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Pro-Ject X8 Turntable – With technological highlights of the Xtension Series

With the new Pro-Ject X8 Turntable, Pro-Ject Audio Systems, the world market leader in record players, presents a very special new turntable. According to the company, this turntable offers the technological highlights of the Pro-Ject Xtension Series at a particularly attractive price, combining the advantages of a sub-chassis turntable with those of a mass-produced turntable, thus offering a solution that shines with a particularly audiophile performance.

Subchassis and inertia – the best of both worlds

The Pro-Ject X8 turntable starts with a solid chassis made of compressed wood fibres, measuring 465 mm in width, 350 mm in depth and 150 mm in height.

This chassis rests on three feet, which are made of aluminium and can be adjusted in height, so that an optimal levelling of the turntable can be achieved. As a special feature, a special construction with TPE damping is used to guarantee the best possible decoupling and thus a reproduction free of sound-damaging external influences.

The chassis is available in high-gloss black or high-gloss white, but Pro-Ject Audio Systems also offers a version in walnut, where real wood veneer is used to refine the cabinet.

It should not go unmentioned that the new Pro-Ject X8 turntable weighs in at a hefty 15 kg.

Heavy platter

Another important design feature of the new Pro-Ject X8 turntable is its particularly heavy platter, which weighs 5.1 kg in a sandwich construction. Although this platter is precision-machined from comparatively light aluminium, a complex damping system on the lower side by means of a TPE ring ultimately leads to the high mass and thus to a particularly smooth and consistent rotation speed.

For the polished aluminium platter of the Pro-Ject X8 turntable, Pro-Ject Audio Systems supplies a matching felt mat as a support, which the user can optionally replace at any time with various other so-called slipmates.

According to the manufacturer, an inverted platter bearing with ceramic running surfaces provides absolutely precise and controlled guidance, and a magnetic support with powerful neodymium magnets that repel each other relieves it of a large part of the platter weight. Pro-Ject Audio Systems is convinced that this significantly improves the smooth running of the platter.

Integrated electronic motor control

The new Pro-Ject X8 turntable features an integrated, particularly precise electronic motor control, which allows the user to choose between 33 and 45 revolutions per minute at the touch of a button.

As is usually the case with turntables from Pro-Ject Audio Systems, the power supply is not directly integrated into the turntable, but outsourced. This guarantees that there are no negative influences to be feared from the power supply, such as electromagnetic interference, and it also makes it possible to upgrade the power supply at a later date.

Pro-Ject 9cc Evolution as tonearm

The new Pro-Ject X8 turntable uses a Pro-Ject 9cc Evolution, a solution with a straight 9 inch tonearm, using a conically shaped tonearm tube, which merges seamlessly into the headshell, and this construction is made entirely of carbon fibre.

It should be emphasised that the tonearm tube can be rotated after loosening a screw in order to adjust the horizontal position of the pick-up, i.e. to set the azimuth. The tonearm base, in turn, allows you to adjust the vertical scanning angle, i.e. to adjust the VTA.

An inverted tonearm bearing with ABEC 7 quality ball bearings ensures the highest precision in scanning, and a special mention should also be made of the 5-pin connector, which allows the user to use any phono cable.

Semi-balanced or balanced

The Pro-Ject Connect it 5P-E with a length of 1.23 m is included in the delivery, which the manufacturer calls a semi-balanced cable. However, you can also optionally use the Pro-Ject Connect it 5P-XLR and thus use a balanced phono preamplifier. The manufacturer refers to this as a True Balanced Connection, which makes this drive the ideal partner for fully balanced phono preamplifiers. Pro-Ject Audio Systems itself offers the new solutions Pro-Ject Phono Box S3 B and Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B.

What is True Balanced Connection?

The fully balanced connection between the record player and the phono preamplifier leads to more dynamics, less background noise and an improved signal-to-noise ratio. You can imagine hearing parts of the music that were literally not there before, raves Pro-Ject Audio Systems about these possibilities of a turntable.

Pro-Ject X8 Superpack

The Pro-Ject X8 turntable is offered in two versions: the turntable alone, as discussed so far, or the Pro-Ject X8 Superpack, in which case the customer also acquires an optimally tuned cartridge system that is mounted on the tonearm at the factory.

Once again, a solution from the Danish specialist Ortofon A/S is used, namely an Ortofon MC Quintet Blue and thus a particularly high-quality MC cartridge system from the Ortofon MC Quintet Series.

Prices and availability

According to the manufacturer, the new Pro-Ject X8 turntable should be available in specialist shops as of now. Of course, a matching dust cover made of transparent acrylic is included in the delivery.

As described, the customer can choose between three design variants, namely high-gloss black or high-gloss white, as well as a version in classic walnut.

The recommended retail price for the new Pro-Ject X8 turntable is € 1.999,-, if you decide to buy the Pro-Ject X8 Superpack, you have to estimate € 2.229,-.

Getting to the point

The new Pro-Ject X8 turntable presents itself as a turntable that puts cutting-edge technology within reach of many hi-fi lovers and vinyl enthusiasts, according to Pro-Ject Audio Systems‘ description of this new turntable. Indeed, this new record player has a variety of very interesting technical features that are rarely found in this price range, making it exceedingly exciting for many a price-sensitive audiophile. The Pro-Ject X8 Turntable is a great addition to the Pro-Ject X-Line, making it possible to enter the fascinating sound experience of Mass-Loaded and True Balanced turntables at the lowest price.

PRODUCTPRO-JECT X8 TURNTABLE
PricePro-Ject X8 Turntable € 1.999,-
Pro-Ject X8 Turntable Superpack € 2.229,-
BrandPRO-JECT AUDIO
ManufacturerPro-Ject Audio Systems
Distribution AustriaAudio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH
Distribution GermanyAudio Trade Hi-Fi Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH
Distribution SwitzerlandMarlex GmbH – Audiophile Produkte
More about this manufacturer at HiFi BLOG
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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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