With Record Store Day looming large in the UK, here is a timely review of the Rekkord F400 automatic turntable. The F400 is one of the four automatic turntables hand-made by Rekkord in St. Georgen in the Black Forest of Germany, there are two other manual turntables.
These turntables hail from the old Dual turntable factory, improved, but retaining the characteristic suspended sub-chassis of those classic Dual turntables in the 70s.
Design
The Rekkord F400 is an automatic suspended sub-chassis turntable with an ultra-lightweight tonearm design allowing massless tracking adjustments. The turntables are belt-driven and the entire mechanical system is suspended, thereby decoupled from the single-piece MDF plinth. The solid aluminium platter is chunky and has a damping ring on the inside, “that helps to dampen all resonances and minimizes wow and flutter”.
The F400 is fitted with the Ortofon 2M Red moving magnet cartridge mounted on a carbon fibre-reinforced headshell. This headshell is pre-aligned with the lightweight aluminium tonearm.
Being automatic, the turntable has a speed adjustment and a start-stop switch on the side. There is a 78rpm switch if needed. If you choose, you can select the speed and manually cue up your record with the tonearm lever.
Quality
The Rekkord F400 has a solid feel to it, despite being 6.3kg. I have the Makassar wood veneer that is a delight to look at with the real wood feel. The unit comes with everything you need including a dust cover and the required cables including a power transformer, there is also a ‘singles’ adaptor, which is very useful. The feet offer isolation from my plinth but do not seem to offer leveling.
The dimensions (WxHxD) are 430 x 130 x 365 mm. The F400 is available in satin black, high gloss black, and cherry or Makassar real wood veneers.
The entry-level F100 automatic turntable (without the floating sub-chassis) is £329 incl. VAT, the F110 (with the floating sub-chassis) is £399, the F300 with the Audio Technica AT3600L pre-adjusted MM cartridge is £549 and the F400 (with the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge) is between £699 and £849 depending on the finish. There are two manual turntables available too.
Distribution details are here. The full specification is here.
Performance
Review Equipment
I have the Rekkord F400 with the Naim Audio New Classic NSC 222 preamplifier with the associated NPX 300 power supply. I’m using my own Moor Amps Angel power amplifier driving the Kudos Titan 505 loudspeakers. I have Atlas Mavros loudspeaker cables with Grun. This amplification is slightly over the top, but the Rekkord is doing a great job. I’d have preferred a removable RCA connection as the fitted cable is a fraction tight to the NSC 222 despite my best efforts; additionally, the RCA connectors are not befitting the quality on offer here from this turntable.
Setup
The instructions are a bit thin, it must be said. However, simplicity is the key here, setting up the F400 out of the box was a breeze, find your location, remove the two bright red transport locks to release the sub-chassis, fit the platter and affix the counterweight so it balances the tonearm. I checked and adjusted the tracking force with the dial on the base of the tonearm; I got it to 1.8g using an electronic gauge which is quite close to the recommended 1.75g for the Red 2M cartridge. The anti-skating setting at the base of the arm pivot could not be simpler, I just followed the table in the slightly dodgy instructions.
Sound Quality
… it is fantastically uncomplicated
First up is my exhausted copy of Gold, by Ryan Adams (2001, Lost Highway). All I need to do is hit start (I’m on 33), sit back and relax. The detail is still there and with this Moor Amplifier driving the 505s, I’m in my audiophile heaven. The familiar pace and rhythm are there and with four sides to play a good hour and a bit slips by, perfect. I noted how simple the process was of just flipping the vinyl over, pushing the start and you’re back into it, it is fantastically uncomplicated.
The cueing process is extremely smooth, soft and accurate, I’ve had no bother at all from this mechanism, there is enough delay in the automatic cueing to lightly sweep the vinyl as shown here.
The Ortofon cartridge is extremely crispy and revealing and there are no complaints from me in this performance, I’m using the MM input in the Naim 222 preamplifier which is perfectly fine, it is a very enjoyable experience, there is nothing else going on or getting in the way.
Looking for bass extension I turn to Arooj Aftab’s album Vulture Prince (2022, New Amsterdam Records) and the track Last Night. Here the double bass laments beautifully and the bass extension is clean halfway through the track, the Moor doing most of the heavy lifting here. The detail in the snare drum is also very clean in this intricate track.
There is only one wrinkle which is that if you want to play a 12” record, I only have two here (45rpm), simply switching the speed to 45rpm and hitting start puts the cartridge in the middle of the record where a 45rpm single should be. This is no bother, adjust the speed and lift the tonearm manually and everything is fine.
On concluding a side of vinyl, the F400 returns the tonearm to home and switches off. I’m certainly going to be moving this review sample to the main lounge from my listening room and I can happily play late-night records, with a glass of wine maybe, until late in the evening knowing it will all turn itself off should I nod off, unlike my existing arrangement.
Overall
…Rekkord F400 offers an uncomplicated vinyl record presentation without compromise, its reliability and simplicity are the key elements…
The Rekkord F400 offers an uncomplicated vinyl record presentation without compromise, its reliability and simplicity are the key elements, and the overall performance at this competitive price point is outstanding in anyone’s book.
I am just left wondering why automatic turntables are so maligned, I love this experience, there is no loss of fidelity with this turntable.
Automatic start
Automatic end
Simple setup
Performance
Like
Solid build
Suspended Chassis
12” records were accounted for
Upgradable RCA cables
Specification
Full details are on the company’s site.