Pro-Ject – Debut Carbon DC (Black)
The original Pro-Ject Debut was released in the late 1990’s during a time when CD was king, and the vinyl format was presumed to be all but gone. But nearly two decades (and a few incarnations) later the model still stands, and it deserves a key accreditation in the ongoing success of a rejuvenated vinyl and budget turntable market. The Debut symbolises all that is good about vinyl; it is beautiful to behold and fantastic to listen to, with the right mixture of user-friendliness and opportunity to tweak and upgrade.
Introduced at the beginning of 2012, the Debut Carbon expanded on the Debut III in a variety of ways, but most notably with its one-piece 8.6″ carbon fibre tonearm. Using a carbon fibre tonearm at this level is almost unheard of, and allows the newest Debut to outperform all of its competitiors. The stiff yet lightweight tonearm provides the perfect properties for the pre-installed Ortofon 2M Red cartridge to sing at its fullest potential.
Premium Cartridge included
Pre-installed Ortofon 2M Red for audiophile vinyl enjoyment
Stunning carbon fibre arm
An 8.6″ one-piece carbon fibre tonearm, adding stiffness and reducing resonance around the pick-up cartridge
The agony of choice
The DEBUT CARBON DC is offered in high-gloss black, shiny red, green, blue, yellow, silver, purple, white or as walnut mat
Dust cover included
Cover to protect your Debut Carbon from dust
Technical data:
Speed: 33.45 (manual speed change)
Drive principle: belt drive
Platter: 300mm metal with felt mat
Mains bearing: stainless steel
Wow & flutter: 33: +/- 0.60%, 45: +/- 0.70%
Speed drift: 33: +/- 0.19%, 45: +/- 0.17%
Signal to noise: 68dB
Tonearm: 8.6”, Carbon
Effective arm length: 218.5 mm
Effective arm mass: 6.0 g
Tracking force: 10 – 30mN
Power connection: 110/120 or 230/240 Volt – 50 or 60 Hz
Included accessories: 15 volts DC /0.8A power supply, dust cover
Dimensions: 415 x 118 x 320mm (WxHxD) lid closed
Weight: 5.6 kg net
| Dimensions: | 32 x 41.5 x 11.8 cm; 5.6 Kilograms |
| Model: | 9120050435933 |
| Manufacture: | PROJECT |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
You will be pleased. I consider it entry-level top end. I added the acrylic platter, a nice spindle weight and upgraded to the 2M blue cart. I am happy and content.
The turntable looks, feels and sounds amazing. It is crystal clear and has a great feel and dynamic sound. Music feels alive and clear without sounding harsh to the ears. I will keep this TT for years to come. Thanks Pro-ject. Thanks Amazon.
Prodotto validissimo, ha soddisfatto totalmente le mie aspettative e meritato il titolo di “best buy”. Minimalista e semplicemente elegante, bello. Si affianca, nel mio front end ad un Technics SL2000 che pure, dopo 41 anni, continua a fare il suo dovere. Apprezzatissima la comunicazione con Facethesound che mi ha supportato risolvendo dei dubbi in fase di installazione (semplice!). Consigliatissimo!… 🙂
Very sharp looking, upgraded the platter to acrylic. Great sound.
Included Ortofon 2M Red cartridge sounds great, and the build quality appears to be excellent. Tone arm, counterweights, belt, and platter all seem to be high quality. Be sure to buy a separate phono preamp and then amp.
Installation instructions were less than acceptable. Belt was not attached (belt drive turntable) but no instructions on installation were provided.
Got this for my dad for Christmas and he absolutely loves it and so do we. It’s been a lot of fun listening to albums and enjoying the quality of the sound. We haven’t had any problems with it so fa
Good looking on my credenza, zero noise and hum, works as advertised, set-up OK for an old guy with some mechanical skill left. I wish it was automatic with USB, but I still love it and its beautiful sound, coming from it, my Klipsch towers, 12″ subwoofer, and 170 watts per channel Onkyo 7.2.
After listening for a few weeks I am totally impressed. I used to own a Thorens TD160 with AT moving coil cartridge. This setup is better. For the $ it’s excellent.
