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Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO – Time for Evolution

The Pro-Ject DEBUT Series is traditionally probably the most successful and therefore clearly the most important product range of the world market leader in the field of record players, the Austrian company Pro-Ject Audio Systems. Accordingly, a great deal of care was taken when developing the latest generation of the product range, which is now available with the Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO.


For years, Pro-Ject Audio Systems has been the clear world market leader in the field of record players. This success is not only due to the fact that Pro-Ject Audio Systems was launched at the very time when the CD and the “digital era” was taking off and that especially beginners were offered the finest turntables at attractive prices.

However, one product range clearly stands out from the aforementioned product variety, namely the so-called Pro-Ject DEBUT Series. This product line has been one of the most important, if not simply the most important for the Austrian company since the very beginning, because the Pro-Ject DEBUT Series is considered by far the most successful. Almost one million units of this drive have been sold. It is therefore not surprising that the Pro-Ject DEBUT Series is always given special attention and is continuously improved.

Pro-Ject Audio Systems once again decided that it was time for a new product generation, which is now available in the form of the Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO.

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Pro-Ject Audio Systems does not speak of the latest generation as a revolution, but rather as the evolution of a classic, despite the fact that every aspect of the drive has been thought through and significant improvements have been made in many relevant areas. The result is a dramatically improved drive, the manufacturer promises. In addition to the numerous improvements, the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO will be offered in new design variants. However, nothing has changed in terms of positioning as an extremely interesting solution in terms of price, so that the manufacturer promises a drive that is unbeatable in its price range.

The basic idea behind the Pro-Ject DEBUT Series has always been to concentrate on the really essential. A technically mature construction, high-quality materials and the renunciation of everything that is not really necessary and could only have a negative effect on the sound quality and durability, these were the core points that the developers took to heart so far and of course also with the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO.

The new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO is based on a heavy, solid MDF chassis, which now rests on newly designed feet. The manufacturer speaks of a height-adjustable three-point line-up, which guarantees optimum horizontal positioning and the best possible decoupling. The aluminium feet are cushioned and finished in a subtle black.

The motor bearings are also completely new, whereby the developers have used design features from the drives in higher price classes. This is to ensure that even minimal vibrations of the already very quiet running synchronous motor cannot have a sound-damaging effect due to an optimal decoupling from the chassis.

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By means of flat belts, the motor drives a sub-plate made of damping polyoxymethylene, which rotates in a precision bearing made of brass by means of a stainless steel axle. The actual turntable sits on this sub platter, which in the new generation, the Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO, has a ring made of thermoplastic elastomer, also known as TPE. This ring is designed to almost completely eliminate resonances and also increases the weight of the platter to 1.7 kg. Since this damping is also attached as a ring on the outside of the platter, this additional mass provides increased kinetic energy, which further improves the synchronisation.

Of course the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO is also equipped with a motor control with electronic speed control, so that you can choose between 33 and 45 revolutions per minute at the touch of a button. Here, an integrated sine wave generator is intended to improve the speed accuracy through quartz stabilisation. In order not to detract from the elegant design of the drive, the switch for speed adjustment is located on the front of the bottom. By the way, of course Pro-Ject Audio Systems also enables the playback of shellac records on the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO, using a manual setting, whereby the optionally available Ortofon Stylus 2M 78 is recommended as an extension.

This brings us to the pickup, which is installed in the Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO ex works. This is the truly outstanding Ortofon 2M Red, a very fine MM cartridge. For the sake of completeness it should be mentioned that the drive is delivered in the USA with a Sumiko Rainier.

The pick-up system is mounted on an 8.6-inch tonearm from Pro-Ject Audio Systems, made of carbon, whereby the headshell and the tonearm form a single unit, thus guaranteeing particularly high rigidity and torsional rigidity.

Even the connections have not been spared, here we rely on high-quality, gold-plated cinch sockets and also supply a particularly high-quality connection cable with a Pro-Ject Connect it E.

The scope of delivery of the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO also includes a matching cover, which is connected to the chassis by means of hinges.

The latest generation of the Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO is offered in new design variants, whereby the manufacturer emphasizes that the paint finish should convey a particularly noble impression and, last but not least, haptics.

Thus, the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO is available in a silky matt finish in five different colours, namely blue, yellow, a dark green tone, black and white. In addition, black, white and red are available in the three classic high-gloss finishes and a version with real wood veneer, specifically walnut, is also available.

Finally, it should be mentioned once again that the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO is of course handmade in Europe, in the Czech factory of Pro-Ject Audio Systems. The new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO is available immediately at a recommended retail price of € 499,-.

Getting to the point

Pro-Ject Audio Systems does not speak of the latest generation as a revolution, but rather as the evolution of a classic, despite the fact that every aspect of the drive has been thought through and significant improvements have been made in many relevant areas. The result is a dramatically improved drive, the manufacturer promises. In addition to the numerous improvements, the new Pro-Ject DEBUT Carbon EVO will be offered in new design variants. However, nothing has changed in terms of positioning as an extremely interesting solution in terms of price, so that the manufacturer promises a drive that is unbeatable in its price range.

Manufacturer:Pro-Ject Audio Systems
Distribution:Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH
Price:€ 499,-
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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