Being an audiophile can be expensive, with quality speakers, amplifiers, and turntables often costing thousands of dollars. However, some brands, like Pro-Ject, stand out by offering high-performance turntables at more reasonable prices.
The Pro-Ject Debut EVO, in particular, was huge for the audio space, offering premium build quality, a stylish design, and the components necessary for best-in-class audio. Recently, Pro-Ject unveiled a refresh of the EVO in the form of the Pro-Ject Debut EVO 2, a turntable that doubles down on fun colors while boasting even better audio.
Design, in particular, has always been important to the brand, and that can be seen anytime you look at a Pro-Ject product. Its turntables offer a sense of minimalistic modernism, with a huge selection of colors, each of which looks excellent. The Debut EVO 2 itself is a feat of engineering at an incredible price, but recently the company has begun expanding into even more affordable territory through the new Tone Factory brand. The Tone Factory Tone Turntable offers many of the same features as the higher-end Pro-Ject products, along with the bonus of the colorful build that customers know and love.
After being an admirer of Pro-Ject for so long, we wanted to find out more about the process of designing audio products. Recently, Design Milk sat down with Jakob Dirnberger, Art Direction and Marketing at Pro-Ject, to discuss their approach to designing stylish yet affordable turntables.
Walk me through the process of designing a product like the new Pro-Ject Debut EVO 2.
The Debut is our best-selling turntable, and customers love it. For over 20 years, the Debut Turntable Line has been one of the top-selling products in hi-fi history, with nearly one million units sold. For the first time, an audiophile product gained the status of a lifestyle product – as it was the first turntable that was offered in different colors. Over the years we constantly improved the Debut, especially due to the incorporation of new materials like carbon fiber. That’s why we approach every change with great care, analyzing every detail. So, how do you improve a formula that has been so successful?
For this new release, we focused on refining details and integrating features typically found in our premium turntables. The main changes are technical, but I’ll keep it brief:
The Debut EVO 2 now features the same 1.7kg aluminum die-cast platter as the Debut PRO, our top-of-the-line model. It incorporates a TPE-dampening-ring to reduce resonance and has an overall cleaner look. A throne for your records 😉
While the tonearm on its predecessor the Debut Carbon EVO was already excellent, we’ve gained a lot of experience designing premium tonearms over the past years. We developed a full range of 24 premium configurations and applied those insights to the new Debut EVO 2 tonearm. It now comes with a heavier steel counterweight that includes a TPE damping ring, similar to our high-end models. The precisely CNC-milled aluminium tonearm bearing block effectively absorbs unwanted resonances from the cartridge, which we’ve also upgraded. For the first time ever, the Debut comes with a cartridge specifically designed for it. The new Pick it MM EVO MM cartridge combines a unique set of technologies, including Ortofon’s well-known split pole pins, giving it a flat frequency response that’s almost comparable to MC cartridges.
Last, but not least, we are working on an eco-friendly packaging. We’re transitioning to cardboard fiber packaging to reduce waste and be more environmentally conscious, although this requires significant investment in production tools. By the end of the year, we expect to fully switch to cardboard fiber for the entire Debut series.
On top of the new features, we have also added a new colour option for the new Debut EVO 2: Satin Wine Red.
How has Pro-Ject’s approach to design changed over the years?
When we talk about the product design, we are constantly evolving, implementing new technologies, etc. What has certainly changed the most from my perspective is the diversity of our product range. No other manufacturer has such a wide range of products with so many different configurations and colors as we do. The first record player, the Pro-Ject 1 from 1991 was unlike anything available at the time: reduced to the essentials, made of high-quality materials and equipped mainly with a great sound. Over the years, a whole range of models has developed. From the rectangular basic version over round shapes to innovative creations on which the record is played vertically. The products are built for a long life, and they should become your favorite items and effortless to use.
Our branding and overall appearance, have become increasingly mature over the years. When we launch campaigns, we also make a point of trying new things – we want our content to entertain, not just inform. In my eyes, that’s an important factor. Customers don’t experience a brand solely through the product itself but also through its presentation and the content we deliver. Design also plays a role here: in product photography, in the creation of videos, and so on: everything is done in-house by a small team. As a design & marketing team, we are involved in the entire process, from the idea to the execution and the design of advertising campaigns.
Pro-Ject builds some of the best turntables out there, but at a very reasonable price. How does pricing impact your design process? Are there any aspects of design that you have to compromise on to hit the lower price point?
Price increases over the last years due to the several crises have naturally been challenging! Most turntable brands are produced in Asia – our turntable factory is located in the heart of Europe, in the Czech Republic. Of course European production is a lot more expensive, but we take pride in the fact that our production facility is only a few hours away from our headquarters in Austria. By utilizing a unique blend of cutting-edge technologies and traditional machines we are able to create a state-of-the-art product without losing an eye for the details. One of our core philosophy aspects has always been – no features at the cost of performance. The foundation of Pro-Ject was based on the re-establishment of the fully manual turntable with no fancy bells and whistles as the industry standard. Any feature that offers convenience comes at the cost of musical quality and longevity. Our primary goal at Pro-Ject is to offer maximum sound quality and longest life span.
What’s the process of determining the best build materials for a product like this, both for design and for creating the best audio experience?
In our opinion, the recipe for a technically correct record player is simple. Many manufacturers still make mistakes. The materials we choose are based on what makes acoustic sense. Everything is subordinate to the sound. We use different materials depending on the price range.
The Chassis (Plinth): MDF is used for the chassis of our record players. This is particularly advantageous acoustically, as MDF is a low-resonance material. As you move up in our product lines the top players plinths are filled with steel pellets to increase mass and cancel vibrations that could interfere with the musical signal.
The Spindle: Another important aspect are steel spindles and metal bearings. A quality spindle is a must. All Pro-Ject players feature stainless steel spindles and high quality bearings to ensure many years of wobble-free record rotation.
In the case of our top-of-the-line turntables the heavyweight platter spins on an inverted ceramic ball bearing with a magnetic support to reduce bearing noise and resonance to an absolute minimum.
Serious Tonearms: At Pro-Ject tonearms are addressed with great consideration since it’s the physical connection of the stylus to the player. It has a great influence on the tonality and response of the turntable. We use aluminum or carbon for the tonearms. We do not use plastic! Pro-Ject tonearms are very stiff and lightweight that means quick response to impulses and high tonal neutrality. Our high precision bearings guarantee exact tracking of the needle along the groove. Our top models incorporate Swiss bearings with extremely tight tolerances.
Quality Cartridges: We carefully match the cartridge to the player so you are ensured the best cartridge for your money. We rely on premium brands that have decades of experience in the field of cartridge manufacturing like Ortofon and Sumiko.
Great design has been a core aspect of your turntables. Why is it important to you to create a product that not only sounds good, but looks good too?
There are far more convenient ways to listen to music than with vinyl records. In fact, compared to streaming, it can be quite a hassle. But that’s precisely what we embrace, which is why we hold such high standards for design – so that the listening experience becomes a pleasure. A turntable is not only a tool that plays you records. It’s an instrument – it’s a piece of furniture. We want the devices to be more than just functional; they should become cherished objects by their owners.
For more information on Pro-Ject, visit project-audio.com.
