Pro-Ject debut III

[ryanianmckinnon]

So a few days ago i was at sound hounds to deal with my broken rega p1, and this is the turntable they were offering me to up grade to for 50 bucks. I gotta say i really like this Project, it seems better built than the rega, it looks nicer and sounds incredible. When i move and get into my bigger room im gonna have my room set up and playing LP's on the project will come alive.

[JohnMichael]

So a few days ago i was at sound hounds to deal with my broken rega p1, and this is the turntable they were offering me to up grade to for 50 bucks. I gotta say i really like this Project, it seems better built than the rega, it looks nicer and sounds incredible. When i move and get into my bigger room im gonna have my room set up and playing LP's on the project will come alive.


Enjoy the new ttable. Did they ever say what was wrong with the Rega.

[ryanianmckinnon]

So far i am really enjoying the table, i need to get some good vinyl though so i gotta visit lyles place soon and get some good ones. They said it was something to do with the tonearm i think they said it was defective from the factory, and what sucked the most was that they had no more in stock and they werent getting anymore so i pretty much had to get the Pro-Ject

[jrhymeammo]

So far i am really enjoying the table, i need to get some good vinyl though so i gotta visit lyles place soon and get some good ones. They said it was something to do with the tonearm i think they said it was defective from the factory, and what sucked the most was that they had no more in stock and they werent getting anymore so i pretty much had to get the Pro-Ject

Hey Ryan,

It's nice to hear you are enjoying your analog playback.
Did you dealer offer a replacement for the new RP-1. I think RP-1 is replacing the P-1 model.
I've heard great things abou the Debut III, and sure it sounds great.
When changing out the cartridge, make sure it's not a moving coil design. The platter is made of steel so a moving coil cartridge will stick like.....well a magnet. You will end up snapping the cantilever and ruin the cart. But you remedy this by getting an acrylic platter offered by Pro-Ject.

Enjoy,
JRA

[atomicAdam]

So far i am really enjoying the table, i need to get some good vinyl though so i gotta visit lyles place soon and get some good ones. They said it was something to do with the tonearm i think they said it was defective from the factory, and what sucked the most was that they had no more in stock and they werent getting anymore so i pretty much had to get the Pro-Ject

I've heard from several folks that the Pro-Ject at that price point is better than the Rega - so you might have ended up w/ a sweeter deal.

Welcome to analog.

[ryanianmckinnon]

I really am enjoying it.

no they didnt offer me that one they didnt have that one in stock. it does sound really good, and for me just getting into analog its a great table.

I wont be changing out the cartridge for a while, but i will deffinetly keep that in mind because i dont want this turntable to break like the last one, how much would an acrylic platter cost ?

When i was debating on getting the Pro-Ject i read reviews for both tables and i think the debut III is a little bit better but everybody has different preferences. I think i did end up with a sweater deal in the end :)

Looking forward to getting a big collection on vinyl

[02audionoob]

The acrylic platter is over $100. They look nice, but I question their value because they weigh less than the steel platter and belt drive turntables rely heavily on the weight of the platter to maintain steady speed.

[Luvin Da Blues]

Aren't most metal platters made of aluminum? I've never seen a steel platter, but then I haven't seen every TT either.

[ryanianmckinnon]

Wow thats a lot more than i wanna spend, i think it wouldnt be worth it for me personally not right now but maybe eventually down the road.

It is a pretty heavy platter so im not sure what it is made of maybe steel

[02audionoob]

In the case of the Debut III it's steel. That's a good thing in this case because of the weight. As the platter turns, its weight generates the momentum that steadies the speed. The better acrylic platters are heavier so you don't lose that effect. A somewhat extreme example...

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/images/products/mt10-front-source-s.jpg

But even with lesser examples, GrooveTracer's acrylic platter, for example, is made to the same weight as the Rega glass platter it is intended to replace. The acrylic platter on the Music Hall MMF-7.1 weighs 6 pounds, as compared to the Pro-Ject Acryl-It at 1.65 pounds.

[jrhymeammo]

The acrylic platter on the Music Hall MMF-7.1 weighs 6 pounds, as compared to the Pro-Ject Acryl-It at 1.65 pounds.

I didn't know about the weight on the platter.
That's hardly a paper weight in term of modern TT platters.
I wonder how the platter resonates against both ex/internal noise.

What I didn't like about vintage Thorens I tried was it's resonance. I suspected the platter's weight or its plinith was the culprit.

[02audionoob]

I didn't know about the weight on the platter.
That's hardly a paper weight in term of modern TT platters.
I wonder how the platter resonates against both ex/internal noise.

What I didn't like about vintage Thorens I tried was it's resonance. I suspected the platter's weight or its plinith was the culprit.

With that question in mind, I've sometimes wondered if a Herbie's mat (http://herbiesaudiolab.net/ttmat.htm) would be a good upgrade for Pro-Ject's steel platter.

