Fix Your Hair! keeps.com/cheapaudioman 50% off your first Order --New Pro-Ject E1 Turntable pro-jectusa.com/product/e1-record-player/ ---Fluance RT 82 amzn.to/3MjqpUR ------------------------------------------------------------------------www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman ---Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF --Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt --Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH --amzn.to/3GkNaop -CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K -apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P -massdrop.7eer.net/qnOye5 --Amazon Unlimited Music and
Lmao “I’m Hank Follicle” bro these skits are amazing Love these blokes. I’ve had one of their Debut turntables for 10 years and recently got one of their tube phono pres. This one seems like it continues the tradition - no nonsense; all sound
I picked up a used Pro-Ject T1 which is very similar to this model and am very happy with it's performance. It came with a glass platter and no pre-amp. Pro-Ject makes great turntables!!!
Nice! The cartridge on this turntable is low mass, which makes tracking warps better, everything else being equal. Also, and advantage of the tonearm being one piece - it reduced resonances of the tonearm. As snug as the bayonet mounted headshell is, it can't be as strong as a fixed headshell. And this plastic platter is more similar to an acrylic platter, so it is a good thing. A ringing resonant platter will be affecting the sound of playback - the only thing we want to be resonating - is the stylus. 🙂
Hi Randy. Long time listener, first time caller. I am gifting my Son a decent component system for when he goes to University this fall. He will be getting my old Carver HR-742 Receiver, an old California Audio Labs DX-1 cd player, a Luxman K-100 Tape Deck and my elderly but still amazing sounding Wharfedale E-20 speakers on stands. The turntable that went with this system is a Kenwood KD-2055 (The rock) and has sentimental value to me as I remember going with my Dad to buy a stereo in 1978. I was 11 yrs old and aside from the turntable he also had a receiver by Kenwood that was a Quadraphonic system and an Akai reel to reel deck through four STR bookshelf speakers. I still use and enjoy the turntable so want to buy a decent starter for my boy. I have been looking at Fluance being from Canada but then I saw the Pro-Ject T1 SB it has a glass platter, the OM-5e cartridge and seems well built and a bit more modern looking than the RT82 I was comparing it to. Now I see this Pro-Ject E1 and wonder if I should go that route in case, unlike his old man and late Grandpa, he doesn't turn into an electronic hording audio nut. Can I get your thoughts between the two Pro-Ject turntables please, Sir? I very much appreciate it. Thank-you - Dave
One potential advantage of a well designed integrated preamp is the loading of the cartridge can be optimized by eliminating the interconnect between the cartridge and downstream electronics. This may account for the perceived improvement in sound quality over the Yamaha phono stage.
Nice deck and review. In the last dozen years I have owned 3 Pro-Ject turntables and they've just been so dang great sounding as well as bulletproof in my experience, that as cool as many modern offering may look and sound, I just can't not audition another Pro-Ject first before upgrading and if history repeats, that always leaves me taking yet another Pro-Ject turntable home with me. Dance with the one who brought you kind of loyalty I seem to have with this brand I guess. I have the same loyalty to Marantz amplifiers, but I've only upgraded once with them. I feel that the new Marantz 40N is making a very strong argument that it may be time for Marantz #3. Speakers on the other hand, well it'll be open auditions for my next set and I'll take any newcomers right off the street even to see what they can muster. Always enjoy your content so thanks. Cheers!
Nice review Randy. Oh to be young and worry about hair and keeping it, now it just grows in my ears and messes with my hearing aids. It just seems that at this level for a little more money, you can get so much more turntable.
Great review! Interesting that Pro-ject makes a lot of other people's Tables...Music-Hall and NAD, for example. They have a pretty amazing factory in The Czech Republic, although I think the owner / founder / idea guy is Austrian. They started building turntables around 1990, which must have been real fun with the advent of CD's...but they did something right: they are still here!
I love the order: plug it in, remove it from the box, drop a record on it, set it up, drop the needle, unpackage it, turn up the volume, connect it to your system 😂😂😂 just having fun. Great video!
Totally agree on the price issue. I'd have to be convinced that it sounds better than the UTurn or the RT82. It's basically a lifestyle model that you never change until you go for an OM 10 stylus when a new one is needed. A demo Carbon Evo around $500+ would be worth waiting for, IMHO.
Good on Pro-Ject for making an offering at this price point. Personally I still like the Fluance RT82 at this price for the reasons mentioned in the review. However once you get to the RT85 level (at $500 USD) it may be worthwhile looking at the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo (at $600 USD) due to the tonearm on that model. - With the Evo: cartridges, platters and sub-platters are all upgradeable options, so it becomes more of an investment over time - With the RT85: you get the acrylic platter and Ortofon Blue cartridge from the start, but there are no tonearm upgrades at this time
Hi Randy, all those things we learned about what makes for a great turn table ! Well none of them qualifiers relate to this turntable Weight was #1 a big bonus we looked for a heavily weighted platter was the sign of quality. we wanted the S shaped tone arm with the vertical adjustment of the arm to the platter. To adj for cartridge height & any anti static mats under the rubber one. Removable cart. head shells speed scope to adjust for pitch and we wanted the heaviest base we could find with the shock mounted feet or the optional shock reduction feet. This thing has none of them features we sought after. But then again materials for manufacturing were much less costly back then. This Platten, platter, being as light weight as it is most likely came from its ability to be spun at a stable rate based on the DC drive motors used today. They don't have the torque to turn the platten of a Technics 1200. It wud burn out quickly. but I get the design & the price incl. cart. & phono pre. is a bit high priced with the all plastic platten. Which you can have sand blasted or buy a textured spray paint and give it a spin as you spray it too fit your Liking. Also for the other turn table platten that rang like a Bell no that's not to cool. To fix the ring any hardware or kitchen remodeling center. Ask for help ! You want the sound deadening material its peel and stick come with all most every stainless steel sink. Many people never see it because the plumbers automatically install it out of habit. Some manufacturers started to place it on the sinks to stop the calls from the DIY weekend warriors calling with stupid questions like thanks for the potato peeler my wife loves the idea, but wheres the best location to place it. They resemble an asphalt like abrasive lined walls of an industrial potato peeling machines. Similar but stronger than a top loading washing machine used in restaurants. The potatoes are loaded into the drum and rotate against the abrasive walls to remove the peel. But can grind the potatoes down to skinny cylinders if left on for a prolonged period of time. That was long ago and the newer machines may have a sensor to avoid over peeling, or. once you have determined a preset length of time to achieve the texture you want. They had timers back in the day. They Ace hardware folks should stock them. If not they can order them as replacement parts you'll have to be careful. Just peel away a small part of the wax paper to expose the sticky bits, use it this way until you achieve a balanced platten mark your positions and then you can remove the entire backing stick in place. If you make a mistake and find you are out of balance just cut away a bit of the sound deadening material to reach the perfect balance with out any platter resonance, it builds over time & will have a noticeable ringing tone it will ring at one frequency that you can usually hear when making recordings. You can also pick it up with a stethoscope placed against the base.. A further mod you can do yourself is to add weight to a light weight base l. We would glue weights to the underside of the old bases were thicker to appear more robust.. But the hollow cavity could trap the motor noise within the base being picked up by some higher downward pressure carts IE the old School Shure carts required 4 to 5 grams strange but true. Some guys who know a woodworker or are handy have made a false base that the factory base firs into . Then build a suspension using an old school bungee cord a thick cord looks like Boot laces . They have a rubber center. Is then stretched from side to side , corner to corner holding the turntable adjust the tension to fit your needs . Enjoy I have many tips & tricks for easy mods to improve hifi You're very welcome to share best regards. Rick
Hmm...still like my U-Turn. Had the OME-5 originally on it and thought it was too muddy. Went to the red and seemed a lot better! Yes, many love the blue but one step at a time.
