Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO, Audiophile turntable with Carbon Fiber tonearm, Electronic Speed Selection and pre-mounted Ortofon 2M Red phono cartridge (High Gloss Black)

Product Information

New for this model are a set of three height-adjustable, damped aluminium feet that will ensure the turntable always sits perfectly level on your cabinet or table, while reducing vibration. They look pretty cool, too, especially when contrasted against one of the more funky-coloured variants.

What impressed me the most was the easy setup. The Debut Carbon EVO took me under ten minutes to set up, and everything felt dialed-in and ready to go almost immediately. The service from Richer has always been so good there was no choice where I would buy my replacement. The in-house designed and manufactured AC drive motor is made to fine tolerances for minimal noise, but to further eliminate any potential interference the motor is decoupled from the main chassis by a new mounting plate with TPE-damping. The mounting plate isolates the motor while still keeping it perfectly level with the sub-platter drive system for absolute speed stability. The turntable plinth also sits on three height-adjustable aluminium feet with TPE-damping to ensure an absolutely stable platform with good isolation from the shelf it is placed upon. The turntable to which this arm is attached is also recognisably a Debut but one that a fine tooth comb has been applied to. The platter is made from steel, as it has been on many previous iterations but there is now additional dampening. This takes the form of a ring of TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) around the inner lip of the platter and it results in a pleasingly inert sound when you tap it.

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Whether or not the Debut Carbon Evo is the best record player for you might be decided by whether you prefer its fuller, more relaxed character or the more spritely and lean alternative of its main competitor. the newest Pro-Ject’s creation outperformed tonally and once again emotionally – dare I say – pricier, older, and higher up the rank offerings. I was half tempted to have a change but the sound from the Evo was just right for my ears and set-up it seemed silly to change. The motor drives a sub-platter system for a more elegant overall aesthetic. The sub-platter is mounted into a precision-engineered stainless steel main bearing with bronze bushing. The sub-platter sits beneath the heavy main steel platter with TPE damping. This proven drive system experiences minimal friction and allows for excellent technical measurements and unrivalled speed stability.

A classic signature feature of the original model that has been carried through is the carbon tonearm. Usually found on more expensive turntables, this provides significant benefits to the sound quality. Being stiffer than steel, the tonearm is more rigid, which helps reproduce the music more accurately. In short, the music sounds tighter, punchier and more detailed.There is no doubt that the entire performance of the Debut Carbon EVO model escalates to new levels of richness, realism, and detail retrieval, entering ‘restricted’ audiophile ground territory. Right from the beginning, the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO was far better: more emotional and weighty, more living-and-breathing, more detailed, more dynamic, more spacious. Also much more engaging and resolute without any distraction of harshness. What the Pro-Ject System does so well is give you the integration, flexibility, and convenience of an all-in-one but in a manner that is entirely Pro-Ject and tremendously appealing as a result.

We might seem too enthusiastic about a player in this price range, but the truth is that for the asking price, the Debut Carbon EVO does it all so well that it is hard not to admire the merit of the Austrian company. Probably it’s the peak – bonus – prize of Pro-Ject’s decades-lasting honesty and respect towards vinyl and audiophiles. This is a display of strength: with its construction quality and sonic characteristics, it‘s the new reference in this price category. With specs like these, it is highly recommended! Of course, that is of little surprise. The company has long proven its ability to offer up a magnificently plush midrange, with vocals so often a particular treat when given so much warmth and held up by plenty of weight in the bass.

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This is more great affordable Hi-Fi but done in a way that is brilliantly user-friendly. It’s hard to see the result as anything other than a Best Buy. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 26th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)

There’s heat in the low frequencies, certainly, but they’re not overcooked and it’s certainly not at the expense of detail or texture. There’s a similarly lavish amount of detail retrieved in the midrange – it reveals so much about the glee and malevolence Nina Simone imbues her performance with it’s almost hair-raising – and while the top end is rolled off just fractionally, it’s far from a blunt instrument. The Carbon EVO had a good range, a sense of transparency and speed while at the same time being soft and relaxed, with a slightly dark character, which rules out any possibility of roughness. The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo is an unsuspended, belt driven turntable and latest scion of the Debut line. This, should you happen to have spent the 21 st century in a cave, is one of the pillars on which the vinyl revival is based. We can state with the sort of hindsight fueled assurance that we all fall into if we’re not careful, that it was inevitable that a device like the original Pro-Ject Debut would have been released by somebody. I will go on record as saying I’m not as sure. The success of the original Debut looks inevitable from 2020 but it really wasn’t at the time.The system has well-controlled, articulate, and detailed bass, without overemphasis.Rhythm sections were performed with a good sense of timing, good speed, and volume, avoiding any exaggeration.