Munich 2015

Among the new Pro-Ject turntables is this homely looking one in black. Also available in white. It is a variant of the budget priced Elemental.

Pro-Ject founder Heinz Lichtenegger showed me the new Primary turntable. It uses the Elemental's arm but in a more traditional square chassis. The 'table includes an Orotfon OM series cartridge and a fixed counterweight. In other words, the arm is wedded to the cartridge, though you could probably upgrade the replaceable stylus to one higher up in the OM series.

The price has not yet been determined—at least in America—but it will have to be around $200.

This 'table is Pro-Ject coming full circle. If you don't know the company's origins, it began with a homely-looking black turntable Mr. Lichtenegger encountered in an eastern bloc store after the fall of the Soviet Union, which coincided with the fall of vinyl—or some many thought.

Heinz was at the time a distributor of many fine audio products in Vienna and like many of us always believed that vinyl was a great way to listen to music and a format that would not die.

So he visited the factory where the homely black turntable was manufactured. It was a typical Soviet style facility that also manufactured during the U.S.S.R.'s heyday refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and other appliances.

Those factory sectors had closed and were abandoned, but over in a dark factory corner the little turntable was still being manufactured because digital was late in coming to the U.S.S.R. Hell, M.I.G. fighters still use vacuum tubes!

So Heinz, a true vinyl believer bought the factory—like Victor Kiam bought the Remington electric razor company after he first shaved with one (a reader claims Heinz did not buy, but leases. We'll check into this and correct if necessary). Twenty plus years later and now that factory has expanded and Pro-Ject is a turntable powerhouse selling well over 100,000 turntables last year and expanding as well into electronics.

It's an amazing success story that began with a homely little black turntable like this one. You've got to love it—the story and the turntable.

Meanwhile Heinz told me in confidence another amazing tidbit that will be revealed on analogplanet as soon as possible and you will love it!