Elastomer supports between the chassis and its wide-diameter feet provided reasonably effective isolation, although light taps on both the support platform and chassis produced somewhat greater impulse throughput than what I remember hearing through any of the more costly Air Force turntables.
Setup and use
I'll keep this short: Setup was easy. Just keep in mind the need to level the 'table using the adjustable feet, before and after installing the tonearm of your choice, then check it yet again after cartridge installation. Importer Graham Engineering supplied the latest B-44 Mk.III version of his Phantom tonearm, which shows fit'n'finish improvements to an already superbly designed and manufactured arm. (You can get the Mk.III in a package with the Air Force V for $24,000—a savings of $3000 compared to retail.) I also used the Swedish Analog Technologies CF1-09 and Thales Statement tonearms: Both are priced beyond what most Air Force V buyers would probably spend on a tonearm, but I know their sound and wanted to hear how they would perform with the V. What accounts for the quiet?
Given that the V has an inboard motor, mounted on a bolted-together chassis and located close to the platter, I guessed that the entry-level TechDAS would be somewhat noisier than the more costly Air Force models. But what I heard was just the opposite: This turntable was stupidly quiet—not as quiet as the $450,000 Air Force Zero that I got to hear at a California event a few months ago (and that will be here soon for review), which was by far the quietest turntable I've ever heard. But the V was perhaps quieter than the other Air Force turntables I've reviewed—and for reasons I can't explain. Confirmation bias denied!
Other than on "ripple warped" records, where vacuum hold down can exacerbate the problems associated with warps, I'm a big fan of well-engineered vacuum hold-down systems. I prefer it to clamping, and certainly to unsecured records just sitting on the platter, which allows vibrations to ricochet through the record and reflect back to the stylus.
The first cartridge I fastened to the Graham arm was the fast, super-clean, well-detailed Ortofon A95. As soon as everything was locked in, I played the album 4GDB (Artasee Records, no catalog number), something I've been meaning to review when time permits. It's a live-to-2"-analog-tape labor of love: a fun, well-recorded electric guitar jam session featuring four "under-noticed" Texas guitarists who've also worked with many big names. I was looking for the same big, full, rich, chunky sound I'd gotten from this LP on my big rig—or as much of it as this far less costly setup could provide—and I got way more than I expected!
Of course, there was that surprising degree of quiet—but beyond that, with the Air Force V, the sound was bigger and more fully fleshed out than I had imagined was possible. The bass lines on "Mother Earth Blues" were firm, grippy, and forcefully presented. On the bottom end, bass extension was effortless from both guitar and kick drum, and neither got lost in the generously live room sound. The snare drum snapped and, of course, the guitar transients were sharp and cleanly drawn.
Shortly thereafter, I was off to Europe (see last month's Analog Corner), but as soon as I returned home, I played a direct-to-disc record that mastering engineer Rainer Maillard had handed me in Berlin: the Joscho Stephan Trio's Paris-Berlin (BMS 1817V). This "finger picking good" trio of double bass and dueling acoustic guitars plays Django Reinhardt-style acoustic swing music with remarkable speed and dexterity.
Before I left for Europe, I'd installed on the Graham arm the Gold Note Donatello Gold cartridge, a modestly priced (ca $1000) low-output (0.5mV) MC cartridge, which features an elliptical stylus and aluminum cantilever. The simply miked recording sounded just the way the album jacket's back-cover photo looked: two guitars, left and right—both of them Jürgen Volkert Selmer-style acoustics—with a centered double bass. I heard a well-articulated and harmonically rich sound, plus spatial presentation that was strikingly three-dimensional and stable. Direct-to-disc recordings are as quiet as vinyl gets, and with the addition of what I had already come to know as the Air Force V's surprising degree of quiet, this was another musical and sonic treat. To get a full read on what I was hearing, after playing on my reference Continuum Caliburn turntable/SAT CF1-09 tonearm the above-mentioned records—plus many others, including the UHQR stereo mix of Hendrix's Axis: Bold As Love (Analogue Productions UHQR 0001) and the Analog Spark West Side Story reissue (Analog Spark 79301836801-8/Columbia OS 2001)—I moved the SAT arm to the Air Force V's back position, along with the Ortofon MC Anna Diamond cartridge (covered in this month's Analog Corner). That took little more than a few minutes, done right after I'd played West Side Story on the big rig.
The Air Force V's overall presentation of that stunning and revealing Broadway show recording was somewhat drier than that of my reference 'table, with a less generous expression of the reverberant field of Columbia's 30th Street Studio. Events I was used to hearing extend further in time stopped somewhat short. Voices were slightly less round and less fully fleshed out (pun intended), and the overall spaciousness of the presentation was somewhat reduced. However, that tended to produce snappy and satisfying rhythm'n'pacing. Strings were somewhat drier and musical textures less generously presented. The bottom end came up somewhat short as well, which partly explained the space deficiency, and I've heard greater dynamic slam from this and other of the best records I know, especially in the classical music realm—but please keep in mind the almost 10x price differential!
I don't doubt that as you move up the line to the bigger Air Force 'tables, these minor deficiencies would diminish: You would hear incrementally more in terms of, especially, overall spaciousness, dynamics, and bottom-end extension and slam—everything except for background quietness, where I think the V would compete well with all of them and maybe better some, as it did with the Caliburn.
What else can you get?
