![]() ![]() Finally, the Debut III has an attractive plastic dustcover. The Ortofon cartridge outputs 4mV, tracks at 1.75gm, and is recommended to be loaded with 47k ohms. The phono cable terminates in gold-plated plugs. The inverted horizontal bearings consist of two hardened stainless-steel points, but the arm's vertical tracking angle (VTA) is not adjustable. The headshell and undamped armtube are cut from a single piece of aluminum. The 'table's power supply is separately housed. The steel-sheet platter is fitted with a felt mat and sits on a hub with a spindle of chrome-plated stainless steel runs on a polished ball bearing in a brass housing. To reduce the transmission of vibrations, the motor is decoupled from the fiber-board plinth, which sits on four shock-absorbing feet. The Pro-Ject's AC motor has a two-step metal pulley, for 33 and 45rpm (78rpm is available as an option), which drives the hub and platter via a flat-ground belt. The paint on my attractive red sample reminded me of Porsche's "Arrest Me Red" hue. The turntable is available in flat black ($349) or any of several custom colors (add $30): piano-gloss black, silver, glossy white, red, yellow, blue, and green. As I examined the Debut III, the phrase "cost-cutting to a price point" never entered my mind. As I unpacked and set up the Debut III, I noted how well-thought-out and simple the design is, and how rugged and stable it seems. I've had a lot of experience with turntables, having owned rugged, well-designed decks from VPI, Rega, Goldmund, Linn, and Thorens the Pro-Ject fits nicely into this company. The instructions are clearly written any mechanically challenged person who has never seen a turntable before should be able to set up a Debut III in 20 minutes. The cartridge comes already installed and aligned all you need do is install the counterweight, set the tracking and antiskating forces, unlock the motor transport screw, and you're ready to go. The Debut III is a complete "plug'n'play" record player that includes a Pro-Ject 8.6 tonearm and an Ortofon OM 5E moving-magnet cartridge. So I decided to review Pro-Ject's Debut III turntable ($349), to see how it would fare not only in a revealing reference system, but also when matched with other entry-level components. In his words, "Young people are buying entry-level turntables, and someday they may actually have jobs." I was recently discussing the surge in vinyl demand among our youts with Josh Bizar, of audio and music retailer Music Direct, who sees the potential for future revenue in this development. To my surprise, his Overcast Radio release in the Dubstep/Grime genre, "Midnight Sun/Vendetta" (45rpm single, Surface Tension STNSN002), is available on vinyl and as an MP3 download, but not on CD. I was thinking about this when I listened to the new solo recording by Chris Jones, the bassist in my jazz quartet, Attention Screen. I felt a turntable would be a good place to start.Įven Michael Fremer is surprised at how hip it now is to play vinyl again, especially among the younger set. My goal here, of course, is to inspire a new generation of young audiophiles. Not only was I impressed with the sound, build quality, and features of this very affordable component, but, intrigued by how it might be combined with other gear to build a complete entry-level system for about a thousand bucks, I began to ponder other entry-level components that might nicely complement it. In the January 2010 issue of Stereophile I gushed effusively about the $450 Marantz PM5003 integrated amplifier. ![]()
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