Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — Pro-Ject The Beatles Yellow Submarine

The Beatles Yellow Submarine belongs to the Collector's Edition models of Pro-Ject Audio Systems, painted yellow and shaped like the submarine from the Beatles film released in April 1968. It is number five in the Pro-Ject Beatles series and made its debut in May 2018 at the Munich High End exhibition, tied to the 4K restoration of the film for its 50th anniversary. The UK launch price was GBP 389, with a dust cover sold at extra cost. The deck is supplied with a yellow Ortofon Concorde cartridge named Sonar, created by Ortofon exclusively for this edition.

Key specs that matter

Speeds are 33 and 45 rpm, with manual change. Pro-Ject quotes speed variance of 0.60% at 33 rpm and 0.50% at 45 rpm, and wow and flutter of 0.19% and 0.17%. The 300 mm glass platter carries a felt mat and turns on a brass main bearing with a teflon plate. The light 8.6 inch aluminium arm measures 218.5 mm in effective length, with an effective mass of 6.0 g, an overhang of 18.5 mm and a counterweight range of 2 to 5.0 g. The Sonar cartridge gives 5 mV at 1,000 Hz and 5 cm per second, covers 20 to 20,000 Hz within 1.5 dB, uses a spherical stylus and tracks at 1.75 g, or 17.5 mN. It weighs 19 g and has an internal inductance of 450 mH. Power consumption peaks at 4.5 W, and the deck measures 500 x 120 x 400 mm (WxHxD) with a net weight of 4.5 kg.

Engineering and use context

The platter is spun by a synchronous motor using a silicone belt selected for optimum damping. The chassis is rigid MDF, and it stands on vibration absorbing feet. The S-shaped tonearm pivots on a sapphire bearing, and the signal contacts are gold-plated. The Sonar comes fitted to the arm, and its yellow body matches the colour of the plinth. The whole turntable is hand-made in Europe.

Pairing

The Sonar expects a load of 47 kOhm and a capacitance of 200 to 500 pF, which matches a standard moving magnet phono input. With no phono stage built in, the turntable connects to an amplifier with an MM input or to a separate phono preamp.

Alternatives

The Pro-Ject The Beatles 1964 Recordplayer is a limited Beatles edition based on the Debut Carbon Esprit SB, with an acrylic platter, an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge and a run of 2,500 pieces worldwide.