I bought this for my brother and he is ecstatic about it! We had previously bought a lesser quality turntable and he noticed some noise bothering the high-end part of the sound spectrum as well as not receiving the sound profile he has previously experienced from turntables of friends of his. With this one, from the get go (and using an auxiliary port to an old Sony stereo with its speakers) he could richly appreciate the different sounds and instruments on the records he was previously hearing with his old turntable. Definitely worth the price (and, if you can pony up the extra money, the Debut Carbon Esprit SB should also be worth it), and he is extremely happy with the upgrade. The quality of the build is superb, the motor runs smoothly and the carbon fiber arm is a sight to see. Calibrating took some getting used to, but the end result definitely pays off. Oh, and it comes with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, itself worth at least $100, so you know you are getting a great deal.
My first decent turntable, after years of cheap rubbish. It does not disappoint, fantastic product.
Replaced a faithful Technics that had worn out. 20 years of progress in turntable technology and I was seriously impressed. I played well worn records and a brand new box set and it was all good. You can hear everything. The product arrived on time and exactly as advertised. A great purchase.
Amazing turntable for someone who wants an entry level yet “high end” turntable. The sound is rich, and the quality is amazing.
I had an Audio-Technica LP120 which is a good robust turntable. However, for $100 more, the Debut Carbon blows the LP120 out of the water. The only downside is that you need a separate pre-amp in order to connect it to your speakers… You can pick up a decent pre amp for +/-$50. Thats worth it if you want a great sounding turntable in my opinion.
You can’t beat the price for what you get (everyone loves carbon fiber!)
Upon assembly, refer to the hundreds of youtube tutorials as it much easier to see someone doing it vs. reading the manual.
Very happy with the quality of this product, great instructions and performs better than expected
If you want to get into vinyl do yourself a favor and buy this unit. There is literally no better starting place for no better price. Trust. It’s a non issue. No argument. The set up is so easy you will be left listening to music within minutes and wondering whats left to do. I tried the cheap guys, Stanton, Audio Technica, I tried and restored an old Technics 1700 from the pawn shop and this made me realize the significant amount of money I wasted just to get to this point. If you absolutely can’t pony up the extra $100 for this then settle for the other guys I guess. Good luck! Hope this helps your endeavors as you wade through the significant amount of bs and find a unit that works for you.
This is a very basic high quality turntable for the money. A great value. I had not had a turntable in my audio system for 20 years. It is great to hear those old records again. The turn table is rock solid. I have a 1500 watt Crown amp driving a JBL 18″ pro sub and there is no feedback at high levels. The seller was excellent. Very good communication including follow-up and fast shipping. I would highly recommend this turn table and the seller.
Had a Pro-ject for over 10 years so decided to upgrade to a newer version. Sound is a step up.
This is an award winning turntable / tonearm with the Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge, worth around 100 on its own, The whole package works very well together and worth the extra cost to clear the entry level decks. Disadvantages include the anti skate weight which can be fiddly along with the supplied felt mat which tends to lift up with your records. The mat is easily remedied by picking up a thin (1.5mm) cork turntable mat from Amazon (<10). The other foible is changing between 33 & 45 rpm involves moving the belt between pulleys, but is easy enough to get used to. If you feel like you want to improve on the sound there is scope to change the cartridge over to moving coil. I tried a SOMIKO Bluepoint II high output MC and got great results, far nicer than most CD players. It's not worth pushing too hard though because with greater resolution you will approach the practical limit of this deck with regards to "rumble" off the bearings and motor. Although the rumble is well within acceptable limits it is why I'll be upgrading to a better deck as funds allow, however, I'll need be over 4 figures to make a worthwhile difference!. All in all this is a fine budget deck that hasn't given me any trouble and is capable of resolving Hi-Fi detail from your vinyl. Recommended !
Ansonsten kann ich nur Sagen, dass man fr den Preis einen soliden und gut spielenden dreher bekommt, und auch das mitgelieferte Kabel ist sehr gut! Der Spieler ist auch sehr gut von Trittschall und Resonanzen isoliert! Wer einen Spieler sucht, der sehr gut klingt und auf Automatik usw. verzichten kann, dem kann ich das Gert nur wrmstens Empfehlen!
