Pro-Ject Debut PRO

Dubbed the most audiophile’ Debut turntable yet, this deck/ arm/cartridge solution takes over from last year’s popular Debut Carbon with a host of new useful refinements

Accounting for the £250 uplift over the Debut Carbon EVO (HFC 468), Pro-Ject CEO Heinz Lichtenegger recites a list of features which starts with improved motor isolation, on to height adjustment achieved through TPE-damped metal feet, while VTA alignment has been added to make cartridge upgrades possible further down the line.

The aluminium platter is more heavily damped, and anti-magnetic, which he says is a boon for upgrades to MC cartridges. “The tonearm is a sandwich of a central tube of aluminium surrounded by carbon fibre, for better damping and higher effective mass,” he stresses, noting that this is important for any future moving-coil upgrades.

The tonearm utilises massive gimbals and nickel coating, the latter said to increase the rigidity of the bearing for free and fluid movement as well as providing a longer-lasting finish. “After the passage of time, painted or anodised black surfaces will turn greyish,” he continues.

Lichtenegger emphatically wants it to top the Debut line, observing it is: “the ultimate manifestation of the Debut line. It is our 30th anniversary product, so we put in all that we could think about improving a Debut, taking it beyond the Debut Carbon EVO.”

Pro-Ject co-designed the new MM cartridge with Ortofon’s Leif Johanson in order: “to give a more substantial, more full-bodied sound,” says Lichtenegger. “In Leif, we found a great partner who worked out exactly the sound balance we wanted for the Debut PRO. We intended to give it more body, very pleasant to hear, but still keep the refinement of the 2M cartridge line.”