Got my Orbit Plus a year ago with an acrylic platter upgrade. Love it. Got the built-in preamp and Ortofon 2M Red. Might try out the Blue in a year or so. Definitely a good deal at the price point. Only thing I miss is that most of the sub-$600 turntables these days (U-Turn, Pro-ject, Fluance, Denon, etc.) don't have removable headshells like my old Technics did. That would make changing and trying out new cartridges so much easier.
@@rosswarren436 I agree. The removable headshell would be an excellent option for U-turn. I also have the Acrylic platter. No phono pre. My Emotiva has a sweet phono stage.
@@kevinbehnke7149 yeah, it's like you could have one cartridge that sounds good on rock and pop music, and another one that sounds "warmer" for jazz and switch them out easy. Glad you like the Emotiva. I heard good things about it too. I got the built-in preamp to feed my Denon AVR in the den, but once I move the TT to my living room later this year, I can either use it, or try out the one in some vintage gear I have that was recently refurbed and upgraded. Streaming is nice, but playing vinyl engages me more with the music and forces me to listen more deeply. Enjoy the journey!
@@lednebnoj yeah, me too, after popping for the 2M Red, acrylic platter, cue lever, and internal preamp, it ended up being at least roughly the same in price as the RT-85. I did like the fact they were made here in the U.S. by a start up so that played a bit in my decision. I'm pretty happy with it. What can you say about the sonic differences between the 2M Red and the 2M Blue? Thanks.
Have u seen the crosley C10? It is a Pro-Ject ODM, I believe a Debut III with 3 foot.. Has a thicker table than this new E1 as well as adjustable weight and the OM5E.. and cheaper!
That Yamaha is a pretty old unit. There should be lots of reviews around. Andrew Robinson reviewed it on his channel but wasn't very happy with it. I've got an even older 700 with a bit less power and no DAC. It's my secondary stereo now but I think it's a great unit. Big fan of the loudness control.
The best 400 table out rn in my opinion is the one i got.. Audiotechnica drop carbon vta Its git a ling tone arm and all the essentials its high end at low cost THE DROP is a company out of San Francisco they work with manufacturers and relay customers feedback to create custom tailored gear
Getting fancy, Randy. Side by side video tricks? Funny stuff again... This was a really helpful video for me. I want a turntable but was not in a big hurry to spend more money than I needed to. I have a cheapo, 30-year old Pioneer so the entry level E1 would be a major upgrade, relatively speaking. Gonna give this one a hard look...
@@francescotenti193 You do have to rebalance the tonearm after changing cartridges unless they weigh exactly the same. My old Onkyo has a removable headshell that I appreciate just for inspecting the stylus.
@@francescotenti193 Yes, but you still have to align the cartridge, and there's no way a removable headshell is going to secure itself to the arm as well as a one piece unit. Its a feature meant for DJ's. A DJ always brings his own phono carts with them. They can be swapped out several times in one night depending on how many DJ's are going to use the same system. Also, you don't want a break in the cables. The weaker the signal is, the easier it's effected from outside variables. For example, (This is going to be very general. I'm just trying to explain the concept.) if you want to make a preamp to match up with an amp in your product line, the preamp has to be built to a higher standard than the amp in order for it to be equal in performance. That's because the weaker signal is harder to work with. A standard preamp is meant to take line level sources, like a CD player. A record player is something entirely different. The electricity to create the signal comes from the phono cart itself. And even the highest output phono cart won't come anywhere near to something you plug into the wall. Thats why when you unplug a turntable, you can turn the platter by hand still get music. So, when you wire the cart, one end of the cable connects direcly to it, and runs unbroken though the arm, and is terminated in rca, xlr, etc.. Since the output of a phono cart is so low, it can easily be effected by something as simple as breaking the direct connection to the phono pre, and putting a connector in line.
I'am getting my first record player and trying to decide between this (with the phono pre-amp) or the Pro-ject Debut III (with the phono pre-amp). I can get them new for the same price €300,- which one would be the better choice? The thing I dislike about the E1 is the plastic platter. But thats more because I'am afraid it will look cheap.
Just picked up a new in box Pro-Ject Essential III George Harrison edition with acrylic platter for $400 USD... loving it. Wanted a turntable with an acrylic platter and this was the best option I could find... only has the OM10... but I can upgrade later if I want.
why would you want to upgrade the cartridge. The OM10 is a fantastic cartridge and in my opinion if your entire Hi-Fi system is under $1,000 then to be honest with you there would be really no point in upgrading. you know under that price point you don't really get better sound you just get different sound. like for example if you were to put a grado cartridge on there, it would sound warmer and more analog but that doesn't necessarily make it better, it just makes it different. I mean you see what I'm saying, besides the OM series is a highly regarded cartridge and like Randy says here I myself prefer it to the 2M series. In my opinion it tracks better and displays less surface noise and just has a better tonal balance.
I vowed that the Debut Carbon would be the first and last Pro-ject turntable I'd ever own. I had to modify the motor mount to suppress 120Hz mechanical hum. I hope Pro-Ject replaced their engineers before they started on their new tt line. If you can find a refurbished Dual belt-drive tt, get that instead of a Pro-Ject deck.