Ottimo prodotto selezionato dopo diverse ore passate a leggere vari forum , e devo dire che i consigli degli esperti sono stati molto utili per uno come me che aveva le idee molto confuse.
Il giradischi completamente manuale , ma ho imparato che questo pu essere anche sinonimo di qualit.
pesante , dunque le vibrazioni che arrivano alla puntina sono nulle.
Di facile installazione , anche se per non sbagliare mi sono guardato un tutorial in Italiano su YouTube .
Il piatto esteticamente molto elegante e grazie alla puntina Ortofon 2 M suona molto bene
L’unica cosa da migliorare su questo prodotto sono le istruzioni , davvero poco chiare.
I’m posting this review for anyone changing to a lighter cartridge than the Ortofon 2M, in my case a Denon DL110.
Firstly, which I expected, you need to change the standard steel platter for the Acrylic IT as the cartridge is attracted
to the steel.
Secondly, which I didn’t expect, the arm balances out at 0gm but if you dial on 2gm tracking weight, the arm actually only adds 1gm!
This is because the screw thread at the back of the arm only goes a certain distance towards the bearing assembly then just turns without
getting closer. I realised this after tracking issues and distortion on records, so I bought a stylus guage and discovered the above (showed 0.97gm).
This can be solved by including a weight on the headshell (Denon do) but I’ve turned the counterweight round (it screws on further) and simply setting tracking force with the stylus guage. (A lighter counterweight is available but is 19.) Now no distortion issues and great sound quality, definitely better than 2M. Hope this helps.
Amazing sound! Great TT for those who need better and clearer sound… Delivery was ultrafast and well packed. Thank you!
Absolutely get this. Dont even think about it. Ortofon red alone is a selling point.
I’m happy with my decision to choose Pro-Ject DC as my first turntable, easy to set-up. Connected to Schiit Mani Phono stage, Solid sate amp and Spendor 3/5 delivered nice sound. Tried spin Diana Krall and Eva Cassidy records,the Ortofon 2M Red (came as standard cartridge) do the job very well.
Next step probably, replace with Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge
Recommended turntable under $500
IL prodotto conforme alle mie aspettative ed alle descrizioni, nessuno problema con imballo o trasporto.Ottimo rapporto qualit prezzo. Belle finiture .
Love this turntable! The first I purchased and was easy to set up. The cartridge is definitely high quality and you can hear every detail of the music.
Great turntable with easy to understand instructions on how to set up. Took about 15 minutes and it was ready to use.
so glad to have vinyl again! this is great entry level turntable. easy to setup, comes with a good cartridge.
Had been using an early 90’s Kenwood and upgraded to the Debut Carbon and what a difference. Amazing improvement in sound quality. Was easy to set up and the fit and finish was impressive. It looks and sounds like I spent big money. I looked high and low before I chose the DC and very happy with the product.
Ottimo giradischi che accoppiato al mio YAMAHA RX-V663 fa il suo dovere. Semplice da assemblare con qualche accorgimento per la taratura; consiglio di guardare qualche video su youtube.
Consigliatissimo!
Looks great. Works great. Classic and a touch of modern minimalist styling at the same time.
Awesome. The detail is superior to CD and the nostalgia of playing vinyl is a throwback to the 70s. There are more expensive turntables on the market but nothing beats the stripped back simplicity and it also looks good.
Da ich mit DJ und scratchen nichts am Hut habe, ging die Entscheidung in Richtung weniger Firlefanz – mehr Qualitt. Es wurde dann der Pro-Ject Debut Carbon.
Nach einigen Wochen Benutzung bin ich noch immer von dem Gert begeistert – insbesondere fr den Preis von ca. 400 EUR. Von Anfang an gab es keinerlei Probleme mit Antriebsgeruschen (ja, unter Kopfhrer bei pianissimo possibile auf hoher Verstrkerstufe kann man was hren; ist aber lcherlich zu kritisieren), keinerlei Netzbrummen und der Tonarm scheint sehr gut vor-justiert zu sein. Beim Einrichten des Spielers muss man selbst nur noch das Tonarmgewicht anbringen und einstellen. Das geht zwar ganz ohne Hilfsmittel, wie in der beiliegenden Anleitung beschrieben, allerdings drfte man mit einer Tonarmwaage genauer sein. Da gibt es hier ja ausreichend genaue Modelle fr 10..20 EUR.
