Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
Product Strengths
- Offers a tremendous amount in a small package, ranging from vacuum hold-down to an air-bearing platter
- Can accept virtually any tonearm thanks to an array of interchangeable armboards
- Delivers an extremely non-fatiguing presentation, one that makes one pull out album after album
- Fit and finish are dynamite, and the performance is as well
- Reveals layers of details and energy that one never knew existed in recordings
Product Considerations
- Lacks the clout of the Air Force One or the Continuum Caliburn, which affects ultimate bang and soundstage scale
- Setup is so precise that it needs someone who has the expertise and experience with TechDAS players
- Speed accuracy relies on careful positioning of the motor unit during setup
- Is not a plug-n-play device, but instead an extremely accurate instrument to play music
- Does not have suspension, so it has to be placed on a sturdy stand
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Lacks the clout of the Air Force I or the Continuum Caliburn, which affects ultimate bang and soundstage scale
- New PSU unit said by TechDAS to be 'almost equivalent to that of the Air Force One'
Takeaway: The Air Force III is a high-end turntable that provides a smooth, detailed, and engaging listening experience. It offers a lot of features in a smaller package compared to its higher-end siblings and at a significant discount.
What are hifi reviews useful for? (1) Identifying products you should demo in person at a dealer. (2) Learning which products reviewers unanimously praise as the best they've heard (this means they probably are legitimately great). (3) Identifying a product's attributes that satisfy your idiosyncratic needs and tastes. Beyond that, we often discount what reviewers say because they heap praise on most products—and are often apprehensive about publishing strong criticism or comparisons between products. Further, they seldom have more than a few products on-hand, often relying on their memories to compare past products. Always listen for yourself.
All
Air Force III
reviews
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An excellent review of a great product
/
Publisher
/
3/1/2022
An excellent review of a great product
Publisher
/
3/1/2022
Video Review
Manufacturer details
Features
Specifications
Main Body & Motor
- Drive System: Belt Drive with surface-polished polyurethane fiber flat belt
- Chassis: Precision aluminum castings, weight 21 kg
- Platter: Solid aluminum, weight 9 kg
- Motor Size: 188 mm (W) x 155 mm (D) x 140 mm (H)
- Motor Weight: 4.6 kg
Power Supply & Pump Unit
- Dimensions: 350 mm (W) x 270 mm (D) x 160 mm (H)
- Weight: 9 kg
Included Accessories
- Tonearm Base Wood x 1 (drilled for specified tonearm)
- AC Power Cable x 1 (180 cm length)
Optional Items & Accessories
- Additional Tonearm Base for Short (9/10 inch) and Long (12 inch)
- TechDAS Disc Stabilizer (highly recommended to use with Air Force III)
- TechDAS TDC01 MC Cartridge & TDC01 Ti MC Cartridge
Description
The Air Force III turntable is designed as a system with excellent performance and upgradability. It has been developed by extracting the essence of our reference model Air Force One, and reworking these aspects into a more compact and affordable design. It is a true audiophile product in it's own right.
“The Air Force III turntable is designed as a system with excellent performance and upgradability. It has been developed by extracting the essence of our reference model Air Force One, and reworking these aspects into a more compact and affordable design. It is a true audiophile product in it’s own right.”
Release Timeline
Manufacturer Site
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- TechDAS turntables employ air-bearing platters and vacuum record hold-down systems across their entire product line, even in their most affordable models.
- The brand's turntables often feature a multi-layered chassis construction utilizing a combination of different materials to minimize vibration and resonance.
- TechDAS emphasizes precise control of platter rotation, often employing sophisticated motor control systems with quartz oscillators and microcontrollers.
- They offer design their products as tool-like and highly customizable, accommodating up to four tonearms with a variety of armboard options.
Select products
Select product comparisons
Air Force V Premium
- Positioning: Entry-level model, designed for affordability and compactness.
