cartridge

The Technics SL-M3 is the kind of turntable where, the moment you lift it, you can tell it’s not a lightweight piece. It’s a quartz-locked, direct-drive, fully automatic linear-tracking design with a 32.5 cm, 2.5 kg cast-aluminum platter. The tonearm is dynamically balanced with a 4-point gimbal suspension, and according to the factory spec it has an effective mass of 13 g including the cartridge. The drive delivers 1.6 kg·cm starting torque, reaches 33 rpm in 0.9 seconds, wow & flutter is 0.022% WRMS, and weighted rumble is rated at –82 dB. Total weight is around 15 kg. This is the kind of Technics engineering that’s still genuinely interesting today.

It comes with a brand-new Audio-Technica AT85EP, a plug-in P-mount/T4P dual-magnet cartridge with a 0.3 × 0.7 mil elliptical stylus, 3.5 mV output, and a nominal tracking force of 1.25 g. You also get a Technics P205CMK3 cartridge, one of the more serious models in Technics’ plug-in moving-magnet line; according to Technics’ own documentation, the 205CMK3 family includes features such as a boron cantilever and very low effective moving mass.

Видео Technics SL-M3 linear-tracking turntable – functional test with an Audio-Technica AT85EP cartridge канала Old HIFI Audio