Das Klangbild ist natrlich nicht so offen und klar, wie bei einem Spieler > 1000 EUR, aber fr meine Ohren gut differenziert, aber immer noch dicht. Die Bsse kommen sehr gut rber und verzerrt ist auch nix, weder am Anfang, noch am Ende der Platten.
Einzig die hhere statische Aufladung der Platten beim Abspielen, verglichen mit meinem alten Technics 1210, ist etwas nervig (ja, Platten wurden vorher gewaschen). Mit einer anderen Auflage als dem mitgeliefertem Filz lsst sich das stark vermindern, allerdings wird dann schnell der Klang deutlich dumpfer. Ich werde mir wohl bald den Acrylteller von Pro-Ject als kleinen Upgrade holen.
Fazit: Fr 400 EUR bekommt man einen ausgezeichneten Einstieg in die Welt der guten Plattenspieler, mit einigen Upgrades wie Plattenteller und dem Ortofon 2M Blue kann man den auch noch weiter aufwerten.
Ora parliamo del al prodotto.
Il giradischi in questione ottimo senza ombra di dubbio, montaggio semplice di poche parti. Il perno principale del piatto ha un buon accoppiamento preciso con il supporto ed era gi lubrificato, consiglio tuttavia di ispezionarlo con buona frequenza in modo che non giri mai a secco.
Il motore non ha rumore di fondo e si avvia lentamente senza strattonare.
La testina era allineata correttamente, l azimut invece era leggermente da correggere in perpendicolarit ma parliamo di poca cosa. Il peso sulla puntina l ho regolato senza problemi controllato poi con una bilancia digitale. 1,80g per me sono stati l ottimale.
Sono molto contento della testina.
Il primo ascolto vero e proprio l ho fatto su un disco che conosco molto bene e il suono era corretto in ogni parte.
Ho successivamente passato un disco prova con le frequeze campionate, timbrica e risposta sono corrette come gi pensavo al primo ascolto.
l amplificatore che ho usato un pushpull.
Il cavo RCA fornitomi un bel cavo segnale twistato e placcato ai terminali.
I chose this turntable after reading a review from The Sweethome. We love this turntable – very high quality, great sound and sleek look.
Great turntable for the price.good sounding, nice sound stage. Simple set-up.
La regolazione della testina richiede un p di pazienza per chi come me alle prime armi.
Comunque prodotto consigliatissimo.
Fantastico un suono che non sentivo da tanto tempo caldo e preciso. Ho potuto riascoltare i miei vecchi lp dopo tanti anni come fossero nuovi. Montaggio molto semplice
Die Nadel war zunchst samt Schutzkappe am Tonarm befestigt, wurde von mir aber irrtmlich entfernt da die Schutzkappe der Nadel zur Justierung des Gegengewichts entfernt werden muss. Kannn aber ohne Schwierigkeiten wieder auf den Arm gesetzt werden.
Als “Neuling” bei moderneren Plattenspielern war mir erst nicht bewusst, dass die Schutzkappe nur ein kleiner Teil des Nadelhalters/der Nadel ist. Dachte erst das die Nadel hinter der roten Kappe liegt, aber sie ist Teil dieser “Kappe. Muss man drauf ahctten, falls sich das nicht gleich erschliet.
Der Klang ist auf jeden Fall gut. Man hat viel mehr “Raum” “Tiefe” und “Wme” als beim Streaming oder einer CD.Der Tonarm muss aufgelegt und nach dem Hren auch wieder zurckgelegt werden. Es ist kein automatisches Zurckfahren mglich. Mein Verstrker hat einen Phonoeingang. Falls nur ein Auxeingang zur Verfgung steht,, bedarf es eines extra Vorverstrkers.
Das Design ist sehr ansprechend. Es soll ein Einsteigermodell in Sachen Plattenspieler sein. Ich muss sagen, das ist weit mehr. Meine frheren Plattenspieler (allerdings schon sehr lange her) hattten nicht im Ansatz dieses klangliche Niveau.
il prodotto eccezionale, veramente ben costruito e curato nei dettagli.