- Description: Offers a compact design with integrated motor, making it ideal for smaller spaces. Features a dual platter system and a CNC machined aluminum chassis, providing a high signal-to-noise ratio similar to higher-end models. This model is suitable for those with a limited budget who still desire advanced air technologies and a solid build.
Air Force III Premium S
- Positioning: Mid-range model with enhanced vibration isolation.
- Description: Includes newly designed suspension feet for improved vibration isolation, making it suitable for varied environments. Features a heavy gunmetal platter and air bearing technology, offering a lower noise floor compared to the Air Force V Premium.
Air Force One Premium
- Positioning: High-end model with advanced air technologies.
- Description: Incorporates a heavy platter and advanced air suspension system, providing superior rotation accuracy and dynamic sound. Offers a choice of titanium or duralumin upper platter, setting it apart from the Air Force III Premium S.
Air Force Zero
- Positioning: Flagship model, designed as the ultimate reference turntable.
- Description: Features a colossal design with a 330 kg system and advanced motor technologies, delivering exceptional rotational precision. Its air suspension and multi-layer platter system provide a noise floor and soundstage unmatched by the Air Force One Premium.
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Avg. Product Price
$30,001-$40,000
Used For Sale
4
Available (Scroll Down)
Brand Popularity
253
of 900+
Badges
Top 50 Brand
Top 250 Brand
Products Listed
15
Founding Year
2010
Our take on the brand
TechDAS is a premium turntable brand that uses rare air bearing and vacuum hold-down technologies, designed by former Micro Seiki engineer Hideaki Nishikawa. Their Air Force series turntables combine high-mass chassis with advanced air suspension systems to minimize vibrations, while their vacuum hold-down system reduces record warping for better sound quality.
Look inside the brand
Brand Page
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
From our interview with
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Brand Page
Used
TechDAS
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What if you spend more?
J.Sikora
Reference Line
48000
48000
/
3
Reviews
J.Sikora stands out for being the only hifi brand to use Kevlar in their tonearm tubes, combining this unique material choice with a unipivot bearing design for optimal sound performance. Their tonearms feature a distinctive VTA adjustment mechanism modeled after a photographic lens, allowing precise adjustments during playback, while incorporating a mix of aluminum, bronze, and brass to enhance sound quality.
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Our summary
Product Strengths
- Exceptionally well-made with a 'boutique' manufacturer quality matching best mass-loaders
- Operates with an extremely low noise floor, and is ultra-quiet
- Offers a stable and precise sound reproduction, extracting maximum information from recordings
- Presents powerful and distinct treble and bass, with no roll-off, rounding or softening
- Delivers a large-scale, rich, smooth, precise, and energetic performance with impressive dynamics
Product Considerations
- The loose and sloppy interface between the disc and the threaded stub was criticized
- The Reference doesn't have the same grandeur—the sheer sweep that more expensive turntables deliver
- Opinions were strongly polarized, and nobody was left unmoved by this turntable's aesthetics
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The reference turntable built on the Standard's strengths to offer a much more formidable sonic presentation
- These two offer similar tonal balance, similar way of sound articulation, but the Reference delivers even deeper bass and renders larger phantom images, while the Air Force Two seemed more resolving
Takeaway: The J.Sikora Reference is a top-tier turntable offering stable, precise, and energetic sound, making it a great choice for audiophiles who value extracting maximum detail from their vinyl collection. Its exceptional build quality and performance make it a standout product in the high-end audio market
Video review
Our take on the brand
J.Sikora stands out for being the only hifi brand to use Kevlar in their tonearm tubes, combining this unique material choice with a unipivot bearing design for optimal sound performance. Their tonearms feature a distinctive VTA adjustment mechanism modeled after a photographic lens, allowing precise adjustments during playback, while incorporating a mix of aluminum, bronze, and brass to enhance sound quality.
Product Page
Product Page
VPI
Titan Direct
60000
60000
/
1
Reviews
VPI is known for its high-end, American-made turntables. They stand out for their use of 3D printing in tonearm design, creating one-piece structures that enhance sound quality, and their unique unipivot tonearm design that balances on a single point for precise sound reproduction.
