FEICKERT BLACKBIRD

One of the strongest of all the Feickert attributes is an ability to make one forget that they're there. Easy to place and easy to use ... and they don't ever get in the way of the music"

FEICKERT BLACKBIRD TURNTABLE

"If you're in the market for a combination of advanced engineering, outstanding data retrieval, and a touch of Classic analog's smile-factor, the Dr. Feickert Blackbird is a must audition and belongs on your short list"

Overview

Fully loaded but without tonearm at about $7,800, Dr. Feickert Analogue's reference turntable, the Blackbird, is a generously sized record player designed to easily accommodate two 12" tonearms. Its two brushless, three-phase DC motors, arranged around the platter at 180deg to one another, are connected to a proprietary controller in a phase-locked loop (PLL). A reference signal from just one of the motors drives both motors, thus one motor is the master while the other one is the slave.

Dr Christian Feickert says that the key to this drive system is the motor design, which was done in close consultation with its world-renowned manufacturer, Pabst. The result is a feedback-based system in which the controller produces significantly lowered jitter levels.

The Firebird weighs 48.5 lbs, and its plinth is large : 20.8" wide by 6.25" high by 16.5" deep. The plinth is constructed of aluminum top and bottom layers with thermally-treated MDF in the middle and sits on specially designed adjustable feet.

Riding on an inverted bearing is a 13.23-lb platter. This 2" high platter is made from poly-oxy-methylene (POM). POM is a rather slow compound in terms of propagation of sonic energy, and has resonance characteristics similar to the vinyl used to manufacture records. POM also has anti-static properties which help to suppress clicks and pops in playback. Embedded within the platter are eight 1¾" solid brass cylinder inlays that are evenly-spaced around, and close to, its outer edge. This evenly 'distributed' metal mass adds significant inertia, resulting in enhanced smoothness to the sound and in more refined inner details.