I'll binge listen through my U-Turn Orbit Plus with my Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge (sold separately). I could be quite happy with the Fluance RT-85N though.
Project T1 Phono SB is also $449, and it comes with acrylic platter. Not sure why they went with a plastic platter for this one--seems like a downgrade to me because it's not any cheaper than the T1 Phono.
"I've never seen a plastic platter", well apparently you've never checked out the planar one from rega. I mean they use what they call a phenolic resin but when you actually hold one in your hand it's basically plastic. you know and that said though I haven't had any issues with the two different planar ones that I've purchased over the last 5 years. although I have seen the manufacturing tolerances on these plastic platters not be so good so when you go to put on your favorite album and you crank up the turntable and think to yourself that you've got a warped record when come to find out it's the platter. but the sound organization has always been or mostly been fantastic when it comes to these sorts of issues.
I thought of Robinson with the sponsor, then the name was Andy. Lol I agree, I’m not one that typically likes flashy things. The Matt color would have been a good option to have.
I can't quite reach the Metallica Project table, so I will scour through your videos to find a reasonable phono pre for my Audio Technica table. Thanks for the video man. I appreciate them.
Would you use comparable Uturn or Fluance with built-in preamp? If not, did you account for external preamp cost, supposing that customers' existing system may lack one?
Thanks Andy. I like the bit with your evil twin, Dr. Follicle. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m diagnosed with Scalpus Domus Maximus, and beyond hair restoration. As my grandfather said, “you don’t see grass growing on a busy street. “ This seems like a great value and entry level turntable with features for all types of vinyl listeners. The platter left me spinning while I felt needled by the OM5 and cartridge.
I struggle to see the point of this model.. Pro-Ject already has a few cheap models.. for example the Primary e, T1 line, or even a few in the debut line. All of those seem to be a good deal so what exactly is it, that they need another similar model?
i have been on the fence about buying a new 'new' turntable. the one i have works, great to awesome. i have hales trans-ones and jamo 807s, arcam alpha 9 cd, cardas yada yada. did have BAT but sold off due to all too big for the cabin, anyways, A/B of some cds with vinyl, the vinyl bleats the cd even thru the arcam. what turn table pray-tell ... old garrard 5-300. it may have been refurb'd before buying off ebay for 60 bucks, new needle (unknown brand), NO motor noise. i have not owned prior to 2021 a turntable, unwrapped 20 year old miles davis however and jaw dropping. so to me the garrard sounds good, but ... will a 300-500 turn table be a step up ? if so how far ?
Hi Randy. If you clone yourself again, make sure you copy the original. If you copy a copy, that clone may wear pink shirts and take on weird names. BTW, your hair looks great. 👌 Great review. The walnut one has my eye. There is not enough wood in gear, anymore.
I have the Yamaha AS-801 and i ended up using an external phono preamp (a Schiit Mani), simply because the Yamaha phono preamp has low gain and isn’t adjustable. So records sound quieter than a CD for example. With my phono cartridge anyway, a Nagaoka MP-110
Rega's entry turntable is about $600, $725 with a built in pre-amp. They didn't used to be overpriced but they probably are now. I'd love to move up to the P6 but I'll stay happy with my 3 year old P3.
@@leonardblush2557 Yes I paid £299 🇬🇧 years back for a Project "Carbon " straight arm - no built in phono amp or speed control CD is my main source but I have vinyl some purchased + a small collection gifted to me from a very good friend . Really impressed with how low the background noise is with the Project & ever so slightly " buttery " engaging sound especially with vocals ,🙂
i bought de T1 PROJECT AND THE TURNTABLE ARRIVED DAMAGED FROM THE CLUER ....THEN I CHANGED IT FOR AN AUDIO TECHNICA AT-LP120XUSB AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THIS HAS A LOT OF FEATURES AND A REALLY GOOD CARTRIDGE THE AT-VM95E
Hank Follicle, boy he sure is a sharp dresser, I’m guessing Hanks a White Claw guy😂. Don’t let him play frisbee with the wife. Come here for info and always leave with a laugh. Thank you Hank
Hey Randy - went to Patreon site and I was confused by the levels. If Thank You Tier and Zooms gets me 3 1 no 1 Zooms per year, why only 2 at the Golden VIP level? Thanks for all you do!
Thanks for the review, although I'm not sure it's accurate to say they "going after Fluance and UTurn in the affordable turntable market" considering that Pro-Ject has been a major player in this space for years (this isn't even their cheapest model line). Also, I'd guess that "E" stands for "electric" as it's basically their (cheaper) Primary E turntable with electric speed adjust, instead of the pully used on the Primary E.
My Uturn has an om5e and I am curious what improvements can be made switching to an om10 stylus, a 20 is a little more than I want to spend on an upgrade for this turntable.
Several years ago I purchased a U-Turn Orbit Plus that came with the OM5e for a budget system to use while working out of town. I'm used to moving coil cartridges on a much higher end system, but the 5e sounded pretty good for starters and I lived with it for a while. Then I tracked down an OM 10 stylus at a great price on Ebay, and got much better sound. I let things be for another month or so, but I was still itching for the better sound I was accustomed too and bought the OM20 stylus for around $130. With that installed I felt I was finally hearing MUSIC, not a compromise. Cut to a couple of years later and I used my Orbit Plus while working out of town for several months and was very satisfied with the performance of the OM 20 stylus. For a while I used the table with the built in Pluto phono stage which is really just OK. Then I was able to retrieve my Parks Audio Puffin, and that made a huge difference, I really enjoyed that system while I was away. The U-Turn Orbt Plus and Parks Audio Puffin were hooked up to the wonderful PSB Alpha PS 1 powered speakers, and the companion PSB Subseries 100 desktop subwoofer. A really great and easily transported travel system I know I'll enjoy again in the future.
The plastic platter and fixed headshell are too 'turbo Crosley' for my taste. And the side is a silly place to put the speed selector, especially on such a lightweight deck. Back in 1980 every entry-level turntable coming out of Japan had a cast aluminium platter and removable headshell, usually along with a heavy rubber mat, an OEM audio technica cartridge, auto-return, controls mounted where you could see them and some form of acoustic decoupling. Their motors were generally an order of magnitude more stable than today's examples, and they managed all this for a price that, adjusting for inflation, weighs in at $300 or less. Obviously you need to check out any 40-year-old turntable for wear and tear, but if it's in decent condition (and new belts are cheap and readily available) give me a 1980-vintage budget turntable over any of the entry-level models manufactured today!
