Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — Pro-Ject XA B

The XA B is a Pro-Ject belt-drive turntable with a plinth of clear acrylic, handmade in Europe and designed around a balanced signal path. It ships with a single-piece aluminium tonearm and a Pick it PRO Balanced MM cartridge set up at the factory. The US price was USD 1,499 with availability from 15 October 2024, the UK price was GBP 1,099 and the Australian price about AUD 2,125. Pro-Ject has built its turntables by hand in Europe since 1991, and the XA B extends its range of balanced decks into a see-through format.

Key specs that matter

Speeds are 33 and 45 rpm with electronic speed change. Wow and flutter is rated at 0.13 percent at 33 rpm and 0.12 percent at 45 rpm, with speed drift of 0.30 and 0.20 percent. The platter is 1.7 kg of die-cast aluminium, precision-balanced, 30 mm thick and damped with TPE on its lower face. Effective arm length is 245 mm, overhang is 18 mm and effective mass comes to 10 g. Closed, the deck measures 460 x 130 x 340 mm (W x H x D). It weighs 6.3 kg net and 8 kg packed.

Engineering and use context

In designing the deck, Pro-Ject chose materials by how their resonant frequencies suit each other, which is why the arm is aluminium rather than carbon fibre to match the acrylic plinth. The arm runs in a cardan bearing with four stainless steel contact points for low friction, and it offers adjustable azimuth and vertical tracking angle, a TPE-damped counterweight and adaptive anti-skating. The cartridge routes its signal symmetrically, and the deck passes it on through a True Balanced 5-pin DIN socket. Three height-adjustable metal isolation feet, described by Pro-Ject as a special design, with TPE damping allow levelling on an uneven surface. Power is supplied by an external universal 15 V DC, 0.8 A unit, and consumption is 4.5 W in operation and under 0.3 W in standby. Pro-Ject packs a dust cover, a felt mat, a Record puck E, an adapter for 7 inch singles and a 1.23 m Connect it E phono lead running from the DIN socket to RCA plugs.

Pairing

The RCA cable feeds any moving magnet phono input or external phono preamplifier. For a fully balanced link Pro-Ject names its Phono Box S3 B, Phono Box DS3 B and Tube Box DS3 B phono stages, used with a True Balanced cable from 5-pin DIN to Mini-XLR or XLR.

Alternatives

The Pro-Ject X8 B is a heavier Pro-Ject belt-drive model with a 5.1 kg platter, a 9cc EVO carbon fibre arm and a 15 kg weight.