McIntosh MT2 Precision Belt-Drive Turntable

Overview

The MT2 plays both 33-1/3 and 45 rpm records. It’s virtually ready to use out of the box with just a few setup steps to complete and then you’ll be enjoying your vinyl in no time. The MT2comes with a Sumiko Moonstone cartridge, a next-gen moving magnet phono pickup. The Moonstone phono cartridge is dressed to impress. It has low moving-mass and output, and is topped off with their listen-tested 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical diamond. Moonstone transcribes sonic imagery with weight, richness, depth, and keenly realistic texture. The sonic image is suspended and well-controlled over a nearly-absent noise floor, providing fantastic clarity without etch nor confusion.

The tonearm is constructed from Dural-aluminum with special damping materials and is light weight yet highly rigid. The noise free vertical bearings feature two precision ceramic surfaces with damping fluid; the horizontal bearing is a gimballed sapphire design.

The belt driven, solid black outer platter is made from a special dynamically balanced polyoxymethylene (POM) and is over 1” thick. This heftiness helps to both resist and absorb external vibrations that can cause noise during playback; its large mass also provides the perfect flywheel action for stable playback speed. The inner platter is made of CNC-precision milled aluminum. The platters rotate on a polished and tempered steel shaft in a sintered bronze bushing.

The DC motor is driven by an external voltage-stabilized power supply and is completely decoupled from the chassis, isolating your records from any mechanical interference. Its sturdy plinth has a resonance optimized and highly compressed wood base with black lacquer finish, while the top and middle acrylic plates help absorb unwanted vibrations.