Feickert Firebird ORT-12LPSU Turntable Deluxe Package

And This Bird Can Sing: Dr. Feickert Firebird ORT-12LPSU  Deluxe Turntable Package Features Three Motors, Proprietary Speed Control, Ortofon AS-309R Tonearm, and Linear Power Supply

Let's get the obvious out of the way: The Dr. Feickert Firebird belt-drive turntable is massive – and intentionally high-mass. Huge even, by most standards, weighing 68.5 pounds and boasting a 6.25 x 22 x 18.11-inch plinth. It demands space in the same way it commands attention by way of its exacting design, painstaking engineering, immersive performance, and multifaceted functionality. As well as the fact this ORT-12LPSU deluxe package also comes loaded with a reference-grade 12-inch Ortofon AS-309R tonearm ($3,640 value), and a Feickert Next Generation Cartridge Alignment Tool ($399 value), Ortofon LH-4000 headshell ($114 value). Yeah, this baby soars.

Expressly created to effortlessly accommodate two tonearms up to 12 inches in length, Firebird touts three brushless, three-phase DC motors laid out in an equilateral triangle form and connected to a proprietary controller in a phase-locked loop that produces extremely low jitter. Even if you're unfamiliar with all the ins and outs of ‘tables, you likely realize such architecture is rare – and stands as one of the factors that makes Firebird extremely special.

Indeed, few, if any, other turntables allow installing, adjusting, and changing tonearms with more convenience and smarts than Firebird. Two cutouts, each in one rear corner of the plinth, invite you to set up the tonearm of your choice and use the easy quick-change sliding system to adjust your it with utmost precision. (A single armboard comes standard; the second requires a Delrin slider and additional armboard.) As for as the plinth itself: A tempered MDF body sandwiched by elegant aluminum plates, all resting on adjustable vibration-resistant feet, and warrantied for two years (chassis and electronics for five years). Rest assured: Firebird arrives built to last.

For further proof, look to its 13.2-pound High Inertia Delrin platter with eight MS58 brass inserts for exacting balance and added mass as well as its inverted stainless-steel bearing, appointed with spiral grooves to pump oil and an oil-release grub screw for enhanced motor/bearing interaction help account for wondrous smoothness, effortless balance, and truly breathtaking stability. The end result: Near-imperceptible rumble and majestic quiet, particularly in that the bearing permits excellent synchronization and that the triangular motor arrangement contributes to supreme stability. In addition, the absence of drafts on the platter bearing eliminates undesirable force and distortion.

When it comes to operation, this bird sings. One-touch speed selection for 33, 45, and 78RPM can be found directly on the plinth while "plus" and "minus" buttons let you further incrementally dial-in the speed. As for the sonics – smooth, lush, focused, poised, etch-free, neutral, and yet powerful and dynamic. Prepare to become addicted to your LPs. Or, as Michael Fremer reported in Stereophile: "The Firebird's sound gave me a sensation of gliding smoothness and a sophistication of leading-edge transients. It avoided rough, hard edges as well as over-smoothed transients, but it definitely leaned toward the latter. Tonally, the Firebird had a pleasing neutrality, and excelled in the midrange, which was particularly rich and full bodied. High- and low-frequency extension were very good," he enthused.

While not for every analog lover – please see the Dr. Feickert Blackbird, Woodpecker, or Volare if you don't require multi-12-inch tonearm-mounting capability – it offers future-proof and tweaker-centric fun in a package that aces sound, appearances, and functionality. 100% Music Direct Satisfaction Guaranteed.

"The Firebird has made it clear that if enough design attention is paid to the motors, pulley tolerances, mounting arrangement, controller, and interface between motors and platter, the problems of noise and jitter can be, if not completely solved, then reduced to near-irrelevance, leaving intact all of the benefits Dr. Feickert Analogue claims for the design. In fact, when I placed a stethoscope on the Firebird's plinth close to each of its motors, I heard near silence – and far less noise than I've heard from many single-motor designs I've 'scoped. Same with the Firebird's heavy, well-damped plinth."
– Michael Fremer, Stereophile

"The Firebird, with both arm/cartridge setups, imparted a solid feel to the music that was astonishing. This mattered the most when it came to imaging, when each piece of the musical puzzle was so carefully anchored to a specific location that it was eerily clear and tangible. Coupled with an unusually low noise floor, which the entire analog chain undoubtedly created as a whole, there was an extraordinary poise to the music."
– Marc Phillips, Part-Time Audiophile

"Via the Firebird, timbre is outstanding – smoother, sweeter, more complete, a big jump in credibility. I can readily distinguish the viola from the harp by their discrete placement and the enhanced body and weight of the harp. Its low notes make a bigger crescendo and have more punch than the viola."
– Marshall Nack, Positive Feedback

Ortofon AS-309R Tonearm
Hand-assembled with material chosen to minimize unwanted vibration and distortion, and to ensure crisp, clear, and accurate sound, the statically balanced AS-309 simplifies needle pressure adjustment by setting the weight and an easy-to-set anti-skating feature. This 12-inch tonearm is also built to fulfill Baerwald alignment, resulting in minimum tracking error. More than 130 components, hand-adjusted parameters, a 5-pol DIN socket, and Ortofon 6NX-TSW-1010 cabling complete this reference design.