L’unica nota negativa, se proprio vogliamo cercare l’ago nel pagliaio, sono le istruzioni per l’assemblaggio, presenti solo in inglese e tedesco, ma su youtube ci sono dei buoni tutorial sulle regolazioni da effettuare, basta arrangiarsi un po’.
Sounds incredible! Easy to set it up. Followed he instructions and then measured my tracking force with a digital gauge and turns out it was perfect at 1.8g
I upgraded to this turntable from a low-end Audio Technica and the sound quality is bigger, warmer, and better. Very happy.
Die Auswahl an Plattenspielern ist inzwischen wieder recht gut, aber auch die Zahl der billig gearbeiteten Asien-Varianten ist leider gleichermaen gestiegen. Nicht mehr jeder ehemalige Spitzenhersteller bietet die identische Qualitt ber das gesamte Portfolio, schade. Also lohnt ein Blick ber den Tellerrand. Ein Besuch in Wien brachte mich zu Pro-Ject. Nach kurzer Recherche also ein Modell der unteren Mittelklasse ausgewhlt und Pro-Ject Phono Box MM Vorverstrker mit bestellt.
Der Spieler ist hervorragend verarbeitet, angenehm schwer. Verkabelung, der Aufbau und die Grundjustage sind einfach zu machen (mit Hilfe eines YouTube Videos sehr einfach) und alles geht recht schnell, auch wenn man ungebt ist. Ein Schalter an der Unterseite startet dann den Motor, die Nadel ist ber den sehr wertigen Carbonarm przise ber der Platte zu platzieren und gleitet nach Bettigung des Hebels sanft auf das Vinyl. Leichtes Knacken und dann: Klarer, differenzierter Klang ist die Belohnung dieser bung. Klasse. Der Motor dreht sehr gleichmig und absolut lautlos, die Ortofon 2MRED gibt sehr detailliert und neutral wider. Das passt zu meinen Lautsprechern (nuBox) und gefllt mir ausgesprochen gut.
Etwas sehr ‘Basic’ ist die Geschwindigkeitsumstellung ber das versetzen des Antriebsriemens auf die jeweils passende Antriebsrolle, aber das reduziert auch eine weitere Fehlerquelle an einem Schalter…zumal die Geschwindigkeitsnderung ber Anpassung der bersetzung auch zuverlssiger ist, als ber die direkte Regelung des Motors.
Fazit: Schickes Teil, klasse verarbeitet mit berzeugendem Klang. Sehr zu empfehlen!
This turntable has been nothing but great – used it constantly since July ’16 and am very happy with it. Setup not foolproof but really not that difficult. Watch a few YouTube videos if you are not good at putting things together (like me) and it will be a breeze. A beautiful turntable and I am very happy with it.
One minor issue – the anti-skate weight is a little weight tied on with fishing line – after about a week of very light use of the turntable the fishing line snapped. I tried to fix it myself with fishing line but I am not handy enough, so I emailed the company’s distributor in the US and never received a response. Had to buy another weight for $16 – pretty ridiculous.
This is a very very nice looking record player. It just looks great on the table. The tone arm is really high quality. I would say the turning belt was kind of annoying to get on and have it stay on properly but after that it worked great. The instructions are also a bit unclear on the anti skating assembly. I still don’t think I did it right.
Il giradischi in s bello a vedersi e una volta regolato suona ma se bene o male lo sapr dopo averlo ascoltato per qualche ora. Avevo comprato alcuni dischi nuovi per ascoltarli subito ma ho scoperto che erano carichi di corrente elettrostatica ed uno aveva impresso anche l’impronta di quattro dita. In attesa del necessario per rimediare al problema ho ascoltato un paio di dischi e cos mi sono ricordato del perch sono decenni che ascolto con soddisfazione i cd. Una volta sistemati gli lp conto di godermi l’ascolto della musica su vinile e dare una valutazione concreta di questo giradischi.
