Turntables — Pro-Ject AUTOMAT A2

The AUTOMAT A2 is an accomplished automatic belt-drive turntable from Pro-Ject, supporting three rotation speeds and, unlike the Automat A1, no longer tying rotation speed to platter size - allowing independent determination of the playback starting point. The AUTOMAT A2 brings Pro-Ject's considered engineering to a flexible, fully automatic analogue playback format.

Key specs that matter

Three speeds are supported - 33-1/3, 45, and 78rpm - via belt drive with a DC motor, operating fully automatically. A pre-installed tonearm comes fitted with a factory-mounted Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. The platter is a damped-aluminium design. Signal-to-noise is 74dB. At 430 x 150 x 365mm and 7.3kg, the AUTOMAT A2 maintains a manageable turntable chassis reflecting Pro-Ject's considered automatic-operation engineering.

Sound and use context

Expect a dependable, flexible automatic performance reflecting the decoupling of rotation speed from platter size, with the factory-matched Ortofon 2M Red cartridge and damped-aluminium platter delivering stable, accurate playback.

Pairing

The factory-matched Ortofon 2M Red cartridge comes pre-aligned, and the AUTOMAT A2 connects straightforwardly to an amplifier with a built-in phono stage or an external phono preamplifier.

Alternatives

Pro-Ject's own Automat A1 offers the original, platter-size-tied-speed predecessor within the same broader Automat series.