AC motors spin at the speed set by the frequency of the mains supply they are connected to, in the UK this is 50Hz (I.e. 50 cycles of a sine wave form per second).

Which decks respond to power supplies?
Basically if your turntable doesn’t already have an electronic power supply (either internally or externally) and uses an AC motor then it should really benefit.

In terms of matching a power supply to your deck all you really have to be aware of is its power consumption, which is generally listed on the back of the deck or in the manual. However as a generalisation most decks on the market (Linn LP12, Rega, Systemdek and so on) use basically the same type of motor and will work with any of the universal power supplies.

Why do they work?
The circuit inside most turntables is in essence a very basic Resistor/Capacitor network, the former drops the UK’s 240 volt mains to the 110 volt that most motors run on, and the latter makes sure that the platter always spins in the right direction when you turn it on. This is a very cheap and simple way of making a turntable, and in a perfect world would be a perfectly satisfactory. However this not being the case the motor ends up directly seeing all the impurities and irregularities that are a feature of the mains supply.

For example whilst in the UK the mains is supposedly 50Hz it actually varies*, this can results both in absolute pitch change and stability problems. So the ability to generate a new mains waveform can be very beneficial, not only do we guarantee that the speed remains stable but it should also be possible to make it much cleaner with less noise and distortion than exists on the mains.

*in fact all the electricity board have to do is maintain an average of 50Hz with a 1% tolerance throughout the course of 24 hours, to ensure that AC powered clocks keep good time over the course of a day. This means its possible to see variations throughout a day.

Why are some power supplies more expensive than others?
Despite the apparently simple brief of producing a power supply that outputs a simple sine wave there’s a lot more to it than that. The quality of the waveform produced (in terms of its distortion), its tolerance of frequency variation and background noise are all elements that go towards explaining why some are more expensive and (all things being equal) better sounding.

Specifically intended for use with Projects own turntables, this box outputs a high quality wave form for the 16V motors used on their decks. It also provides the convenience of electronic speed change.

The Rega TT PSU is designed for use with the the latest Rega P3 24v turntable as well as the P5 and P7, all of which use a 24volt motor. It provides easy switching of 33/45 via the fascia mounted switch and is available in Silver or Black.

The Project Speed Box SE is the most affordable universal turntable power supply we’ve come across, its has two output on the back, one 16vAC feed for Project turntables and also a conventional 13A mains socket rated at 3 watts (although this figure seems a little conservative).
We found it works brilliantly with many turntables including the Rega Planar 2, 3 & 25, Roksan Radius 5, Nottingham Analogue models, Wilson Benesch Circle, Systemdek IIX, Clearaudio Emotion & Champion, the Manticore Mantra and many others.

The Speed Box SE not only produces a good quality signal with the sonic improvements you’d expect it also provides fine speed adjustment in 0.1rpm increments and the convenience of a 33/45 speed change switch, as well as a standby mode to stop the platter spinning.



The Wave mechanic is a mains regenerator much like the Project above, but as its price suggests its made to a much higher standard. It outputs a single frequency so you don’t get the convenience of speed change buttons (you have to move the belt on its pulley as before), but it does allow very fine tuning of the speed via the front mounted rotary control.
It comes complete with a strobe disc and hand held ‘Zapper’ light to ensure that the speed is set accurately.

The standard version has a power output in the region of 7-8 watts.A higher power version is also available for the Garrard 301 and 401 which uses a larger transformer (amongst other changes), and allows for the eddy brake to be dialled out reducing strain on the motor and therefore motor noise.




Surely the crème de la crème of AC turntable power supplies must be the Disc Drive. This no compromise design is built to the same very high standards of all Tron products, and uses valves to amplify the mains output voltage via a class A push pull output stage.
It provides fine speed adjustment of +/- 5% as well as switching for 33 and 45rpm.

Two versions are available, the standard model uses EL34/5881 output valves and give 25watts output, enough to power the majority of turntables on the market including fairly high wattage models like the Thorens TD124 and the Garrard 301 or 401.

A very high power version with 50 watt output is also available which uses KT88/6500 valves and was designed primarily to be used with EMT turntables.

The Disc drive is made to order and prices start from approximately £2,000 depending on application and specification, please contact us for an accurate quotation.


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