Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — Pro-Ject Primary E

The Primary E is Pro-Ject's manual turntable with belt drive, launched at an MSRP of EUR 259 including VAT and described by the Austrian maker as an audiophile plug and play design handmade in Europe. It ships with an Ortofon OM moving magnet cartridge already mounted, its downforce and anti-skating adjusted before shipping, leaving no arm adjustment to do before the first record. It was offered in matte black, red and white finishes.

Key specs that matter

The deck turns at 33 or 45 rpm, and switching between them is done by hand. A synchronous motor turns a 300 mm platter topped with a felt mat through a silicone belt. Pro-Ject lists wow and flutter at 0.29% for 33 rpm and 0.27% for 45 rpm, with speed variance of 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. Its 8.6 inch aluminium arm measures 218.5 mm in effective length, with an overhang of 22.0 mm and an effective mass of 8.0 g. Tracking force can range from 0 to 25 mN, and the supplied counterweight suits cartridges of 3 to 5.5 g. The deck measures 420 x 112 x 330 mm (WxHxD), weighs 4.0 kg net and draws at most 4.5 W from a built-in supply rated 230 V 50 Hz, or 110 V 60 Hz for the US.

Engineering and use context

Pro-Ject machines the chassis from a special composite fibre material, and vibration absorbing feet isolate it from the surface below. According to Pro-Ject, the lightweight, low friction arm was optimised for the Ortofon cartridge, and it pivots on a sapphire bearing. The main bearing is stainless steel running in a bronze bushing. Contacts are gold-plated, and a gold-plated RCA phono cable is soldered directly to the deck rather than plugging into sockets. The company explains that omitting needless features and presetting the arm kept costs down despite hand assembly in Europe. The box also holds a dust cover with adjustable hinges, an adapter for 7 inch singles, the felt mat, a hex key plus a gauge for checking stylus pressure. An Acryl it E acrylic platter was offered as an optional upgrade at EUR 79.

Pairing

Lacking an internal preamp, the fixed cable must go to a phono input on an integrated amplifier or a receiver, or else to an outboard MM preamplifier feeding a line input. The Ortofon OM is a moving magnet type, which matches the standard MM setting found on most such stages.

Alternatives

The Pro-Ject Primary E Phono uses the same chassis and arm but adds an internal preamplifier and a switchable phono or line output.