I agree with you 100%. Back in 1980 I bought a Technics SL-D2 with an Ortofon 15 MkII, the cheap Technics!, direct drive, built like a tank, removable head shell and auto return. The only "upgrade" was to replace the cartridge with a 2M Blue with significant sound improvement, the rest untouched! Still looks brand new after "only" 42 years! Can today stuff last that long? Maybe but probably not!
Teac make a affordable turntable about the same price witch I prefer to the project bough a belt drive and a direct drive. very simmer looking but I think nicer witch have a removable head shell
first get new door locks that crazy looking guy was creepy and your hair looks better ,on this TT i like the platter it kind of reminds me of the old style portable record players that had the thick metal platter and some were shiny like this one and this platter to me does not look cheap it looks more robust ,i have a pro-ject debut 3 with aluminum tone arm and yes changing the cartridge would be difficult mine came with metal platter it was heavy it rang like a bell but i switched to an acrylic platter it was easier to lift up to change speed the metal platter i was always worried about dropping platter and maring wood finish plus the sound was better, this TT i like this one better than fluance if you look inside of TT it is very hollow its made in china so fluance is making money on a hollow box ,the orbit is nicer ,it is a solid plinth but i do not like the belt seen too many reviews of said TT where the belt keeps falling off to me a flatter belt would solve this and you should not have to pay extra for a cueing lever even the cheap suitcase record players have one,I even questioned orbit about it the answer they gave me made no sense to me I believe it is a better TT than fluance build wise but if this is like my pro-ject i would get this one my was under 300.00 ,i am sure the fluance is a beautifull TT the finish looks fantastic but I saw a video on this model where the reviewer opened one up to see the internals it was very empty with electronoc board but was not impressed with the motor it looks like the cheapy motor u see in every other TT I would like to think it is a high quality motor but that all i will say JRo
all I know - at 73 I have a pile of LP's - couple weeks ago took out 3 to play - ALL 0f em had grown notable warps ( A.B.B. 'Beginnings', 'Brothers & Sisters' , Ventures 'Walk don't run'.) always stored vertical. So I ordered replacements for 2. they both arrived with worse warps than my originals. one, a NEW product, had such bad warps that when spinning, the edge of disc actually hit the tonearm (thorens ) Pathetic. CD's are better. simple. to start, $75. at a big box store gets ya a DVD player perfectly capable of playing CD's...... minimum what $ 300. for a decent T'table ? anyway, I prefer video DVD's /blue ray of concerts be it Grateful Dead , Oregon or A. Netrebko, LaTraviatta.
CD is better than vinyl in every measurable way, as in specs on paper. Can vinyl sound better? I think it can. Many people think so. I think you can get better sound from a cheap CD player than you can a cheap turntable. But, people love vinyl with a following that we didn't expect. Maybe it is the purely analog connection to their music. People these days never owned anything without a computer in it.
Too expensive these things now. I bought the original Debut when it came on the market on the UK around 2000. It was made in the Czech Republic, cost around $150, and from what I've seen of the modern Chinesium Projects, the old one was built better as well.
I don't believe that direct sales will always get you a better price, companies tend to set the price at what they think the consumer is willing to pay. I've noticed that two of the direct sales speaker companies have slowly risen their prices at about the same sound to sound value for companies that use retail stores.
A plastic unweighted platter? No way - acrylic is the best solution for belt drives ( not big on belt drive ) . I can get an Audio Technics direct drive for not much more. And I would never depend on factory settings for any tonearm - always check the weight and anti skate. If you care about your albums.
Fix Your Hair! keeps.com/cheapaudioman 50% off your first Order
--New Pro-Ject E1 Turntable pro-jectusa.com/product/e1-record-player/
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------------------------------------------------------------------------www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman
---Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF
--Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
--Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH
--amzn.to/3GkNaop
-CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K
-apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P
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--Amazon Unlimited Music and
Check my comment Randy - a bot I think answered me that may not be you. Saying they had a surprise. Is that you?
@@Audiomainia2310 it’s a scam. Don’t contact
@@cheapaudioman I thought so - wanted to give you a heads up!
@@cheapaudioman I got the same scam. Sorry you’re having to deal with this.
Lmao “I’m Hank Follicle” bro these skits are amazing
Love these blokes. I’ve had one of their Debut turntables for 10 years and recently got one of their tube phono pres. This one seems like it continues the tradition - no nonsense; all sound
Hank Follicle is priceless! You’re ads are better than all of the insurance ads combined! Enjoyed the review a lot. You never disappoint.
Thank you, Steve! Having fun doing them
Can we meet his brother Clair?
The new ads are hilarious! Great review, brother. Thank you!
You've established a new benchmark for testing the solidity of turntable platters!
The body expression you had when Hank rolled in was hilarious. Great review.
I picked up a used Pro-Ject T1 which is very similar to this model and am very happy with it's performance. It came with a glass platter and no pre-amp. Pro-Ject makes great turntables!!!
i also have a T1 turntable
Nice! The cartridge on this turntable is low mass, which makes tracking warps better, everything else being equal. Also, and advantage of the tonearm being one piece - it reduced resonances of the tonearm. As snug as the bayonet mounted headshell is, it can't be as strong as a fixed headshell. And this plastic platter is more similar to an acrylic platter, so it is a good thing. A ringing resonant platter will be affecting the sound of playback - the only thing we want to be resonating - is the stylus. 🙂
Brother, you are killing these ads!
This man's ads are literally better than the content on most other channels.
Hi Randy. Long time listener, first time caller. I am gifting my Son a decent component system for when he goes to University this fall. He will be getting my old Carver HR-742 Receiver, an old California Audio Labs DX-1 cd player, a Luxman K-100 Tape Deck and my elderly but still amazing sounding Wharfedale E-20 speakers on stands. The turntable that went with this system is a Kenwood KD-2055 (The rock) and has sentimental value to me as I remember going with my Dad to buy a stereo in 1978. I was 11 yrs old and aside from the turntable he also had a receiver by Kenwood that was a Quadraphonic system and an Akai reel to reel deck through four STR bookshelf speakers. I still use and enjoy the turntable so want to buy a decent starter for my boy. I have been looking at Fluance being from Canada but then I saw the Pro-Ject T1 SB it has a glass platter, the OM-5e cartridge and seems well built and a bit more modern looking than the RT82 I was comparing it to. Now I see this Pro-Ject E1 and wonder if I should go that route in case, unlike his old man and late Grandpa, he doesn't turn into an electronic hording audio nut. Can I get your thoughts between the two Pro-Ject turntables please, Sir? I very much appreciate it. Thank-you - Dave
lmao that wink. I lost track of what I was doing because I started watching your sponsor skit. Congrats on making it this far.
