Following the recent demise of the 35 year old Dual CS505-2, I elected to purchase a new turntable to replace it. Not an easy choice when the market is currently flooded with a mass of CPC (Chinese plastic crap), with undesirable features such as wobbly plastic platters, rough-sounding ceramic cartridges, speed inconsistencies, and dust covers that flex when you try to raise or lower them! Anoraks like me know what to choose, but many people do not, and these inferior spinners usually end up on Facebook Marketplace, awaiting their next victim.
I chose a mid-range turntable in the end - the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo. A heavy slab of MDF with eight coats of black satin paint applied to it. A good heavy steel platter dampened with thermoplastic elastomer. A one-piece carbon fibre tonearm, usually only found on turntables costing four-figure sums. Little antiskating weight dangling tantalisingly at the end of the tonearm. Dressed off with a properly rigid dust cover. And a slightly pricey Danish-made cartridge and stylus to let things sing so sweetly.
All this arrived in a box that looked as though it had been handled by Freddy Krueger, and for that reason, the dealer slashed 25% off of the retail price. Add to that a further discount courtesy of eBay, and I have a rather luxurious turntable for a thoroughly decent price. And is the performance any good? You bet yo ass! For Christmas, Hannah bought me a copy of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, which I decided to unseal and play for us. I was blown away. I have never heard a turntable with such a low noise floor. The sound is delicious. Hannah herself couldn't resist bopping her feet to Sloop John B! Money well spent as far as I am concerned.
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