Austrian hi-fi brand Pro-Ject turns 30 this year, and to celebrate the company has added a new member to its affordable Debut family of turntables, which retains the company's minimalist DNA but comes with some key enhancements for improved performance.
The Debut Pro features an 8.6-inch hybrid tonearm featuring aluminum inner tubing wrapped in a layer of carbon fiber, the former for damping and shielding and the latter for high stiffness while remaining lightweight.
The tonearm bearing is a fresh design, fashioned from a single block of aluminum and given a nickel finish to increase rigidity. Both azimuth and vertical tracking angle can be adjusted, as can the tonearm's height – to cater for differences in the thickness of turntable mats, and to accommodate various cartridges.
But Pro-Ject has designed a new Moving Magnet cartridge for the Debut Pro, in partnership with Ortofon. The shapely Pick It Pro is reckoned to offer "a more lively and robust sound and convinces with its big dynamic range."
The electronically controlled motor that drives the belt gripping the die-cast aluminum platter at 33/45/78 rpm is decoupled from the main body to ensure that vibrations don't get to the sensitive cartridge and spoil the listening party.
And that platter is home to a thermoplastic elastomer ring on the inside to offer even more damping, and to minimize wow and flutter (pitch variation). The turntable's hand-painted MDF chassis is also isolated from the surface it's sitting on via three height-adjustable, damped aluminum feet.
The Debut Pro goes on sale next month for a suggested retail price of €750 (about US$885), taking its place at the top spot in the range above last year's Debut Carbon Evo.
Product page: Debut Pro
