![]() A somewhat hidden switch mounted on the RCA jack junction box switches between the built-in phono preamp (“line-out”) and direct out of the arm to connect to an outboard phono preamp. The T1 is out of the box and playing records in a matter of minutes, making it a great first turntable choice. The feet can’t be leveled so make sure your platform is. I checked out the overhang and tracking force and both were correctly set-something you can’t take for granted. The cartridge is pre-installed and tracking force pre-set. Yes, it runs slightly slow but only slightly and the low pass filtered relative and absolute deviations are eye popping to the point where I had to repeat them before believing. You see measured speed consistency performance from few if any $399 turntables. You don’t expect great speed consistency or accuracy at this price point, but you expect reasonably good, right? I couldn’t believe what I saw when I looked at the Platterspeed app’s report: Holy Crap! Look at These Speed Measurements! There’s a built-in anti-skating compensation of some sort I was told and no adjustments for azimuth or VTA/SRA, which is fine for this price point where rigidity is more important the adjustability.Īccessories include a hinged dustcover, felt mat, overhang and tracking force gauges a 45rpm adapter and a set of “Direct soldered” low capacitance Connect it E phono cables. Tracking force range is between 0 and 5 grams. It can accommodate cartridges weighing between 5-10 grams. Pro-Ject designed a new one piece 8.6” aluminum tonearm for the T1 riding on precision bearings with an effective 218.5mm length and 8 gram effective mass. The platter is a new full-sized blasted-glass design. More importantly, the drive system includes a machined aluminum pulley, a precision flat belt, plus a newly designed sub-platter mounted into an ultra-precise 0.001mm main bearing with a hardened steel axle and brass bushing as found in the Essential III turntables. The CNC machined MDF plinth has no hollow spaces inside and the high-gloss black exterior’s finish (also available in gloss white and walnut) is uncommonly well-finished for a turntable at this price point. Lichtenegger promised, you won’t find plastic here. The review here is of the T1 Phono SB, though the less costly T1 is very similar and also includes an Ortofon OM5e cartridge that tracks at 1.75 grams.Īs Mr. motor with push button 33 1/3/45rpm speed selection and a built-in switchable MM phono preamplifier ($399) and the T1 BT that adds Bluetooth streaming ($449). The T1 is available in 3 editions: the standard “no frills” model ($329), the T1 Phono SB that adds an electronically regulated precision-speed A.C. Though at the time he feared he’d not be able to compete in that market segment with a product worthy of the Pro-Ject name, he’s come up with the T1-a physically attractive, high performance, well-constructed turntable that’s competitively priced and built to “no plastic” higher construction standards. His biggest concern was not the small bottom line incursion into his expansive product line that’s grown to include digital and tube electronics, amplifiers and speakers, but rather that people buying cheap plastic “starter” turntables would have a bad vinyl experience.Ĭynics might think his primary concern was the bottom line, but they don’t know Heinz. ![]() “These cheap plastic turntables from China are hurting my business….” he began. He appeared agitated-not the usual easygoing (but intense) demeanor of a guy who in the early 1990s bet the farm on analog and won-bigtime. Pro-Ject’s Heinz Lichtenegger pulled me aside at High End Munich 2018.
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