Expand Details
Our summary
Product Strengths
- Accurate and precise reproduction allows for hours of non-stop playing
- Combines the strengths of both solid high mass tables and suspension tables, without sharing any of the weaknesses
- Soundstage and solidity of 3-D images is exceptional
- Offers chameleon-like flexibility, allowing for different tonalities depending on tonearm, cartridge, and drive mechanism combinations
- Equipped with one of the best speed controllers, the VPI ADS, resulting in very low Wow & Flutter measurements
Product Considerations
- The reviewer experimented with different configurations to find the most suitable one for their music
- Changing over to the Belt Drive requires disassembling the top platter
- Careful attention must be paid to ensure proper tension on the three rubber belts in the Belt Drive
- Overall tonality is richer and warmer sounding end of the spectrum than neutral, which may not be for everyone
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Titan has a different design implementation and material quality with a much larger magnet than JC Verdier La Platine and DaVinci Audio's Gabriel turntable & Clearaudio's Master Innovation, increasing speed stability
- Titan sits firmly on a frame with a much wider footprint than JC Verdier, providing far superior stability
- Titan achieves the same open and airy harp sounds as Oracle V with a much quieter background
- Titan's midrange tonality of the mass strings is as rich—as warm and as textured as Nottingham 294 and TW-Acustic Raven AC (with Black Knight Platter)
- The Titan blossoms in the mid-range regardless of the tonearm, cartridge combination of choice, unlike the VPI HR-X which can be brighter than neutral
Takeaway: The VPI Titan turntable offers incredibly realistic sound reproduction with flexibility in sound based on configuration, offering a satisfying listening experience. This turntable is for serious audiophiles looking for top-of-the-line analog equipment.
Video review
Our take on the brand
VPI is known for its high-end, American-made turntables. They stand out for their use of 3D printing in tonearm design, creating one-piece structures that enhance sound quality, and their unique unipivot tonearm design that balances on a single point for precise sound reproduction.
Product Page
Product Page
What competes at this price?
VPI
Avenger Direct
36000
/
Released
2022
Based on our known design of the Avenger Tripod Chassis, the Avenger Direct takes our Direct Drive technology and marries it with our Avenger Series. The Avenger design has always been known as a "sandbox" type of design giving the owner the ability to mount up to 3 arms at any length or manufacturer model.
VPI is known for its high-end, American-made turntables. They stand out for their use of 3D printing in tonearm design, creating one-piece structures that enhance sound quality, and their unique unipivot tonearm design that balances on a single point for precise sound reproduction.
Expand Details
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Exceptional build quality and design, utilizing materials like acrylic, stainless steel, and aluminum, contribute to an inert structure
- The direct drive motor ensures accurate speed control, with feedback loops monitoring platter rotation
- Designed with three support posts, the Avenger Direct can accommodate up to three tonearms of various sizes and from different manufacturers
- A 3-point isolation system with adjustable feet provides excellent isolation from external vibrations in both vertical and horizontal axes
- Despite its high-end nature, the Avenger Direct is easy to set up and operate
Product Considerations
- The Avenger Direct is a significant investment, placing it in 'turntable grail territory'
- With a single tonearm arrangement, the tonearm feels further to the back of the deck than one might get from a larger chassis
- The Avenger Direct's sonic characteristics may benefit from careful cartridge selection
Takeaway: The VPI Avenger Direct is a top-tier turntable offering exceptional build quality, precise speed control, and versatile tonearm options. Its robust engineering and ease of use provide a rewarding listening experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
VPI is known for its high-end, American-made turntables. They stand out for their use of 3D printing in tonearm design, creating one-piece structures that enhance sound quality, and their unique unipivot tonearm design that balances on a single point for precise sound reproduction.
