Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO, Audiophile turntable with Carbon Fiber tonearm, Electronic Speed Selection and pre-mounted Ortofon 2M Red phono cartridge (High Gloss Black)

Product Information

The Speaker Box 5 S2 is an unreasonably good speaker. There’s a fundamental ‘rightness’ to the way it makes music We're loath to call it a negative – some would probably welcome the more subtle approach – but it did take a little sheen off our overall experience. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO review: The alternatives

The turntable to which this arm is attached is also recognisably a Debut but one that a fine tooth comb has been applied to. The platter is made from steel, as it has been on many previous iterations but there is now additional dampening. This takes the form of a ring of TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) around the inner lip of the platter and it results in a pleasingly inert sound when you tap it. The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo is an unsuspended, belt driven turntable and latest scion of the Debut line. This, should you happen to have spent the 21 st century in a cave, is one of the pillars on which the vinyl revival is based. We can state with the sort of hindsight fueled assurance that we all fall into if we’re not careful, that it was inevitable that a device like the original Pro-Ject Debut would have been released by somebody. I will go on record as saying I’m not as sure. The success of the original Debut looks inevitable from 2020 but it really wasn’t at the time. This is a display of strength: with its construction quality and sonic characteristics, it‘s the new reference in this price category. With specs like these, it is highly recommended! Probably it’s the peak – bonus – prize of Pro-Ject’s decades-lasting honesty and respect towards vinyl and audiophiles. I was half tempted to have a change but the sound from the Evo was just right for my ears and set-up it seemed silly to change.Setting up the Debut Carbon EVO is ridiculously easy. Simply add the drive belt, platter and weights, and you'll be ready to drop that needle on the groove. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO review: Sound

Right from the beginning, the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO was far better: more emotional and weighty, more living-and-breathing, more detailed, more dynamic, more spacious. Also much more engaging and resolute without any distraction of harshness. Structurally, the Debut Carbon EVO is most recognised by its expertly finished main chassis, available in nine elegant finish options. The traditional rectangular footprint has a timeless minimalism, and is made of MDF for its excellent anti-resonant properties, and this tendency to minimal vibrations continues throughout the Debut design. Pro-Ject includes a well-written manual and also a well-designed guide for the initial setup, something that we rarely find at this price point.

Austrian manufacturer Pro-Ject give their most popular turntable a revamp

This is more great affordable Hi-Fi but done in a way that is brilliantly user-friendly. It’s hard to see the result as anything other than a Best Buy. There’s heat in the low frequencies, certainly, but they’re not overcooked and it’s certainly not at the expense of detail or texture. There’s a similarly lavish amount of detail retrieved in the midrange – it reveals so much about the glee and malevolence Nina Simone imbues her performance with it’s almost hair-raising – and while the top end is rolled off just fractionally, it’s far from a blunt instrument.