Pro-Ject Debut Pro turntable takes on under-$1000 competition
The $899 Debut Pro offers a wealth of features including electronic speed control, adjustable feet and a carbon fiber tonearm.
- Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
The Pro-Ject Debut Pro
Hi-fi manufacturer Pro-Ject is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a follow-up to its excellent Debut Evo turntable: the Debut Pro.
At a $899 retail price, it's plain to see the new Debut Pro is gunning for the Rega Planar 3's dominance of the under-$1000 landscape. The Pro-Ject even manages to outdo the Rega in several key areas, including adjustable feet!
The Pro features a new 8.6-inch, carbon fiber tonearm with a wrapped aluminum arm tube. The thick platter is also black-colored aluminum and, like the Debut Evo, features TPE damping underneath.
The turntable features a preinstalled Sumiko Rainer cartridge (a $149 value) and -- for the first time in a Debut model -- the tonearm height and azimuth are both adjustable.
The Debut Pro also includes a number of convenience features missing from the Rega Planar 3, including the height-adjustable metal feet and electronic speed selection. No more removing the platter to change to 45 rpm.
In its 30 years, Pro-Ject has proved to be one of a handful of companies that can deliver tremendous bang for buck. For example, the Debut Evo and T1 turntables are my favorite models under $500 and $400, respectively. I look forward to listening to the Project Debut Pro in the near future.
