TURNTABLES

Whether you're buying new records or dusting off old ones, these great players will do your vinyl justice

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Pro-Ject Debut Pro ₹1,34,000

Pro-Ject’s original Debut was introduced at the tail end of the 1990s. It was a terrific budget turntable that married affordability with performance, and despite a gradual move upmarket, that balance remained so.

This isn’t just a mild tweak of the Debut formula, though; Pro-Ject’s engineers have carefully developed almost every design aspect, from adding adjustable metal feet to producing a new dedicated cartridge – the Pro-Ject Pick It Pro moving-magnet cartridge. This is a development of Ortofon’s 2M Red, with the main changes focused on the suspension to produce a more lively and punchier sound.

The tonearm is impressive too, using an armtube that combines an outer skin of carbon fibre reinforced by an aluminium inner layer. The result is a smooth movement with no sign of excessive play in the bearings.

This Debut delivers an impressively crisp and detailed sound for the money. We start off with The Boatman’s Call from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and the Pro reproduces the album with considerable skill. It captures the melancholy of Into My Arms superbly, delivering Cave’s rich and gritty tones with enviable finesse. The piano is rendered with precision and a lovely sense of ebb and flow that carries us away with the music. It’s a musically convincing presentation, one where each instrument dovetails beautifully.

Fun and revealing