After more than three years idea-crunching and countless man hours of CADing, prototyping, programming and real-life testing, we built our first commercially available turntable – Reed Muse 3C. Is it somehow unique? Well, yes! Whether you are fan of friction-driven turntables (the famous Garrard is made that way), or if you think that the right way to build turntables is to use a pair of motors and a belt, Reed Muse 3C should catch your eye.

Thanks to its unique and innovative design, you can convert friction-driven turntable to a belt-driven machine in 5 minutes.

After extensive prototyping and long-term experiments we came up to a solution of using a reverse sliding thrust ball bearing for a main axis. Bearing ball is made either from steel or ceramics and the lateral stability is achieved by using very durable and low-noise polymer sliding bearing. Symmetrical drive system is designed to avoid radial bearing load, hence minimizing possible mechanical noise and ensuring longevity of a master bearing.

Muse 3C is powered by two direct current motors and by design is friction-driven, however its major innovation is possibility to convert it to a belt-driven system in minutes by replacing traction rollers and putting on a belt (and, of course, setting a switch to a correct position). To prevent possible mechanical vibration, we use traction rollers (be it friction or belt) of different diameters, spinning at different velocities and having mathematically non-multiple diameters to driving disc diameter. Disc velocity is stabilized by quartz-based phase locked loop (PLL) system, so average speed deviation depends solely on the parameters of quartz crystal. Turntable drive is equipped with both mechanical and electronic protection systems.

Turntable also features electronic inclinometer (electronic level dedicated to measure turntable slope/tilt angle), which allows user to achieve perfect horizontal alignment without using additional tools.

Turntable can be equipped with one or two tonearms with effective length ranging from 9.5” to 12”.