The T+A 2000 R turntable is part of the prestigious R-series and is positioned by the company as a high-end turntable, equipped with a specially modified, high-end Clearaudio tonearm with a carbon fiber tube and an MC-2 moving coil cartridge. The turntable boasts a clean, minimalist design, based on the successful G 1260 R model, but with a number of significant improvements. The plinth, power supply, and some other components have remained largely unchanged over the course of its evolution, which is understandable given the solid, seamless design of its predecessor. T+A's plinths are entirely in-house developed, while tonearms and cartridges are always sourced from third-party companies, selected or custom-ordered based on the specific specifications and vision of the company's engineers.
Despite its compact dimensions, the turntable weighs 14 kg, a couple of kilograms heavier than its predecessor. The plinth has remained unchanged externally, but has grown slightly in size, hence the weight. It is made of MDF, with appropriate cavities cut out for the components and circuit boards. The exterior of the plinth is covered with aluminum plates. However, the cover is such that the tonearm is attached to both the MDF and aluminum layers, while the motor and bearing are not attached to the aluminum top plate.
The turntable is mounted on a stand using adjustable feet. These are not replaceable, but they won't be necessary—the turntable is more than adequately damped and is completely unfussy when positioned. Of course, this doesn't eliminate the need for proper alignment, including leveling.
The main bearing of the G 2000 R is non-inverted, massive, with a bronze bearing cup. A thick steel pulley is inserted into it, firmly attached to a metal sub-disc. Rotation from the motor is transmitted to the sub-disc via a flat belt. The main disc weighs 3.8 kg, and the motor is powerful enough to quickly accelerate.
The platter comes with a thick silicone mat, which, due to the design and the tonearm's unique features, is not replaceable. However, we'll leave the precision of its selection to the manufacturers—this turntable isn't designed to be modified in any way.
Speed selection (33.3 and 45 rpm) is controlled using buttons located on the turntable's front panel. A red or blue backlight around the buttons indicates that the speed has been reached and is stable. There's also a power switch on the front panel, but it's optional if the turntable is connected to an amplifier via the R2-Link control bus. It might seem like a small detail, but turntables rarely feature a control bus.
If you remove the bottom cover, you'll see the power supply board with a DSP module that ensures accurate rotation speed. It powers both the motor and the built-in phono preamplifier. The latter, if installed, is also visible under the cover. The turntable offers two optional phono preamplifiers: the PH-G R MM and the PH-G R MC (the abbreviations indicate that these are the MM and MC versions).
Both built-in phono preamplifiers are adjustable for different cartridges: the MM version adjusts gain and capacitance, while the MC version adjusts gain and impedance. There are numerous adjustments, more than you'd need for the MM cartridges that can be used on this turntable, for example. The switches for adjusting the phono preamplifier module are located at the bottom of the case. It's not very convenient, but in our case, the settings were preset at the factory, and there's no need to change them.
The T+AG 2000 R tonearms are non-replaceable, with two factory options available: a custom-made T+A cartridge from Rega (based on the Rega RB202) or a Clearaudio Satisfy Carbon tonearm. The former comes with a pre-installed Ortofon 2M Bronze MM cartridge, while the latter comes with a Clearaudio cartridge, which T+A has designated the MC-2. Judging by the latter's appearance and specifications, it is based on the Clearaudio MC Concept or MC Essence, the only difference being the MC-2's higher output voltage.
The Rega RB202 tonearm is extremely easy to set up, but it lacks height adjustment. Therefore, the choice of potential replacement cartridges is limited to the Ortofon M2, the original Rega cartridges, and a few others. Rega makes special height adjustment spacers for its tonearms. But in our case, they're not particularly relevant—unlike the basic tonearm with its integrated cable, the tonearm wiring on the T+AG 2000 R is soldered to a circuit board inside the turntable's body, and removing the tonearm without a soldering iron is impossible. So, this unit should be considered a complete, finished product that doesn't require any significant user intervention. Therefore, I didn't experiment with various options, but decided to explore the unit's unique character and how it fits into the T+A system.
The turntable comes with a fairly high-quality RCA-RCA interconnect cable, a power cord, a control bus cable, a bottle of bearing oil, a dust cover, documentation, and a cartridge alignment template. The basic version requires virtually no adjustment; assembly and connection take no more than 5 minutes, and the cartridge is already pre-installed at the factory.
The included accessories include a hefty clamp and an anti-static brush, which collects dust from the record during playback. I'm not entirely sure about the brush's usefulness (there's a cover included, which you should cover the turntable with), but the clamp always raises questions. I personally prefer to do without it, but you may prefer another option.
T+A G2000 R specs:
- Drive type belt
- Electric motor synchronous, quartz stabilization, DSP-correction of rotation speed
- Supported platter rotation speeds of 33.3 and 45 rpm
- Electronic speed switching yes Wow
and flutter coefficient ± 0.02% - Signal-to-noise ratio 82 dB
- Platter material aluminum
- Weight of platter 3.8 kg
- Silicone rubber mat included yes
- Turntable enclosure material MDF + aluminum
- Main bearing polished shaft made of hardened steel and copper bushing with tight tolerances
- (± 5 microns)
- Tonearm modified pivot tonearm Clearaudio, straight carbon tube, contactless anti-skating
- system
- Cartridge type MC
- Stylus MC-2, diamond, profile: Micro Line
- Output voltage 0.75 mV
- Channel separation at 1 kHz 30 dB
- Frequency response 20 Hz – 45 kHz (- 3 dB)
- Recommended load impedance 100 Ohm
- Dynamic compliance 9 µm/mN
- Recommended optimal tracking force 2 g
- Cartridge weight 8 g
- Figured acrylic dust cover yes
- Clamp for vinyl discs optional
- Power consumption 40 W, in standby mode: less than 0.5 W
- Dimensions (WxHxD) 460x160x380 mm
- Dimensions (body only, without tonearm) (WxHxD) 460x82x380 mm
- Weight 14 kg