[jrhymeammo]

When I had the original Xpression with non-magnetic alloy platter, I slapped on the Herbie's Way Excellent Mat. I love it over the original felt mat, but I could've been happier with its bass performance. I had moved on to the KAB Technics before To this day, I wonder some the Pro-Ject would've sound if I had got my hand on the Firm Funk Achromat. Either way, I think platter mats are either love or hate... no universal solution.

[JohnMichael]

When I had the original Xpression with non-magnetic alloy platter, I slapped on the Herbie's Way Excellent Mat. I love it over the original felt mat, but I could've been happier with its bass performance. I had moved on to the KAB Technics before To this day, I wonder some the Pro-Ject would've sound if I had got my hand on the Firm Funk Achromat. Either way, I think platter mats are either love or hate... no universal solution.



My Rega sounds good with the Achroplat platter and the Benz MC Gold but the Rega with the AT F7 sounds better with the glass platter and the Ringmat record mat. Who knew?

[RGA]

So a few days ago i was at sound hounds to deal with my broken rega p1, and this is the turntable they were offering me to up grade to for 50 bucks. I gotta say i really like this Project, it seems better built than the rega, it looks nicer and sounds incredible. When i move and get into my bigger room im gonna have my room set up and playing LP's on the project will come alive.

I'll probably get ripped for this but I liked the Project better than my NAD 533 (which is a Rega P2 made by Rage for NAD - exact same table - different logo). But Soundhounds didn't carry Pro-Ject when I bought the NAD. I like Pro-Ject better than Rega for turntables - they're cheaper and IMO they sound better even as you go up the line.

Most of the best turntable that I have heard use acrylic platters. The best turntable I have ever heard is - not surprising - the Audio Note TT3 (the new one and the old one based on the Voyd Reference - well it was a Voyd Reference since the owner of Voyd worked for Audio Note - and is the turntable used by Terry - the owner of Soundhounds). Every major turntable brand has passed through that store over the last 35 years and the Voyd is still king for him (probably cause few can afford the pricing insanity and the step up transformers and the space required for the new one). The three motors offers such tremendous control.

When buying replacement anything - it has to be the same weight in order to ensure speed stability and also to not damage the motor. If it is designed for X weight and you put on a heavier platter it may damage the turntable.

Just because something is heavier in the way of a turntable doesn't remotely make it better. The best turntables at Soundhounds are the Voyd Reference, the Audio Notes, and then the Linns - all are suspended designs using lightweight acrylic platters. The McIntosh isn't remotely in the same league - though it looks nicer. Soundhounds carries McIntosh but doesn't carry the turntable since it can't compete. It's a shame the ugly turntables seem to sound a lot better. The Roksan Radius 5 and many of the Clearaudios look so darn good I so wish they sounded as good as the boring floaty tables.

[ryanianmckinnon]

i dont plan on upgrading the platter for a while, but when i do i know that there will be alot of options for me.

i like my Pro-Ject alot so far and i am sure i will enjoy it more as time goes on, it was a good audiophile turntable for a reasonable price which i like so it was a win win for me

[02audionoob]

I'm kind of a Pro-Ject fan, too, although all I currently have with the Pro-Ject name is a Debut III. I enjoyed my Music Hall MMF-5 with its obvious and well-known Pro-Ject tonearm. Although I was moving to a Rega as an upgrade there were characteristics of the MMF-5's sound I hated to let go. The flutter can be a real issue, as is their tendency toward motor issues, but they sound nice to me.

[frenchmon]

Well hopefully I will be the owner of a mmf-7.1 soon. Not as nice as jrhymeammo though.

frenchmon

[02audionoob]

Well hopefully I will be the owner of a mmf-7.1 soon. Not as nice as jrhymeammo though.

frenchmon

Are you still working on that bargain deal you had lined up for a MMF-7.1?

[jrhymeammo]

i dont plan on upgrading the platter for a while, but when i do i know that there will be alot of options for me.

i like my Pro-Ject alot so far and i am sure i will enjoy it more as time goes on, it was a good audiophile turntable for a reasonable price which i like so it was a win win for me

I, too, think the Pro-Ject decks are hard to beat for the price. $500 ain’t cheap by us normies’ standard, but considering the cost/performance ratio offered from lesser tables, these are one of the best tables I’ve had pleasure of owning. I wouldn’t worry too much about not being able to play High/Med/Low Output Moving Coil cartridges.
There are tons of great sounding Moving Magnet cartridges out there.
You can always tweak and improve LP playback by adding the Speedbox offered by Pro-Ject. But getting the TT isolated with cones and platforms will make more notable improvements.
Whatever you may choose to do in future, enjoy your new toy and have fun.

JRA

[frenchmon]

Are you still working on that bargain deal you had lined up for a MMF-7.1?

Oh yeah.

[ryanianmckinnon]

It was a good deal, and considering i got it for 25 bucks im pretty happy.

I know there is so many upgrades i can get without even doing anything to the table, which is nice.but those will come in time eventually.

I am definitely liking the debut III, but i sadly had to pack it up the other day because i am moving soon so it needed to be put away till then.