Product Page
Product Page
Linn
Klimax LP12
30970
/
Released
2021
With Klimax LP12, you'll experience your favourite albums – both cherished classics and those freshly unwrapped – as if it were for the first time. The latest iteration of our reference turntable, Klimax LP12, produces an even more musical, pitch-perfect performance. This is thanks to our latest, hyper-accurate speed management technology, whisper-quiet power supply, and cutting-edge motor design; and also to the level of fidelity achieved following our team's extensive experiments in material science – culminating in the breakthrough that is our all-new flagship cartridge.
Linn is a hifi brand known for its modular designs, particularly the Sondek LP12 turntable where users can upgrade virtually every component over time to maintain performance across decades. The brand stands out for developing its own technologies in-house, including the Organik DAC with FPGA processing and Space Optimisation, which models room acoustics without needing microphone measurements.
Expand Details
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Capable of an informative, dynamic and exciting presentation
- Sensational dynamics and surefooted with rhythms
- Excellent build and finish with carefully honed engineering
- Lowest noise floor of any vinyl setup
- Delivers a sound of huge scale and power
Product Considerations
- Expensive
- Installation requires a certified, trained LP12 specialist
- Some may find the presentation tonally lean
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Clearaudio Innovation Wood/Luxman EQ-500: Klimax lacks natural warmth and spaciousness, preferring a more forward presentation, but renders the sound with more precision and agility
- Vs LP12 Akurate: The Linn LP12 Klimax has even lower noise floor
- Vs LP12 Majik: The Linn LP12 Klimax is very unique, smooth, more lively and more appealing with deep bass and extreme high-end air
Takeaway: The Klimax LP12 is a top-tier turntable delivering exceptional sonic performance and a very enjoyable listening experience. It represents the pinnacle of Linn's turntable technology.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Linn is a hifi brand known for its modular designs, particularly the Sondek LP12 turntable where users can upgrade virtually every component over time to maintain performance across decades. The brand stands out for developing its own technologies in-house, including the Organik DAC with FPGA processing and Space Optimisation, which models room acoustics without needing microphone measurements.
Product Page
Product Page
J.Sikora
Standard Max Supreme
32796
/
Released
2024
The J.Sikora company celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. On this occasion, we have prepared a special product line for the anniversary year. In 2009, the founder, Janusz Sikora, completed the design of his first turntable. It was the progenitor of the current Standard Max model.
J.Sikora stands out for being the only hifi brand to use Kevlar in their tonearm tubes, combining this unique material choice with a unipivot bearing design for optimal sound performance. Their tonearms feature a distinctive VTA adjustment mechanism modeled after a photographic lens, allowing precise adjustments during playback, while incorporating a mix of aluminum, bronze, and brass to enhance sound quality.
Expand Details
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- The J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme 15th Anniversary turntable brings music in an unbelievably 'laid back' way
- It delivers a precise, open, very resolving treble
- The turntable suppresses pops & cracks and other distortion
- The sound is velvety, deep and almost warm
Product Considerations
- The bass is somewhat soft
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs TechDAS Air Force One—the Standard Max Supreme plays with less freedom and three-dimensionality
- Vs SME 20/3A—the Standard Max Supreme is less precise and open
- Vs Rega Naia—the Standard Max Supreme is not as effortlessly playing
- Vs Kuzma Stabi XL—the Standard Max Supreme has a deepening of the sound that is comparable
Takeaway: The J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme 15th Anniversary turntable is a top hifi product that offers a quiet and natural sound, allowing one to focus on the music. It is designed to work well with all types of records, regardless of their condition.
Video review
Our take on the brand
J.Sikora stands out for being the only hifi brand to use Kevlar in their tonearm tubes, combining this unique material choice with a unipivot bearing design for optimal sound performance. Their tonearms feature a distinctive VTA adjustment mechanism modeled after a photographic lens, allowing precise adjustments during playback, while incorporating a mix of aluminum, bronze, and brass to enhance sound quality.
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Product Page
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