One potential advantage of a well designed integrated preamp is the loading of the cartridge can be optimized by eliminating the interconnect between the cartridge and downstream electronics. This may account for the perceived improvement in sound quality over the Yamaha phono stage.
Nice deck and review. In the last dozen years I have owned 3 Pro-Ject turntables and they've just been so dang great sounding as well as bulletproof in my experience, that as cool as many modern offering may look and sound, I just can't not audition another Pro-Ject first before upgrading and if history repeats, that always leaves me taking yet another Pro-Ject turntable home with me. Dance with the one who brought you kind of loyalty I seem to have with this brand I guess.
I have the same loyalty to Marantz amplifiers, but I've only upgraded once with them. I feel that the new Marantz 40N is making a very strong argument that it may be time for Marantz #3.
Speakers on the other hand, well it'll be open auditions for my next set and I'll take any newcomers right off the street even to see what they can muster.
Always enjoy your content so thanks.
Cheers!
Nice review Randy. Oh to be young and worry about hair and keeping it, now it just grows in my ears and messes with my hearing aids. It just seems that at this level for a little more money, you can get so much more turntable.
Great review! Interesting that Pro-ject makes a lot of other people's Tables...Music-Hall and NAD, for example. They have a pretty amazing factory in The Czech Republic, although I think the owner / founder / idea guy is Austrian. They started building turntables around 1990, which must have been real fun with the advent of CD's...but they did something right: they are still here!
I love the order: plug it in, remove it from the box, drop a record on it, set it up, drop the needle, unpackage it, turn up the volume, connect it to your system 😂😂😂 just having fun. Great video!
Thanks!
Kent! thank you so much!
Totally agree on the price issue. I'd have to be convinced that it sounds better than the UTurn or the RT82. It's basically a lifestyle model that you never change until you go for an OM 10 stylus when a new one is needed. A demo Carbon Evo around $500+ would be worth waiting for, IMHO.
Duality - Audio Couples - Double Fun... Love it. =)
Great video! Put a bolt through the centre of the platter, stick it in a drill and scotchbrite that shiny edge matt 😎
Good on Pro-Ject for making an offering at this price point. Personally I still like the Fluance RT82 at this price for the reasons mentioned in the review. However once you get to the RT85 level (at $500 USD) it may be worthwhile looking at the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo (at $600 USD) due to the tonearm on that model.
- With the Evo: cartridges, platters and sub-platters are all upgradeable options, so it becomes more of an investment over time
- With the RT85: you get the acrylic platter and Ortofon Blue cartridge from the start, but there are no tonearm upgrades at this time
Hi Randy, all those things we
learned about what makes for a
great turn table ! Well none of them
qualifiers relate to this turntable
Weight was #1 a big bonus we looked for a heavily weighted
platter was the sign of quality.
we wanted the S shaped tone
arm with the vertical adjustment
of the arm to the platter. To adj
for cartridge height & any anti static mats under the rubber one.
Removable cart. head shells speed
scope to adjust for pitch and we wanted the heaviest base we could
find with the shock mounted feet
or the optional shock reduction
feet. This thing has none of them
features we sought after. But then
again materials for manufacturing
were much less costly back then.
This Platten, platter, being as light
weight as it is most likely came
from its ability to be spun at a stable rate based on the DC drive motors
used today. They don't have the torque to turn the platten of a Technics 1200. It wud burn out
quickly. but I get the design & the
price incl. cart. & phono pre. is
a bit high priced with the all plastic
platten. Which you can have sand
blasted or buy a textured spray paint
and give it a spin as you spray it
too fit your Liking. Also for the other
turn table platten that rang like a Bell
no that's not to cool. To fix the ring
any hardware or kitchen remodeling
center. Ask for help ! You want the
sound deadening material its peel
and stick come with all most every stainless steel sink. Many people
never see it because the plumbers
automatically install it out of habit.
Some manufacturers started to place it on the sinks to stop the calls
from the DIY weekend warriors calling with stupid questions like thanks for the potato peeler my wife loves the idea, but wheres the best
location to place it. They resemble an asphalt like abrasive lined walls of an industrial potato peeling machines. Similar but stronger than a top loading washing machine used in restaurants. The potatoes are loaded into the drum and rotate against the abrasive walls to remove
the peel. But can grind the potatoes
down to skinny cylinders if left on
for a prolonged period of time.
That was long ago and the newer machines may have a sensor to
avoid over peeling, or. once you have determined a preset length of time
to achieve the texture you want.
They had timers back in the day.
They Ace hardware folks should
stock them. If not they can order
them as replacement parts you'll
have to be careful. Just peel away
a small part of the wax paper to expose the sticky bits, use it this
way until you achieve a balanced
platten mark your positions and
then you can remove the entire
backing stick in place. If you make
a mistake and find you are out of balance just cut away a bit of the sound deadening material to reach
the perfect balance with out any platter resonance, it builds over time & will have a noticeable ringing
tone it will ring at one frequency
that you can usually hear when making recordings. You can also pick it up with a stethoscope placed
against the base.. A further mod you
can do yourself is to add weight to
a light weight base l. We would glue
weights to the underside of the old
bases were thicker to appear more
robust.. But the hollow cavity could
trap the motor noise within the base
being picked up by some higher downward pressure carts IE the old
School Shure carts required 4 to
5 grams strange but true. Some
guys who know a woodworker or
are handy have made a false base
that the factory base firs into .
Then build a suspension using an old school bungee cord a thick cord
looks like Boot laces . They have a
rubber center. Is then stretched from
side to side , corner to corner holding the turntable adjust the
tension to fit your needs .
Enjoy I have many tips & tricks
for easy mods to improve hifi
You're very welcome to share
best regards. Rick
Hank Follicle! Nice review Andy :)
Hmm...still like my U-Turn. Had the OME-5 originally on it and thought it was too muddy. Went to the red and seemed a lot better! Yes, many love the blue but one step at a time.
