The best turntables around for every budget
Buying a turntable isn’t unlike choosing a pastry, in that you might be tempted to go for the the biggest slice.
The vinyl revival has fiercely shaken up the market for turntables, with an influx of affordable competition both new (Crosley and Ion) and old (Sony, Audio Technica, TEAC and Pioneer). But when it comes to budget turntables, the brand with the biggest slice of the market has long been Pro-ject, thanks to its multi-award-winning Elemental and Essential models.
Model choices
Pro-ject this year launched two new Primary turntables: the standard phono stage-free deck we have here, and a £250 Phono USB model that has a built-in phono stage and can convert vinyl to digital files via a USB output.
Both Primary models are built on solid foundations, and that’s not just down to the feet the plinth sits on. Based on the engineering of the Elemental turntable, they share numerous components – including the 22cm tonearm with Ortofon OM5E cartridge (with pre-adjusted tracking force of 1.75g, according to our measurements). They share the Elemental’s motor, which has a built-in regulator to improve speed stability.
While the Phono USB version has an integrated phono stage, the standard Primary model on test here has to rely on a partnership with external amplification – whether that’s built in to your amplifier (as with the Onkyo A9010) or via a dedicated phono stage such as Pro-ject’s Phono Box E or the Rega Fono Mini A2D.
Easy to assemble
Before you plug in cables and flick the side-mounted power switch, the drive belt needs to be attached. Pull it over one of two notches in the motor to determine the speed (33rpm or 45rpm).
With anti-skate weight and tracking force pre-set, simply unlock the tone-arm from its cradle and you’re ready to go. It’s that simple.
The acrylic dust-cover fits nicely over the Primary’s smart matte-finished plinth, which, like the Essential II, comes in black, red or white. Our inner fashion designer surfaces as we play Michael Jackson’s Bad for no other reason than its red sleeve lettering matches the colour of our sample version of the Primary.
Even going in blind we’d probably have guessed at the Primary’s engineering heritage, for its balanced and detailed sound is reminiscent of the Elemental. There’s a sense of life that strikes a winning balance, avoiding sounding too in-your-face, or careless at one extreme and overly calculated at the other.
It snaps through the buoyant melodies of Another Part Of Me and Smooth Criminal, and confidently lays down Jackson’s quivering inflections in Man In The Mirror. Listening pleasure
There’s boldness to the alchemy of the bass keys and snatching drum-beat, body to the piano and twinkle to the synthesised instrumental in I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, and a dynamic presence to the lead guitar lines through Dirty Diana that isn’t a given at this price.
As the numerous song references show, listening to one track soon becomes an entire album. It’s not a performance you will easily tire of, and that’s to Pro-ject’s credit.
If you’re looking for a way ‘in’ to the record revival, the Primary is an excellent introduction.
VERDICT A solid, easy-to-use deck that reaffirms Pro-ject’s supremacy in the budget market
”Listening to one track soon becomes an entire album. It’s not a performance you will easily tire of, to Pro-ject’s credit”