Thinking of buying a Project x1 turntable

[Mr Pig]

OK, am leaning now towards a planar 3! In the meantime can anybody suggest a second hand option in the below £500 category as an alternative?

Planar3 ;0)

AR Turntable. A later Legend or EB101 as they are easier to fit arms etc to.
Systemdek. A few variants but sounds good with either a Linn or Rega arm.

With all these old decks it's about condition. A lot of old Linn arms are shagged, Rega arms are almost indestructible. A worn main bearing won't help the sound.

My pick is the Systemdek. You should get a good one for £250 ish. The AR will be less but it's a softer sound. Still a good turntable though.

There are other options but these are the ones that come up a lot as they were big sellers.

 

[misterdog]

I would never buy a ProJect turntable.
The build quality is terrible. Once above the P1, Rega decks are much better built.

I started off with an old planar 3 years ago. I guess the new planar 3’s are in a different league (the speed wobbles on the old one used to drive me up the wall).

Talking of speed stability, I never thought the old Planar3 was that bad but

I ignored the consensus on PFM and bought a Pro-ject Xtension 10.

Then I fitted a 12" Wand unipivot arm.

I'm more than happy.

 

[kabayiri]

I've owned several Rega turntables. I have heard Project turntables that I really liked too. It is allowed to like different brands I think, still

 

[Mr Pig]

I've owned several Rega turntables. I have heard Project turntables that I really liked too. It is allowed to like different brands I think, still

Absolutely. I don't have a complaint about the sound of the ProJect decks I've heard, I especially like the cheapo unipivot they do/did. Just the build quality which I think is really poor. If you're happy with them cool. They sound fine for their price, the costumer service from Henley is great, I just wouldn't buy one personally because I can't accept the shoddy build.

If I did buy/own one I'd change the cart straight away to something with a bit more life about it.

 

[PerF]

I'd never buy any Project turntable.
Its a mystery to me, they are the most sold decks ww.

 

[TonyScarlett]

Had a Pro-Ject Classic TT a few years ago, didn't have any issues with the build quality, in fact it felt like a quality bit of kit, maybe the cheaper Pro-Ject TTs are different but I would expect the X1 to be at the same level as the Classic.
X1 v P3 with Neo PSU would be an interesting comparison, would probably come down to personal taste.
S/H = complete minefield, could bag you a bargain or a money pit.
Just my opinions of course.
TS

 

[misterdog]

If I did buy/own one I'd change the cart straight away to something with a bit more life about it.

Mine came fitted with an Ortofon Cadenza Black, what would be a good alternative given that the Black had a 30% reduction in price as a bundle.

I just wanted to give a quick shout to how good the Ortofon Cadenza Black sounds! I have had Shelter 7000, 901 and 501, Dynavector 20xl and XX1, Benz Ace SL, Ruby Z, Ref Silver 3, Denon 103r, AT AT33PTG, ZYX Airy 3 SB, and a few others, and out of the box, this Cadenza Black has all the qualities of the Shelters (details details details) without the harshness / brightness; the body and warmth of the Benz but without the lack of HF extension; the transparency of the ZYX but more body and dynamics; and the speed and neutrality of the Dynavectors but more musical and overall enjoyable.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=131568.0

 

[Mr Pig]

Its a mystery to me, they are the most sold decks ww.

It's a bit like the Dual 505 back in the day. You could buy them anywhere! My first turntable was a Dual 505. At the time Rega only had fifty dealers in the UK and there was a waiting list for their turntables. They only sold through proper dealers, still do, and didn't sell mail order.

You can buy ProJect from more shops, mail order, just easier to get. They're manufactured in a big factory in Czechoslovakia. Rega couldn't do the kind of numbers required to compete and I doubt they'd want to.

 

[TonyScarlett]

I have to be honest, I get a bit annoyed with the Pro-Ject bashing that goes on in this forum. I don't think they get anything like the credit they are due for keeping vinyl alive by developing affordable decks when every other manufacturer had abandoned that end of the market.
TS

 

[PerF]

You could buy them anywhere!.

Marketing and cheap prices, average non-audiophile people seem to like their looks and easy available, -may be some of the reasons..

 

[Mr Pig]

I have to be honest, I get a bit annoyed with the Pro-Ject bashing that goes on in this forum.

I guess it's a free country so you can get annoyed if you like? I don't know that the largest turntable manufacturer on earth needs a lot of defending, poor things, but of course you are right. They did build cheap decks at a time few others were interested. Good thing. They do sound ok, also a good thing.

What you call bashing is merely me giving my honest opinion based on my actually experience of ProJect decks. I've sold a few but I try not to now because I'm not comfortable selling them to people. I can go into detail about the issues I found but you would not like it.

If I was buying a turntable for a friend I wouldn't buy a ProJect so why should I recommend them on here? I'm not going to lie to keep you happy.

 

[PerF]

I have to be honest, I get a bit annoyed with the Pro-Ject bashing that goes on in this forum.
TS

I don't see this as bashing.

But its rather typical for many forums, if people speech their real opinion, they are either bashing or a fanboy.
thats stupid

 

[James Evans]

I certainly came close to bashing my project tt on occasion!

 

[manicatel]

The Outgoing Debut Carbon, available for well under £300 is a great value deck.
The X1 is another I think sounds very strong at its price. If you don’t get on with Ortofon carts, I’m sure the buyer or their friendly dealer could swap it out for an AT without much hassle.
A lot of their phono stages are also excellent at their place in the market. The Tube Box DS2 is superb, a very strong performer for anyone with up to £1k to spend on a phono stage.
And their RCM’s do a great job. I’ve got one myself & it’s all I need.
However, I do feel there is an anti ProJect snob value sometimes. I don’t like that they have so many different options in a very narrow price span. Rega, who must be the obvious benchmark have a much more streamlined & sensible line up.
ProJect offer a good alternative to Rega & have probably got a lot of people back to enjoying vinyl again, which is fine by me.

 

[hifi_dave]

To be it's a no brainer. I wouldn't even be bothering looking for alternatives.

Exactly.

 

[Dowser]

I paid £215 for my LP12...admittedly 15 years ago now, and in Dublin,and needing a service. Still have it today though

 

[TonyScarlett]

I can go into detail about the issues I found but you would not like it.

If your slagging off a companies products & potentially damaging there reputation then you have a moral duty to show people your evidence. Whether or not I like it is completely irrelevant.
TS

 

[manicatel]

I’ve also seen the innards of a couple of ProJect decks. One that needed a motor replaced & the owner did t fancy the job himself. Ok, it wasn’t battleship build quality, yes, built down to a price, but nothing that alarmed me.
I’ve heard earth hums from Rega decks which drove the owner mad, & another Rega owner who had 3 Apheta carts before one actually worked properly. So even the mighty Rega aren’t immune from build quality issues.

 

[fegs]

I had a Project Debut Carbon for about 5 years, this was my first TT since returning to vinyl

For the money there was nothing to dislike about it, build quality looked good and the fact I didn't have to touch it (save a new stylus) during my ownership, to me speaks volumes

 

[pocketkitchen]

Over the past few years I've fixed quite a few ProJect turntables. Totally stripped them, arm rewires etc. After that I would never buy a ProJect turntable.

The build quality is terrible. Yes, the more expensive ones are better built but still terrible. Everything is done as cheaply as it can be done. Once above the P1, Rega decks are much better built.

For that money I'd be looking at a Rega or a used LP12. Other cheaper options as well like a Systemdek or AR turntable. New, I'd buy a Rega.

+1 for Systemdek. Very very good decks for not a lot. Look great to, to my eyes.