A few observations: One, yes everyone else is right. To build a TT of this price point and put such a crappy felt mat on it is puzzling so say the least. Fortunately I had an aftermarket rubber mat from Mission(Sorbomat) that I bought back in the early 90s. Still unused in the box. Also, I think the antiskate tether made of monofilament(fishing line) is cheap. I had old older Marantz that used a fine steel wire. I think their choice to use the Ortafon red cartridge was good. I’ve used Ortafon for many years on other TTs with great results. I currently have it plugged into a Yamaha A-S801 int/amp using the Yamaha’s phono preamp. I’m very happy with the results. I listen to music through several different sources so I won’t be giving the Debut-Carbon a heavy workout but at least one or two albums a week. Update: I noticed I could lightly tap the edge of my cabinet and hear it through my speakers suggesting the turn table feet arn’t absorbing vibrations effectively. To solve this I built a second table out of a piece of MDF and added some sensitive rubber feet. It’s made a significant improvement.
I would write more…but I’d rather go listen to some more records on my table.
Setting the appropriate stylus force took some effort and could not be done accurately without my Shure stylus force guage.
Leveling the shelf and TT took a variety of shims.
Resonances in the shelf supporting the TT were almost entirely eliminated by placing iso node feet beneath each of the TT feet.
So – now able to listen once again to the many hundreds (more than a thousand? ) LPs in a classical music collection begun by my wife and I over 60 years ago.
Consigliato
The deck came very well packaged and was very easy to set up taking approx 15 mins and also looks really nice in its Black gloss finish.
The sound quality of vinyl is as I remember it and to my ears is superior to the new marantz cd player I have just purchased for roughly the same price. Listening to music via vinyl is more of an event and a far more musical experience than listening to digital music, and I suggest that this deck is a great way to buy in to this at a reasonable cost.If you want to spend a lot of money there are better decks about but I don’t think there is much around at this sort of cost, I strongly recommend you take a look and a listen.
First time turntable owner and I love this turntable. Fantastic sound in my opinion. Pretty easy setup except one step was a little confusing in the manual (again first timer) but after a quick YouTube tutorial I had it up and running.
Die Verarbeitung bekme von mir nur 4 Sterne. Der Plattenspieler ist ein richtiger Hingucker. Das Gehuse ist absolut top lackiert. Alle Anschluesse sehen absolut hochwertig aus. Das einzige was ich zu bemngeln habe ist, dass an der Systemeaufhngung teilweise Plastik verwendet wurde. Auerdem sind an meinem Tonabnehmer kleine Dellen an den Kanten des Karbons zu erkennen. Das ist meckern auf hchstem Niveau. Aber trotzdem waren das Dinge, die mir unmittelbar nach dem auspacken sofort aufgefallen sind.
Als Fazit kann ich eine absolute Kaufempfehlung aussprechen.
Tutto meraviglioso
Simply stunning,good looks,sound quality is superb,easy to set up,with clear instructions.It’s a pleasure to listen to vinyl again!
This is my first turntable, and after about a month of having it, I have zero complaints. I expect this turntable to last me a long, long time, and it looks like it’ll be capable of doing that.
Other buyers must have had a bad one. It happens, but I absolutely love mine. Just the sound, and aesthetic I was looking for.
Great entry level audiophile record player. Did not get any of the hum that others have complained about. I had found on the various forums on how to fix it if i did. The piano black looks really sharp with the carbon fiber. Like others have mentioned the felt cover that comes with it is a joke. I got Genuine Leather Turntable Platter Mat – Black Suede and it works great/matches the look.
Very nice turntable. It was easy to set up; just followed the instructions. It was wonderful hearing albums I’ve stashed away for twenty years or so! The turntable has a even, clean sound, providing the dynamic range I expect from vinyl. Little or no disk noise noticeable.
I’d briefly looked at using the acrylic after-market platter. But the acrylic platter was no larger than and weighed about half as much as the stock platter. Decided to stick with the stock platter for a while. The felt mat is quite thin as others have noted. I’ll likely replace it with an upgrade.
Everything I’ve played so far has sounded truly stunning. Listening to albums that I’ve played for years, albums that I though I knew every note and lyric of, has become a process of rediscovery. Beyond the sonic pleasures the aesthetic design is obviously elegant, and I’d be hard pressed to imagine a room where this wouldn’t look good, and wouldn’t make the room look better by extension.
