The Dutch brand Takumi is back in force with a new turntable offering a clean design and remarkable audio performance at an unbeatable price.
TAKUMI TT LEVEL 2.1DC: Chassis
The various components of a turntable also generate their own vibrations, and this must be considered from the design stage. Vibrational waves travel all the way to the cartridge and stylus via the tonearm.
According to Newton’s third law, a force exerted by the stylus on the record produces an equal and opposite reaction. This means the record surface itself begins to vibrate. If a turntable is poorly designed—or not designed with this in mind—subtle musical nuances can be lost or distorted.
This is why, in the Takumi, every material and every connection has been carefully optimized.
Acrylic was chosen for its acoustic qualities. It handles vibrations in a balanced way. Unlike wood or metal, it does not vibrate directionally and does not store energy unevenly. It dissipates energy uniformly, which limits unwanted resonances and preserves a natural sound.
Acrylic does this extremely well. It stabilizes the entire structure, reduces parasitic noise, and allows the music to express itself clearly.
The acrylic plinth of the Takumi is precision CNC-machined. Every cut, every drilling, every thread is executed with very tight tolerances. This ensures that the motor, bearing, and tonearm are perfectly aligned—and remain so over time. Acrylic was chosen for its acoustic properties: it manages vibrations evenly, does not resonate directionally like wood or metal, and does not store energy in irregular patterns. It dissipates energy uniformly, limiting unwanted resonances and preserving a natural sound.
Acrylic stabilizes the turntable, reduces noise, and lets the music come through with clarity.
TAKUMI TT LEVEL 2.1DC: Drive System
The Takumi 2.1 DC uses a belt-drive system powered by a very quiet DC motor. Belt drive was chosen to reduce vibrations: the belt acts as a mechanical filter, blocking unwanted motor movements before they reach the platter. The motor is housed in a separate enclosure, decoupled from the main chassis. Inside, damping materials reduce residual vibrations. A cover shields the pulley to limit noise emissions. Together, these elements ensure extremely low mechanical noise.
The drive is paired with an intelligent speed controller that guarantees accurate and stable rotation and enables easy speed changes. The Takumi 2.1DC incorporates a sensor system that constantly monitors platter speed. A ring of neodymium magnets under the sub-platter works with a Hall sensor integrated into the base. They provide real-time feedback, allowing the controller to correct the speed instantly if needed.
Speed is managed by the SpeedPod, a compact and intuitive external unit. It allows easy switching between 33.33 and 45 RPM and offers fine adjustments in 0.01-RPM steps.
TAKUMI TT LEVEL 2.1DC: Platters
The sub-platter is machined from a solid block of aluminum, perfectly balanced. It is rigid, precise, and heavy enough to support the main platter without introducing resonance or wobble. It sits on a ceramic bearing. This material is extremely hard and smooth, offering very low friction and preventing micro-vibrations even after years of use. The spindle rotates within a brass bearing housing, a stable and durable material often used in precision mechanisms. Each bearing is hand-adjusted and lubricated with a specially formulated oil to ensure smooth and consistent operation.
To further reduce vibrations, key elements are isolated from one another. Rubber pads between the main acrylic platter and the sub-platter absorb micro-shocks. A rubber ring isolates the spindle (which centers the record) from the platter, preventing vibrations from reaching the vinyl.
Most platter mats create a barrier between the record and platter, allowing the vinyl to vibrate independently. This can amplify subtle resonances, color the sound, blur transients, and obscure fine detail.
With the Takumi, the record sits directly on the acrylic platter. Because acrylic has resonance properties similar to vinyl, it quickly absorbs micro-vibrations instead of reflecting them back into the stylus. In doing so, the mass of the platter is effectively added to that of the record, forming a single damped unit. This combination is then isolated from the sub-platter and spindle by carefully tuned rubber interfaces.
TAKUMI TT LEVEL 2.1DC: Tonearm
The tonearm is one of the most critical components of a turntable. It must be extremely rigid while remaining perfectly free in its movements. Any flexing, resonance, or unwanted friction directly affects sound quality. The Takumi 2.1 DC arm was engineered to avoid these issues through rigorous material selection and high-precision mechanics. The arm tube is made of thin-walled titanium, a material that combines great rigidity with very low mass, allowing the cartridge to track the groove accurately while efficiently channeling vibrations to the bearing.
The headshell is fixed, not removable. This design avoids intermediate electrical and mechanical contacts—such as connectors or additional solder joints—which can introduce signal loss, resistance, or micro-play. The result is a purer signal path and improved mechanical stability, yielding more precise stereo imaging and better channel separation.
The arm uses a gyroscopic pivot with preloaded radial bearings. These offer near-zero friction and no play, enabling the cartridge to move freely even on demanding records or fine groove modulations. The arm provides complete adjustability for optimal cartridge alignment.
The 120-cm phono cable is captive to the arm. It is directly soldered to the internal wiring without connectors or additional junctions. It is fully shielded and features a double-grounding system. High-quality conductors are used, optimized for low capacitance and low resistance to minimize electromagnetic interference and reduce the risk of hum.
The arm comes standard with an AT3600 cartridge, which has no legitimacy on a turntable of this caliber… In our view, this turntable should be considered as shipped without a cartridge! But the arm can accept nearly all MM and MC cartridges from €150 to €1000. Feel free to contact us for advice adapted to your needs and expectations.
TAKUMI 2.1 Turntable: Sound Performance
We tested it with an MM Ortofon 2M Blue and an Audio Technica AT33xEn .
This turntable has all the qualities of a high-end vinyl source. It delivers dynamic, expressive, and highly engaging playback.
With an excellent cartridge, it provides remarkable tonal accuracy and surprising rhythmic stability.
There is also an impressive sense of naturalness and neutrality. It produces a clear, realistic, and artifact-free sound across all musical genres.
The Takumi does not color the sound or try to make it prettier. It simply reads what is engraved in the groove with accuracy, rhythm, detail, and impressive scale. Quiet passages remain quiet, and loud passages strike with precision and control.
The Takumi LTT Level 2.1 DC offers outstanding performance and musical value for its price.
Highly recommended.
Franck