For around $20,000 you have other choices, including the less expensive VPI HW-40 direct-drive turntable ($15,000 including arm); the SME 20/3 turntable with Series V arm ($19,500); the Kuzma Stabi M ($19,225 without arm); or even the direct-drive Technics SP-10R ($10,000) combined with the OMA plinth (estimated to be under $10,000). There are many options at this costly but still "affordable" price point. Conclusion
The new entry-level Air Force model in the TechDAS line has been skillfully shaved down from its bigger stablemates, to lower the cost while offering all the important features, impressive build quality, and clever engineering for which TechDAS is known. With the TechDAS Air Force V, your $19,500 buys a technologically advanced and versatile air-bearing platter spinner with vacuum hold down, whose minor acts of omission won't be noticed by anyone fortunate enough to own one. It's a 'table essentially free of tonal colorations—like the other 'tables in the TechDAS line—and one that provides a firm foundation on bottom with deep, well-defined bass (though there's more to be had from the bigger TechDAS 'tables and from some other "super 'tables").
There are other options at this price point with fuller, thicker sound, and some that are even leaner, faster, and lighter—but none that I've heard that offer vacuum hold down, a feature I've grown to consider essential (though not everyone agrees). In addition, the Air Force V successfully threads the needle between required analytical detail and desirable harmonic generosity. In other words, your choice of cartridge and phono preamp, more than the 'table itself, will determine the final sonic result.
While it was in my system, the Air Force V was 100% reliable and always a pleasure to use, and despite its compact, hardly-bigger-than-the-platter chassis and somewhat spartan appearance, I enjoyed looking at it—and, of course, listening to it.
As I found out, the Air Force V can accommodate even the most costly tonearms and phono cartridges, and that money will not be wasted. In fact, I'd say get the V and then upgrade the arm and cartridge as you go before upgrading the 'table—although I would guess that most people buying the V with the Graham Phantom will probably be satisfied and stop there, leaving more money available for records!
I'll keep this short: Setup was easy. Just keep in mind the need to level the 'table using the adjustable feet, before and after installing the tonearm of your choice, then check it yet again after cartridge installation. Importer Graham Engineering supplied the latest B-44 Mk.III version of his Phantom tonearm, which shows fit'n'finish improvements to an already superbly designed and manufactured arm. (You can get the Mk.III in a package with the Air Force V for $24,000—a savings of $3000 compared to retail.) I also used the Swedish Analog Technologies CF1-09 and Thales Statement tonearms: Both are priced beyond what most Air Force V buyers would probably spend on a tonearm, but I know their sound and wanted to hear how they would perform with the V. What accounts for the quiet?
Given that the V has an inboard motor, mounted on a bolted-together chassis and located close to the platter, I guessed that the entry-level TechDAS would be somewhat noisier than the more costly Air Force models. But what I heard was just the opposite: This turntable was stupidly quiet—not as quiet as the $450,000 Air Force Zero that I got to hear at a California event a few months ago (and that will be here soon for review), which was by far the quietest turntable I've ever heard. But the V was perhaps quieter than the other Air Force turntables I've reviewed—and for reasons I can't explain. Confirmation bias denied!
The first cartridge I fastened to the Graham arm was the fast, super-clean, well-detailed Ortofon A95. As soon as everything was locked in, I played the album 4GDB (Artasee Records, no catalog number), something I've been meaning to review when time permits. It's a live-to-2"-analog-tape labor of love: a fun, well-recorded electric guitar jam session featuring four "under-noticed" Texas guitarists who've also worked with many big names. I was looking for the same big, full, rich, chunky sound I'd gotten from this LP on my big rig—or as much of it as this far less costly setup could provide—and I got way more than I expected!
Of course, there was that surprising degree of quiet—but beyond that, with the Air Force V, the sound was bigger and more fully fleshed out than I had imagined was possible. The bass lines on "Mother Earth Blues" were firm, grippy, and forcefully presented. On the bottom end, bass extension was effortless from both guitar and kick drum, and neither got lost in the generously live room sound. The snare drum snapped and, of course, the guitar transients were sharp and cleanly drawn.
I don't doubt that as you move up the line to the bigger Air Force 'tables, these minor deficiencies would diminish: You would hear incrementally more in terms of, especially, overall spaciousness, dynamics, and bottom-end extension and slam—everything except for background quietness, where I think the V would compete well with all of them and maybe better some, as it did with the Caliburn.
What else can you get?For around $20,000 you have other choices, including the less expensive VPI HW-40 direct-drive turntable ($15,000 including arm); the SME 20/3 turntable with Series V arm ($19,500); the Kuzma Stabi M ($19,225 without arm); or even the direct-drive Technics SP-10R ($10,000) combined with the OMA plinth (estimated to be under $10,000). There are many options at this costly but still "affordable" price point. Conclusion
The new entry-level Air Force model in the TechDAS line has been skillfully shaved down from its bigger stablemates, to lower the cost while offering all the important features, impressive build quality, and clever engineering for which TechDAS is known. With the TechDAS Air Force V, your $19,500 buys a technologically advanced and versatile air-bearing platter spinner with vacuum hold down, whose minor acts of omission won't be noticed by anyone fortunate enough to own one. It's a 'table essentially free of tonal colorations—like the other 'tables in the TechDAS line—and one that provides a firm foundation on bottom with deep, well-defined bass (though there's more to be had from the bigger TechDAS 'tables and from some other "super 'tables").