In terms of the logistics and set up, the turntable comes extremely well packaged (with helpful and detailed instructions on how to repackage in the same way for transporting). For the set up I was slightly apprehensive, but the manual that comes with it is clear and concise, without being simplified or losing any important technical details, and I supplemented this with an online instructional video (there are lots) to give me extra confidence, and in the end it’s actually very straightforward.
The only thing I would make specific mention of is the stylus cap on the much-lauded Ortofon cartridge, it’s fine coming of, but a little fiddly to get back on, so be careful (again, I consulted the internet for guidance the first time I couldn’t get it on, and as always the internet didn’t disappoint).
The final thing to acknowledge is the price, I did a lot of reading before buying this record player, and yes there are a lot of perfectly serviceable players out there at lower price points, but what I would say is that this feels like a worthwhile investment. Inarguably vinyl is an expensive medium, and your record collection is going to end up costing you, so you might as well start from a solid foundation even if it costs a little more, it’s a record player that sounds great, is a pleasure to own and use, and won’t damage your records, but thankfully doesn’t come with a four-figure plus price tag.
It’s the best 330 I’ve spent in a very long time, and I cannot recommend it highly enough (as you could probably already tell if you’ve made it this far)
Technical:
– Phono & Amp: Marantz PM6005 Integrated Amplifier Marantz PM6005 Integrated Amplifier with Digital Input – Black
– Speakers: Q Acoustics Concept 20 Q Acoustics Concept 20 Blk (Pr)
– Leads: Cable Mountain Phono RCA Cable Mountain 1m High Quality Gold Plated 2x Phono to 2x Phono RCA Cable
– Wiring: Electrosmart 2.5mm 25m Quality 18AWG Loud Speaker Cable – Multi-Strand by electrosmart – Outside Dimensions of Cable: 5mm x 2.5mm with Fisual Banana Plugs Fisual Easy Fix Banana Plug (Pack of 4)
Everything I’ve played so far has sounded truly stunning. Listening to albums that I’ve played for years, albums that I though I knew every note and lyric of, has become a process of rediscovery. Beyond the sonic pleasures the aesthetic design is obviously elegant, and I’d be hard pressed to imagine a room where this wouldn’t look good, and wouldn’t make the room look better by extension.
In terms of the logistics and set up, the turntable comes extremely well packaged (with helpful and detailed instructions on how to repackage in the same way for transporting). For the set up I was slightly apprehensive, but the manual that comes with it is clear and concise, without being simplified or losing any important technical details, and I supplemented this with an online instructional video (there are lots) to give me extra confidence, and in the end it’s actually very straightforward.
The only thing I would make specific mention of is the stylus cap on the much-lauded Ortofon cartridge, it’s fine coming of, but a little fiddly to get back on, so be careful (again, I consulted the internet for guidance the first time I couldn’t get it on, and as always the internet didn’t disappoint).
The final thing to acknowledge is the price, I did a lot of reading before buying this record player, and yes there are a lot of perfectly serviceable players out there at lower price points, but what I would say is that this feels like a worthwhile investment. Inarguably vinyl is an expensive medium, and your record collection is going to end up costing you, so you might as well start from a solid foundation even if it costs a little more, it’s a record player that sounds great, is a pleasure to own and use, and won’t damage your records, but thankfully doesn’t come with a four-figure plus price tag.
It’s the best 330 I’ve spent in a very long time, and I cannot recommend it highly enough (as you could probably already tell if you’ve made it this far)
Technical:
– Phono & Amp: Marantz PM6005 Integrated Amplifier Marantz PM6005 Integrated Amplifier with Digital Input – Black
– Speakers: Q Acoustics Concept 20 Q Acoustics Concept 20 Blk (Pr)
– Leads: Cable Mountain Phono RCA Cable Mountain 1m High Quality Gold Plated 2x Phono to 2x Phono RCA Cable
– Wiring: Electrosmart 2.5mm 25m Quality 18AWG Loud Speaker Cable – Multi-Strand by electrosmart – Outside Dimensions of Cable: 5mm x 2.5mm with Fisual Banana Plugs Fisual Easy Fix Banana Plug (Pack of 4)
If your considering returning to vinyl or are yet to experience it, do it! The whole experience is far superior to digital music. Fantastic turntable for the price. Relatively easy to set up with the manual/YouTube videos. Sounds awesome.