Got my Orbit Plus a year ago with an acrylic platter upgrade. Love it. Got the built-in preamp and Ortofon 2M Red. Might try out the Blue in a year or so. Definitely a good deal at the price point. Only thing I miss is that most of the sub-$600 turntables these days (U-Turn, Pro-ject, Fluance, Denon, etc.) don't have removable headshells like my old Technics did. That would make changing and trying out new cartridges so much easier.
@@rosswarren436 I agree. The removable headshell would be an excellent option for U-turn. I also have the Acrylic platter. No phono pre. My Emotiva has a sweet phono stage.
@@kevinbehnke7149 yeah, it's like you could have one cartridge that sounds good on rock and pop music, and another one that sounds "warmer" for jazz and switch them out easy. Glad you like the Emotiva. I heard good things about it too.
I got the built-in preamp to feed my Denon AVR in the den, but once I move the TT to my living room later this year, I can either use it, or try out the one in some vintage gear I have that was recently refurbed and upgraded.
Streaming is nice, but playing vinyl engages me more with the music and forces me to listen more deeply. Enjoy the journey!
@@lednebnoj yeah, me too, after popping for the 2M Red, acrylic platter, cue lever, and internal preamp, it ended up being at least roughly the same in price as the RT-85. I did like the fact they were made here in the U.S. by a start up so that played a bit in my decision. I'm pretty happy with it. What can you say about the sonic differences between the 2M Red and the 2M Blue? Thanks.
Great video , just bought pro-ject E for £149, not bad price at all . Thanks
Don’t forget that the U-Turn charges extra for a cue lever, in your price comparison.
Yeah, $40 but definitely worth it.
@@rosswarren436 Oh, don't get me wrong, I bought the $40 cue lever on my U-Turn.
@@davidhadskey5979 definitely worth it, especially considering my level of "precision" handling...LOL...
Hank, a black-haired Flock of Seagulls in pink no less. So funny!
That ad is the funniest thing on the internet
I know that project offers an acrylic platter you can purchase separately. Not sure if the table would accept it though. Don't see why it wouldn't.
Love your vids and always make sure to hit you up before a new purchase. Any chance on a review of the project carbon debut evo?
Hank Follicle is hilarious 😂
Just found your channel and subscribed 🎼
You actually made an ad entertaining! Well done Andy!
Interesting budget TT, but it doesn't look like a real competitor to a Fluance RT-85.
Tribute to Andrew Robinson who of course has accepted Keeps sponsorship and actually uses their products.
Have u seen the crosley C10? It is a Pro-Ject ODM, I believe a Debut III with 3 foot.. Has a thicker table than this new E1 as well as adjustable weight and the OM5E.. and cheaper!
That Yamaha is a great little amp. I had the 301 for a while before upgrading. Kind of miss it
I have a Pro-Ject Carbon Evo with the Sumiko Rainier cartridge and I love it, my thinning hair not so much.
Best part of the review "if I threw this at my wife... She would not be happy"
I love the Hank intro
Try tapping a metal platter that has rubber on the back...
That Fluance platter has a beautiful ring .
Love it , good job Hank :)
I bet Hank's free range antibiotic free Pomeranians have amazing fur.
Please make a review of that yamaha 🙏
That Yamaha is a pretty old unit. There should be lots of reviews around. Andrew Robinson reviewed it on his channel but wasn't very happy with it. I've got an even older 700 with a bit less power and no DAC. It's my secondary stereo now but I think it's a great unit. Big fan of the loudness control.
The best 400 table out rn in my opinion is the one i got..
Audiotechnica drop carbon vta
Its git a ling tone arm and all the essentials its high end at low cost
THE DROP is a company out of San Francisco they work with manufacturers and relay customers feedback to create custom tailored gear
Plastic is a very good material for the platter.
Getting fancy, Randy. Side by side video tricks? Funny stuff again... This was a really helpful video for me. I want a turntable but was not in a big hurry to spend more money than I needed to. I have a cheapo, 30-year old Pioneer so the entry level E1 would be a major upgrade, relatively speaking. Gonna give this one a hard look...
Ping me in Patreon. Love to talk more about it
@@cheapaudioman Randy, reached out in Patreon. Would love to talk to you more about that E1. Thanks.
Any thoughts about Audio Technica turntables similarly priced but with removable headshells?
I haven't had any of those in. I know one of the benchmark affordable turntables is an AT
Its probably a DJ turntable. I wouldn't want anything with a removable headshell unless I had to have it for some reason.
@@AT-wl9yq why not? You can exchange the cartridge in seconds, not so easy when the headshell is not removable.
@@francescotenti193 You do have to rebalance the tonearm after changing cartridges unless they weigh exactly the same. My old Onkyo has a removable headshell that I appreciate just for inspecting the stylus.
@@francescotenti193 Yes, but you still have to align the cartridge, and there's no way a removable headshell is going to secure itself to the arm as well as a one piece unit. Its a feature meant for DJ's. A DJ always brings his own phono carts with them. They can be swapped out several times in one night depending on how many DJ's are going to use the same system. Also, you don't want a break in the cables. The weaker the signal is, the easier it's effected from outside variables. For example, (This is going to be very general. I'm just trying to explain the concept.) if you want to make a preamp to match up with an amp in your product line, the preamp has to be built to a higher standard than the amp in order for it to be equal in performance. That's because the weaker signal is harder to work with. A standard preamp is meant to take line level sources, like a CD player. A record player is something entirely different. The electricity to create the signal comes from the phono cart itself. And even the highest output phono cart won't come anywhere near to something you plug into the wall. Thats why when you unplug a turntable, you can turn the platter by hand still get music. So, when you wire the cart, one end of the cable connects direcly to it, and runs unbroken though the arm, and is terminated in rca, xlr, etc.. Since the output of a phono cart is so low, it can easily be effected by something as simple as breaking the direct connection to the phono pre, and putting a connector in line.
Somebody figured out the whole editing thing.
I'am getting my first record player and trying to decide between this (with the phono pre-amp) or the Pro-ject Debut III (with the phono pre-amp). I can get them new for the same price €300,- which one would be the better choice? The thing I dislike about the E1 is the plastic platter. But thats more because I'am afraid it will look cheap.
