Fern and Roby The Montrose Turntable

Belt Drive Turntable with Schroder CB Tonearm

The Montrose turntable now will be supplied solely with the Schroder CB arm with a carbon fiber wand.

With a platter and plinth made from Richlite and Brass in our machine shop in Richmond, Virginia, the Montrose turntable was designed to help you easily get the most out of your music. It is easy to set up and a pleasure for anyone to spin records on.

What Is Included & Upgrade Options

The Montrose Turntable is provided with the following:

Tonearm: Schroder CB tonearm with carbon fiber wand 

*Shipping is $175 to anywhere in the continental USA

Spinning At The Right Speed

One of the most important things a turntable should do is go the right speed right? Humans sense difference exceptionally well and when a platter is spinning inconsistently you will hear it. This is called "Wow" and "Flutter". Most most manufacturers of decks just assume you won't hear this or that you won't care anyways if you do and allow people to start with cheap, inferior products with the knowledge that eventually they will want something better, an outboard motor controller, a more expensive table with a better but simple control... We believe you should be offered the option of buying your last turntable when you buy your first and that a smart motor controller integrated into the design is part of what makes that possible so we include this in every one of our decks.

Our turntables are built around our odular, ctive, .I.D. Drive Unit (we call it the MAP Drive). The MAP Drive incorporates a computer controlled, real-time P.I.D. controller (You can learn about the P.I.D. concept here). The Controller uses "active" feedback from the platter to regulate the performance of the deck. The MAP Drive can be easily removed and swapped out by the end-user for service and replacement. 

This design breakthrough has allowed us to support our clients affordably from any distance and made it feasible for us to sell internationally without needing costly service centers and training programs in each region. We can handle taking care of our clients quickly and affordably without the deck leaving your home!

Cartridges

We offer a range of great cartridges: 

Soundsmith: We are proud to offer all of the Soundsmith line of cartridges. Our favorites are the Zephyr MIMC, The Paua, and The Sussurro. These are all low compliance, Low output carts designed around a Moving Iron paradigm which reduces the moving mass on the cantilever delivering amazing detail and speed. Please let us know if you are interested in these amazing carts.  

We offer several other great brands as well. Call us to discuss the options.

*If you already have a favorite cartridge or are buying from somewhere else that is fine! We will help you make certain it will work well with our setup!

MAP Drive and Turntable Design

Our MAP Drive couples a traditional synchronous AC motor with modern digital speed control techniques including real-time measurements of the platter speed, with an optical sensor feedback to control the platter speed and make micro adjustments as needed. Most turntables in its class use the 60Hz of the AC mains to turn the motor at a fixed speed and then rely on pulley size ratios to achieve the desired platter speed (33 ⅓ or 45 RPM). In this topology, there is no way to account for belt slip, pulley wear or the effects of temperature change on the system. In addition, the mass of the platter design is constrained by the “stall torque” of the motor. A platter of desirable (large) mass would require a motor of undesirable size and noise.

By synthesizing the sinusoidal drive waveforms required to turn the motor, the Fern & Roby MAP Drive system is not limited to a fixed motor speed or fixed drive power. This allows for a design with extravagant platter mass coupled to a modestly sized motor. From a standstill, the platter is accelerated gradually to the desired speed in order to stay below the motor’s stall torque. The platter’s speed is determined 48 times per revolution with a precision-cut optical interrupter wheel mounted on its underside.

A green LED indicator beside the mode selector switch is used to indicate “in-bounds” platter speed. Any time the platter speed is more than 0.23% above or below the target speed, the LED indicator switches from green to orange while the motor control compensates to correct the speed into the desired rpm.

Specifications

The Montrose has the same great bearing, motor control, and user interface of the Tredegar. Without compromising on the principles of a fantastic reference grade table and arm, we have made a great turntable that is within reach of a large audience, making our goal to deliver a relevant reference-grade table to a lot more people possible. We are proud to design & manufacture our products in Richmond, Virginia.

Turntable Dimensions : 20 3/4" side x 15" deep x 5" tall Weight : 40 lbs

We are happy to answer any questions you may have, call us or email to get started!