Naming things is hard. For every company that knocks it out of the park – take a bow Mazda, creator of the Bongo Friendee mini-van – there's an Elon Musk apparently naming his children by rubbing his phone on his face and going with whatever appears on-screen. And Pro-Ject, maker of fine turntables, appears to be in the second category: its latest turntable has some really important updates… and a really uninspiring name. The successor to the (excellent) Pro-Ject Debut Pro is, er, the Pro-Ject Debut Pro B.
It may seem like an odd choice, because of course the letter has so many negative connotations: Plan B, B-movie, Cardi B... I'm kidding about that last one. But while the thinking behind it is obvious – this version of the Pro has balanced outputs, hence the B – I do think Pro-Ject is maybe hiding its light under a bushel. The Pro-Ject Debut Pro is a brilliant turntable and this version is a very significant upgrade that takes it to a whole new level.
What's new in the Pro-Ject Debut Pro B?
There are two big changes here: a balanced mini XLR output and a new moving magnet cartridge, the Pick it Pro, which is a balanced cartridge. The mini XLR is designed to connect to the Phono Box S3 B, Phono Box DS3B or Tube Box DS3 B via mini XLR to mini XLR; alternatively you can use mini XLR to standard XLR for the DS3B or Reference Series Phono Box RS2. With the balanced output "the improvement is not subtle," Pro-Ject says.
Another benefit of balanced decks is that they tend to perform slightly better in less-than-ideal surroundings or less-than surgically-clean environments. A balanced audio connection works, in essence, by taking two signals from a turntable cartridge (in this case, that new Pick it Pro MM stylus) and inverting one of them, which helps nix noise picked up along its tangible, analogue signal path. This can help counteract distortion and noise – although using one by a pool still presents some risks; electronics and water don't tend to mix well and all that.
Familiar features include the 8.6-inch carbon on aluminum tonearm with its massive bearing block, a precision-machined die-cast and TPE-damped aluminum platter and an anti-resonant sub-platter. It's finished with nickel-plated hardware and a gorgeous eight-coat satin black paint job.
The current Debut Pro is already a seriously impressive turntable: our colleagues at What Hi-Fi? gave it one of their prestigious awards last year, alongside a five-star review that praised its clarity, precision, "impressive finesse" and top-tier build quality: it's "a superb sounding package that's built well and easy to set up". And the same firm's Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo is our current pick of the very best turntables around: it's quite expensive but it's "one of the best decks on the planet right now." So it sounds like the PRO B could be something special.
The Debut Pro B will begin shipping in the US this fall with a recommended retail price of $1,099 (which is around £855 or AU$1,659, give or take).
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