Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — Pro-Ject X8 Special Edition

The X8 Special Edition is a version of the Pro-Ject X8 belt-drive turntable finished in high-gloss black on top with a metallic coating on the sides of the chassis. It comes with a Pro-Ject 9cc Evolution carbon fibre tonearm and a factory-fitted Ortofon Quintet Black S moving coil cartridge from the Ortofon Quintet series, which carries a Nude Shibata diamond on a sapphire cantilever. Its recommended tracking force is 2.3 g within a 2.1 to 2.5 g range, and its dynamic compliance is 15 um/mN. The recommended price at its introduction was EUR 2,599.

Key specs that matter

Speeds are 33 and 45 rpm, chosen with buttons through integrated electronic motor control. The platter weighs 5.1 kg, is precision-turned from a single piece of aluminium and is damped by a TPE ring fitted below it. The signal-to-noise figure is 73 dB. Wow and flutter on the X8 platform is rated at 0.11 percent at 33 rpm and 0.10 percent at 45 rpm, with drift of 0.11 and 0.09 percent. The deck is 465 mm wide, 150 mm high and 350 mm deep, growing to 415 mm high and 420 mm deep with the lid open, and it weighs 15 kg.

Engineering and use context

The platter runs on an inverted bearing with ceramic running surfaces, and a magnetic support of mutually repelling neodymium magnets takes a large share of the platter weight off that bearing. The chassis is made of compressed wood fibre and stands on three height-adjustable aluminium feet with TPE damping to decouple it from external vibration. The 9cc Evolution arm uses a one-piece tapered carbon fibre tube that merges into the headshell, ABEC 7 ball bearings in a heavy C-shaped cradle, and adjustment for VTA and azimuth. On the X8 platform this arm has a 230 mm effective length and an 8.5 g effective mass. The signal leaves through a 5-pin DIN socket, part of the True Balanced approach of Pro-Ject, with a tonearm cable of about 123 cm supplied and an optional cable for balanced XLR. Power comes from an outboard supply, and the X8 draws 5 W in operation and 0.3 W in standby. A felt mat and a hinged plexiglass dust cover are included.

Pairing

The Quintet Black S is a moving coil design, so the X8 Special Edition needs a phono preamplifier suited to moving coil cartridges. Ortofon rates the Quintet Black S at 0.3 mV output at 1 kHz and 5 cm/s, with an internal impedance of 5 ohm and a recommended load above 20 ohm. A phono preamplifier with balanced inputs makes use of the symmetrical output of the deck when linked with the optional XLR cable.

Alternatives

The Pro-Ject X8 B is the regular X8 model on the same platform, sharing the same heavy platter, the magnetic bearing support and the 9cc EVO arm.