Analog Gear News

I would think Rega is Pro-ject's most significant competitor no?

The Pro-Ject table that my brother bought on my recommendation (the model I do not recall) is a very good deck, this is at the same price point with design advances, refinements and a better cart than the 2m red my brother’s table came with.

I routinely tell younger vinyl enthusiasts I’ve met at Record Store Day events,shows, etc that are shopping for a first deck that they are better off skipping the $209-$300 decks entirely and save for a few extra weeks to get to the $500 price point.

The Pro-Ject table that my brother bought on my recommendation (the model I do not recall) is a very good deck, this is at the same price point with design advances, refinements and a better cart than the 2m red my brother’s table came with.

I routinely tell younger vinyl enthusiasts I’ve met at Record Store Day events,shows, etc that are shopping for a first deck that they are better off skipping the $209-$300 decks entirely and save for a few extra weeks to get to the $500 price point.

If I’m not mistaken, on some previous models with the 78rpm pulley and the speed box you only needed to shift the belt into a different groove around the motor to reach 78rpm, and the speedbox would take care of the rest… now on this model you need to remove the platter and replace the belt entirely!

I am rather excited and crossing my fingers on this one, hoping it can perhaps at least tie the Planar 1 in some of these "best of" lists. (I probably won't hold my breath that Ian of the HyViNyws channel will give it an equal rating. He does love that Planar 1, which recently trounced the Fluance RT85 in his latest shootout.)

Nothing against the Planar 1, and the 110 arm is apparently so such the budget star that it trumps everything other players can offer- even with an AT3600 cartridge. But somehow the rest of the package just hasn't seemed that thrilling. And maybe the Carbon arm just isn't that good. But I got a Rainier for my son's original Carbon (did not like the Red sound at all) and think it sounds really, really good. If the 1 beats that sound... te salud, Don Corleone.

But the new platter looks great, along with the other nice upgrades. If they've corrected the motor noise & hum issues that have destroyed the reputation of the previous Carbons on the various forums, it should make the Evo the "no reservation" recommendation I've wished there were at the $500 price point.

At this price it's a choice between this and the Music Hall 2.3. Main difference other than supplied cart is VTA vs. electronic speed change.

The 2.3 has the older motor mounting setup and the lighter, ringier platter. Don't think the 2.2 or 2.3 have been bedeviled by the same hum or noise problems as the Carbon, however. I have a 2.2 and get some hum (can't hear it when music plays), though that could be for a number of reasons. But yeah, the tonearm mounting apparatus is much nicer on the MH.

When Music Direct was selling the remaining 2.2s for $299 for a fairly long period, I thought that was the easy no-brainer in the world of nice entry-level tables. That and a nicer cart could make a lot of reasonably normal people happy, I would think.

Have this a 6 weeks and I love it, mechanically quiet and dynamic sounding, I put a 2m Blue on it and a cork mat and its sweet sounding, was considering a Rega Planar 3 but decided on this, I wouldn't swap.

I always read with interest about high-value low cost audio options especially in the realm of something mechanical such as turntables. It seems most all in the past three decades have eschewed floating sub-chasis construction for some degree of rigid/non-rigid plinths on shock absorbing feet. My first TT was a Garrard and it had a sprung plinth. It wasn't too good but sounded OK with lesser costing medium complaince cartridges. The bar was really raised when I purchased a AR XA-1 TT from Illinois Audio for the even then astounding bargain of just under $80. I paired it with the best 95-ED (if memory serves) Shure cartridge and it was a real "ear-opener" to much better sound. I eventually found it worked with the best Shure a Mk V or something cartridge. I eventually went to a JVC direct drive with a AT Shibbata cartridge I felt was leaner and more neutral. But, I missed the supreme isolation the AR XA TT exhibited and in my mind I felt this was a wonderful type of construction only a few high-priced tables such as the LP-12 were keeping alive. So my question is why is no one trying to make a TT with a suspended sub-chasis at a real world-beating price...something inspired by the original AR?

Michael,

Promotional literature of Pro-ject for correct usage of the connect it E cable states to connect the marked side to the receiving end (phono stage or amplifier). The marked side is stated to be the side where the shield is connected. The marks are yellow tabs with a numeral 1 imprinted. I believe this is opposite to conventional advice to have the shield attached to the ground at the source end and open at the other end. There is a YouTube video titled "Setting Up Your Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo!" by
"Living Entertainment North Coast" that instructs to connect the marked end at the TT. However, a viewer comments that Pro-ject instruction is otherwise. The reply from
Living Entertainment North Coast is to say “this was a little filming slip up on our end!”. I don’t think that the video slipped up. Don’t you agree that the best advice is to have the shield grounded at the source end?