Pro-Ject Debut Pro B Balanced Turntable

About The Pro-Ject Debut Pro B Turntable

Turntables look back on a long history. As technology continues to progress, many things have changed, not only from the technical possibilities, also from the environment. Wireless networks are omnipresent and countless electronic devices make your home 'smarter'. This means there are now a lot of additional electromagnetic fields, which could interfere with your turntable's signal. This was simply not the case 30 years ago. To ensure the best connection to your phono preamplifier Pro-Ject have designed the "True Balanced Connection" product range.

Why True Balanced? Balanced audio connections are usually known from the professional sector like recording studios or live concerts. It is very important to have a stable and interference free connection, as these signals, especially microphone signals, will be highly amplified.

The same applies to the connection from your turntable to the phono preamplifier. The big advantage of a balanced connection is its ability to remove picked up noise and interferences.

Balanced connections use three wires for one channel: ground, a hot and a cold wire. The cold wire carries the inverted (reversed in polarity) hot signal. At the receiving end, the cold signal is flipped and added together. The trick happens here: If the cable picks up any noise, the noise is added to both signals. So, a positive interference is a positive tick on the hot and on the cold signal. If you now flip one of them, the interference is also inverted, so you get the same interference once in a positive and once in a negative direction. If you now add these two signals, the noise will cancel out.

The Debut Pro B has a fully balanced mini XLR output, which offers you a symmetrical connection to the Phono Box S3 B or Phono Box DS3 B phono preamplifiers.

Pick It Pro Balanced: Pro-Ject's Pick It Pro Balanced delivers a lively and robust sound and is now also ready to be used in a True Balanced Connection. In that sense, it is the first MM cartridge of its kind! The perfect combination of components is the key to achieve the great charismatic sound of the Pick it Pro.

Mini XLR & RCA Outputs: The Debut Pro B comes with Pro-Ject's high-quality Connect It E RCA to RCA cable. It is a semi-balanced, low-capacitance cable, with superior shielding.

In order to be able to use the advantages of the balanced signal transmission, you need a balanced phono cable such as the Pro-Ject Connect It Phono S Mini XLR to Mini XLR which can then connect the Debut Pro B turntable to a true balanced phono preamp like the Pro-Ject Phono Box S3 B.

8.6" Carbon-Aluminium Sandwich Tonearm: This one-piece tonearm has been designed with two very distinct material layers, an inner aluminium tube enveloped in an ultralight carbon-fibre sheath. The carbon-fibre layer lends the tonearm a high degree of rigidity, while the inner aluminium tube takes over the damping of the tonearm to ensure perfect tracking of the record groove.

VTA & Azimuth Adjustments: A completely flexible design, the robust nickel-plated aluminium tonearm allows you to adjust both the azimuth and the vertical tracking angle to your tastes by loosening two grub screws at its base. This gives you the height pliancy your tonearm needs for use with different turntable mats, cartridges and accessories for a sound that suits you.

Nickel-Plated Aluminium Components: The nickel-plated finish of the Debut Pro components have resulted in a hard, resistant surface that is not only beautiful to look at, but sustainable. Avoiding plastic materials that continue to age over time, the precision CNC milled nickel-plated elements of the Debut Pro are modern, elegant and extremely hard wearing.

It's Oh So Quiet: Inhibiting motor vibrations from reaching the stylus, the Debut Pro houses a motor suspension system that is responsible for the perfect decoupling of the motor. Thermoplastic elastomer suspends the motor above the plinth body, minimising audible wow and flutter during playback.

The Damped, Fly-Wheel Platter: The 300mm, die-cast aluminium platter is precision balanced. On the underside's inner-rim, a ring made of TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) dampens all vibrations, delivering smooth, enjoyable and uninterrupted playback. Adding extra mass to the outer rim of the platter also produces a stunning fly-wheel effect, creating the perfect transference of moving energy. The result is quiet operation with minimal wow and flutter.

Perfect Timing: The Debut Pro accommodates for all types of listeners. With a simple flick of the switch for everyday 33⅓ or 45 RPM listeners, accurate speed is guaranteed with the precision electronic speed control. And for the more rare listeners of 78 RPM shellac records, a simple change over to the supplied round belt and an Ortofon 2M 78 stylus (separately available), is all that is needed.

Metal Feet: The new Debut Pro stands on three height-adjustable damped aluminium feet to guarantee perfect stability.

Our Take

The Pro-Ject Debut Pro B Turntable is something quite different. This turntable offers the option of a true balanced connection which is by far the best way to lower the noise floor. Used extensively in studios and on professional gear, this is the first time we've seen this type of thing on a turntable at anywhere near this price point. Now, don't worry if you don't have balanced inputs on your amplifier or phono preamp because the Debut Pro B comes standard with a normal RCA to RCA cable. However, if you want to move to a true balanced set up in the future the upgrade path is clear. All you need is a Pro-Ject Phono Box S3 B Balanced Phono Preamplifier connected to your Debut Pro B Turntable with the Pro-Ject Connect It Phono S Mini XLR to Mini XLR Cable. You can then connect to your amplifier via RCA or Balanced XLR cables, the latter being the obvious preference for a true balanced connection.