Just picked up a new in box Pro-Ject Essential III George Harrison edition with acrylic platter for $400 USD... loving it. Wanted a turntable with an acrylic platter and this was the best option I could find... only has the OM10... but I can upgrade later if I want.
why would you want to upgrade the cartridge. The OM10 is a fantastic cartridge and in my opinion if your entire Hi-Fi system is under $1,000 then to be honest with you there would be really no point in upgrading. you know under that price point you don't really get better sound you just get different sound. like for example if you were to put a grado cartridge on there, it would sound warmer and more analog but that doesn't necessarily make it better, it just makes it different. I mean you see what I'm saying, besides the OM series is a highly regarded cartridge and like Randy says here I myself prefer it to the 2M series. In my opinion it tracks better and displays less surface noise and just has a better tonal balance.
"Andy ......dealing in bafoonery." LOL
How is this different to Pro-ject's own T1 range of turntables???
I vowed that the Debut Carbon would be the first and last Pro-ject turntable I'd ever own. I had to modify the motor mount to suppress 120Hz mechanical hum. I hope Pro-Ject replaced their engineers before they started on their new tt line. If you can find a refurbished Dual belt-drive tt, get that instead of a Pro-Ject deck.
I'll binge listen through my U-Turn Orbit Plus with my Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge (sold separately). I could be quite happy with the Fluance RT-85N though.
Have you come across any Vintage harman kardon s or Kenwoods such as the rock)?
Project T1 Phono SB is also $449, and it comes with acrylic platter. Not sure why they went with a plastic platter for this one--seems like a downgrade to me because it's not any cheaper than the T1 Phono.
The T1 has a glass platter, not a acrylic. Which is much better than a plastic one.
@@purplehazeffc Oh yes, you are right.
OMG... that Preppy pink shirt ! Lol.
"I've never seen a plastic platter", well apparently you've never checked out the planar one from rega. I mean they use what they call a phenolic resin but when you actually hold one in your hand it's basically plastic.
you know and that said though I haven't had any issues with the two different planar ones that I've purchased over the last 5 years. although I have seen the manufacturing tolerances on these plastic platters not be so good so when you go to put on your favorite album and you crank up the turntable and think to yourself that you've got a warped record when come to find out it's the platter. but the sound organization has always been or mostly been fantastic when it comes to these sorts of issues.
got fluance rt 85 love it but project is a nice unit applicate your stuff
I thought of Robinson with the sponsor, then the name was Andy. Lol I agree, I’m not one that typically likes flashy things. The Matt color would have been a good option to have.
Hank Follicle! I'm dying!!
I can't quite reach the Metallica Project table, so I will scour through your videos to find a reasonable phono pre for my Audio Technica table.
Thanks for the video man.
I appreciate them.
iFi Zen.
I've got an ATLP120XUSB. I have a Pro-Ject Phono Box MM. About one hundred bucks. Works fine.
What would be a good budget amplifier to pair with this turntable?
"Similarly priced offerings... come around the same price."
Hm... I will have to think about that. :-)
Great Vid, cheers!
Bottom line is does it sound good out of the box? Why.. yes it does :)
Nice review! Thanks
Horst Fuchs's secret son, this guy😆
Would you use comparable Uturn or Fluance with built-in preamp? If not, did you account for external preamp cost, supposing that customers' existing system may lack one?
Thanks Andy. I like the bit with your evil twin, Dr. Follicle. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m diagnosed with Scalpus Domus Maximus, and beyond hair restoration. As my grandfather said, “you don’t see grass growing on a busy street. “
This seems like a great value and entry level turntable with features for all types of vinyl listeners. The platter left me spinning while I felt needled by the OM5 and cartridge.
lol. the Puns are strong!
I struggle to see the point of this model.. Pro-Ject already has a few cheap models.. for example the Primary e, T1 line, or even a few in the debut line. All of those seem to be a good deal so what exactly is it, that they need another similar model?
i have been on the fence about buying a new 'new' turntable. the one i have works, great to awesome. i have hales trans-ones and jamo 807s, arcam alpha 9 cd, cardas yada yada. did have BAT but sold off due to all too big for the cabin, anyways, A/B of some cds with vinyl, the vinyl bleats the cd even thru the arcam. what turn table pray-tell ... old garrard 5-300. it may have been refurb'd before buying off ebay for 60 bucks, new needle (unknown brand), NO motor noise. i have not owned prior to 2021 a turntable, unwrapped 20 year old miles davis however and jaw dropping. so to me the garrard sounds good, but ... will a 300-500 turn table be a step up ? if so how far ?
Hi Randy. If you clone yourself again, make sure you copy the original. If you copy a copy, that clone may wear pink shirts and take on weird names. BTW, your hair looks great. 👌 Great review. The walnut one has my eye. There is not enough wood in gear, anymore.
I have the Yamaha AS-801 and i ended up using an external phono preamp (a Schiit Mani), simply because the Yamaha phono preamp has low gain and isn’t adjustable. So records sound quieter than a CD for example. With my phono cartridge anyway, a Nagaoka MP-110
Rega's entry turntable is about $600, $725 with a built in pre-amp. They didn't used to be overpriced but they probably are now. I'd love to move up to the P6 but I'll stay happy with my 3 year old P3.
Unless... You're in the UK, where the Planar 1 is 299 pounds. The DC Evo is 499 there. Totally different proposition
@@leonardblush2557 Yes I paid £299 🇬🇧 years back for a Project "Carbon " straight arm - no built in phono amp or speed control
CD is my main source but I have vinyl some purchased + a small collection gifted to me from a very good friend .
Really impressed with how low the background noise is with the Project & ever so slightly " buttery " engaging sound especially with vocals ,🙂
Hilarious Advert brother!
i bought de T1 PROJECT AND THE TURNTABLE ARRIVED DAMAGED FROM THE CLUER ....THEN I CHANGED IT FOR AN AUDIO TECHNICA AT-LP120XUSB AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THIS HAS A LOT OF FEATURES AND A REALLY GOOD CARTRIDGE THE AT-VM95E
Reminded me of Uturn or AT-LP40w until that plastic platter. That's a curveball. More info on A-S801?
I prefer to think it’s for “endoscopy” or “ectoplasm-free”.
Hank Follicle, boy he sure is a sharp dresser, I’m guessing Hanks a White Claw guy😂. Don’t let him play frisbee with the wife. Come here for info and always leave with a laugh. Thank you Hank
Hey Randy - went to Patreon site and I was confused by the levels. If Thank You Tier and Zooms gets me 3 1 no 1 Zooms per year, why only 2 at the Golden VIP level? Thanks for all you do!
