TECHDAS AIR FORCE ZERO TURNTABLE
TechDas has released its Air Force Zero turntable, which weighs around half a tonne and will sell in Australia for a $570,000. The Air Force Zero’s designer, Hideaki Nishikawa, is currently on a world tour to personally present the new turntable at the world’s major hi-fi shows this year, including the Munich High End show, the Hong Kong High End Show and the Tokyo International Audio Show. ‘ The Air Force Zero is a ground-breaking and highly advanced system developed in the pursuit of the ultimate in analog sound reproduction,’ said Nishikawa. ‘ Our goal for the Air Force Series is to precisely extract and reproduce all information embedded in the groove, with nothing added or sacrificed, which is one reason that all our models, including the AF Zero, feature vacuum LP hold-down. For me, the new Air Force Zero is the ultimate solution for analog sound reproduction.’
Platter drive (33.33 and 45 rpm) to the Air Force Zero is supplied by a 3-phase 12-pole a.c. synchronous motor manufactured by German motor specialist Papst. It has five separate platters, three of which are made from stainless steel, one from gunmetal and one from powder sintered tungsten. Together, the five platters weigh 118kg. They’re supported by a stainless steel frame that weighs 100kg. Hideaki Nishikawa is one of Japan’s best-known highend audio engineers, having started his career with Stax in 1964. He joined Micro Seiki in 1980, during which time he was responsible for the famous Micro Seiki SX-8000. He left Stax in 1989 to found Stellavox, which he later renamed Stella. Nishikawa founded TechDas as a ‘house brand’ for Stella in 2010. Here in Australia, TechDas is distributed by Pure Music Group. Warwick Freemantle, of Pure Music Group, says that he’s taking orders for the Air Force Zero now, with deliveries scheduled for September 2019. ‘I am informed that only forty turntables will be built,’ he said, ‘and that in addition to the tungsten platter option, you can also option in tungsten tonearm bases instead of the supplied titanium bases.’ Due to its price and limited availabilty, Pure Music Group will be stocking the Air Force Zero as ‘pre-order-only’ item, but the TechDas AF-2, TechDas AF-3 Premium and TechDas AF-5 are all stock models.
For more information, contact Pure Music Group on (04) 0950 4805 or at www.puremusicgroup.com