I grew up with vinyl and a very very nice pioneer turntable that’s still with my father.
This is my first turntable and I like it a lot.
why not 5 stars? The slip mat and cables provided are trash. Get ready to spend another 50 on good RCA and ground connections, and another 30 for a cork mat. These extras make a massive improvement reducing unwanted noise.
I have the cover on as much as possible, I do not know how you couldn’t unless you want your vinyl and the equipment to get all dusty.
I say this because a lot of people talk about the looks of the turntable and yes they are killer, but picture it with the cover on top, as this will be the look you are most likely to get.
I can’t comment yet on the rumble that other reviewers have noted. I can only say that it is not apparent at normal listening levels. I have not yet performed any critical listening tests where rumble might show up.
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/1513521-eliminating-hum-pro-ject-debut-carbon-turntable.html
With the neoprene washers in place, I tightened 1/4 turn on each of the two mount screws until the hum disappeared. And I do mean ‘disappeared’, as in dead silent. It has remained dead silent for a month, so I can definitely recommend this table now.
Some people have complained about the metal + felt base and pad, but I’ve had no issues. I figured I would go for the glass + cork combo eventually, but quickly changed my mind when I heard the stock base. It has no wobble; it is heavy enough to have no flutter, and the felt minimizes a lot of the warpage of some very old vinyl.
I did start with a cheap Behringer preamp, and was not overly thrilled with that, so I bought an Emotiva XSP-1
Emotiva Audio XPS-1 Phono Preamp
This preamp did make a significant audible difference that I prefer. This is a good combo for a reasonably priced system.
This is my first turntable of quality but I have been absolutely impressed so far. Set up was not nearly as difficult as some would say. I looked up a youtube video on the product and didn’t have a problem. It does show finger prints pretty bad but when clean it is beautiful and the sound production puts my old Technics SLBD-10 to shame.
The good: the platter is much heavier. The tonearm is much nicer. The Ortofon 2M Red cartridge sounds much, much better than the price of crap that the Denon came with and significantly better than the Shure M97XE I installed on the Denon machine to replace the aforementioned price of crap.. Base, acrylic cover, motor, and feet are all better quality. Once you overcome minor challenges, she tracks beautifully. (For the record, I believe diminishing returns start at about 300 bucks for cartridges.)
The bad: base for tonearm (to include the tonearm rest) is chintzy. The piece of felt that came for the platter is a joke. (Really, guys?) the counterweight is not even close to accurate. After not tracking at all, I busted out my Shure SFG-2 tracking force scale and all was right with the world. For my next comment, I assume this is because the platter is metal: this table is much worse for static than the Denon.
Other: With sensitivity comes noise. Be prepared for that. Some say, “this is a noisy table.” To me that screams, “I’m accustomed to tables that aren’t sensitive to the information (and dust and static noise) on the record.”
If I could rate on value: 5 plus
Great build quality. Pretty easy set up (how to videos on youtube if you need them) low noise… sounds great. It’s everything the plentiful reviews out their claim.
A solid performer. Built like a rock. Easy to change the platter speed with the included belt tool (so you don’t stretch out the belt). Cart was already mounted, just had to spin on the counter weight and set the tracking force. Very easy setup.
Running it through a Cambridge phono pre-amp and into a Woo Audio headphone amp. Records sound amazing, once they’ve been cleaned. The better the turn-table, the more careful you need to be with cleaning.
And the standard feet do an excellent job at keeping vibrations out. There’s nothing worse than hearing your footsteps in the headphones.
Overall a very good buy for the price.
The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with the Ortofon 2M fitted is the best choice for a starter turntable at this price point.
Set up was easy and only took a minute or two to balance the arm. The speed seems fine to me but I have upgraded the thin felt mat to a better quality one.
I’ve read numerous accounts on internet forums of the Debut Carbons motor hum problem-including various solutions to fix it. I have to say I heard no hum at all on my turntable-set up straight out of the box. Lid on or off, up or down-the Carbon is whisper quiet.
I may in the future upgrade to the 2M Blue and acrylic platter but for the time being this is a fine turntable for the money.