Because I didn’t update them correctly. Lol. Thanks for the heads up
Thanks for the review, although I'm not sure it's accurate to say they "going after Fluance and UTurn in the affordable turntable market" considering that Pro-Ject has been a major player in this space for years (this isn't even their cheapest model line).
Also, I'd guess that "E" stands for "electric" as it's basically their (cheaper) Primary E turntable with electric speed adjust, instead of the pully used on the Primary E.
My Uturn has an om5e and I am curious what improvements can be made switching to an om10 stylus, a 20 is a little more than I want to spend on an upgrade for this turntable.
Several years ago I purchased a U-Turn Orbit Plus that came with the OM5e for a budget system to use while working out of town. I'm used to moving coil cartridges on a much higher end system, but the 5e sounded pretty good for starters and I lived with it for a while. Then I tracked down an OM 10 stylus at a great price on Ebay, and got much better sound. I let things be for another month or so, but I was still itching for the better sound I was accustomed too and bought the OM20 stylus for around $130. With that installed I felt I was finally hearing MUSIC, not a compromise.
Cut to a couple of years later and I used my Orbit Plus while working out of town for several months and was very satisfied with the performance of the OM 20 stylus. For a while I used the table with the built in Pluto phono stage which is really just OK. Then I was able to retrieve my Parks Audio Puffin, and that made a huge difference, I really enjoyed that system while I was away. The U-Turn Orbt Plus and Parks Audio Puffin were hooked up to the wonderful PSB Alpha PS 1 powered speakers, and the companion PSB Subseries 100 desktop subwoofer. A really great and easily transported travel system I know I'll enjoy again in the future.
Thank you for you input.
Lol this is the greatest Keeps promo ever, they should give you extra money.
06:23 (tap repeatedly for an asmr experience)
Thank you
The plastic platter and fixed headshell are too 'turbo Crosley' for my taste. And the side is a silly place to put the speed selector, especially on such a lightweight deck. Back in 1980 every entry-level turntable coming out of Japan had a cast aluminium platter and removable headshell, usually along with a heavy rubber mat, an OEM audio technica cartridge, auto-return, controls mounted where you could see them and some form of acoustic decoupling. Their motors were generally an order of magnitude more stable than today's examples, and they managed all this for a price that, adjusting for inflation, weighs in at $300 or less.
Obviously you need to check out any 40-year-old turntable for wear and tear, but if it's in decent condition (and new belts are cheap and readily available) give me a 1980-vintage budget turntable over any of the entry-level models manufactured today!
I agree with you 100%. Back in 1980 I bought a Technics SL-D2 with an Ortofon 15 MkII, the cheap Technics!, direct drive, built like a tank, removable head shell and auto return. The only "upgrade" was to replace the cartridge with a 2M Blue with significant sound improvement, the rest untouched! Still looks brand new after "only" 42 years! Can today stuff last that long? Maybe but probably not!
I thought you were gonna show the new Metallica Project turntable
😆 again with the "this one's in white"
Teac make a affordable turntable about the same price witch I prefer to the project bough a belt drive and a direct drive. very simmer looking but I think nicer witch have a removable head shell
Video starts 2:32
first get new door locks that crazy looking guy was creepy and your hair looks better ,on this TT i like the platter it kind of reminds me of the old style portable record players that had the thick metal platter and some were shiny like this one and this platter to me does not look cheap it looks more robust ,i have a pro-ject debut 3 with aluminum tone arm and yes changing the cartridge would be difficult mine came with metal platter it was heavy it rang like a bell but i switched to an acrylic platter it was easier to lift up to change speed the metal platter i was always worried about dropping platter and maring wood finish plus the sound was better, this TT i like this one better than fluance if you look inside of TT it is very hollow its made in china so fluance is making money on a hollow box ,the orbit is nicer ,it is a solid plinth but i do not like the belt seen too many reviews of said TT where the belt keeps falling off to me a flatter belt would solve this and you should not have to pay extra for a cueing lever even the cheap suitcase record players have one,I even questioned orbit about it the answer they gave me made no sense to me I believe it is a better TT than fluance build wise but if this is like my pro-ject i would get this one my was under 300.00 ,i am sure the fluance is a beautifull TT the finish looks fantastic but I saw a video on this model where the reviewer opened one up to see the internals it was very empty with electronoc board but was not impressed with the motor it looks like the cheapy motor u see in every other TT I would like to think it is a high quality motor but that all i will say JRo
all I know - at 73 I have a pile of LP's - couple weeks ago took out 3 to play - ALL 0f em had grown notable warps ( A.B.B. 'Beginnings', 'Brothers & Sisters' , Ventures 'Walk don't run'.) always stored vertical. So I ordered replacements for 2. they both arrived with worse warps than my originals. one, a NEW product, had such bad warps that when spinning, the edge of disc actually hit the tonearm (thorens ) Pathetic. CD's are better. simple. to start, $75. at a big box store gets ya a DVD player perfectly capable of playing CD's...... minimum what $ 300. for a decent T'table ? anyway, I prefer video DVD's /blue ray of concerts be it Grateful Dead , Oregon or A. Netrebko, LaTraviatta.
CD is better than vinyl in every measurable way, as in specs on paper. Can vinyl sound better? I think it can. Many people think so. I think you can get better sound from a cheap CD player than you can a cheap turntable. But, people love vinyl with a following that we didn't expect. Maybe it is the purely analog connection to their music. People these days never owned anything without a computer in it.
Andy, Andy, Andy
...
I like the fluance rt84 better
Too expensive these things now. I bought the original Debut when it came on the market on the UK around 2000. It was made in the Czech Republic, cost around $150, and from what I've seen of the modern Chinesium Projects, the old one was built better as well.
I don't believe that direct sales will always get you a better price, companies tend to set the price at what they think the consumer is willing to pay. I've noticed that two of the direct sales speaker companies have slowly risen their prices at about the same sound to sound value for companies that use retail stores.
You're right. Its a terrible business model. There's a few exceptions, but when a company goes direct sales, its usually because they have to.
Not punk-proof enough for me, but for people with a delicate touch and aesthetic taste, not bad.
A plastic unweighted platter?
No way - acrylic is the best solution for belt drives ( not big on belt drive ) . I can get an Audio Technics direct drive for not much more.
And I would never depend on factory settings for any tonearm - always check the weight and anti skate. If you care about your albums.
Sounds good but Orbits customer service is unparalleled...
That's one sexy amp.
I’m unsure at what resonance level a platter-to-the-face is going to garner a positive response from my wife.
Must be a North American standard?