Anybody with a Pro-ject Essential? Thoughts?

[admin_exported]

I'm wondering mainly:-

1: How hard it is to set up for someone who's never set up a Turntable before?

2: The type of sound it creates? I like a warm analogue sound, and that's one of the reasons I want to set up a cheap deck. (That and I got a load of Vinyl from a family member on the weekend.)

I couldn't find anything online from 'real' people when I searched. My kit is in my signature.

Kind regards, Mark.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I bit the bullet and bought one yesterday morning, so I thought I'd answer my own questions. (I'm not mad, honest. It just might help others.) Here's my thoughts.

1. Set up: Not too difficult, very fiddly though. The tracking force is a royal PITA to set up if like me you've never done it before, definitely made me think 'Is this worth it?' a few times.

2. Sound: It certainly was worth it. I'm surprised how close this thing sounds to my Marantz CD player, which cost nearly twice as much! Maybe they use the same DAC? (That's a joke, BTW.) Sure it hasn't quite got the detail, soundstage and openess of the Marantz, but at £150 who cares? It comes rather close, though. However, on the flip side, this thing has better timing, dynamics and outright musicality than the CD player. No mean feat.

One thing I was quite surprised about, was that it actually sounds quite bright. It's no problem as I just turn the Treble down 1-3 notches, and the Bass up 1-3 notches on my Amp, depending on the record and level of brightness. If you haven't got tone controls on your Amp you're screwed. Although it should be noted that I like a really warm sound. You may like it 'as is'. It's still not as bright as many digital sources are, and there's not really any harshness in the top end.

All in all a brilliant purchase, and highly recommended. Gives an excellent sound, probably better than most sub £200 CD players. As a bonus it looks really nice, and doesn't look cheap.

Sorry about all the CD player references, but that's all I've got to compare it to.

Kind regards, Mark.

Edit: On a side note Vinyl is still a PITA to handle and clean/keep clean. (Some things never change.)

 

[bretty]

veii:

Well, I bit the bullet and bought one yesterday morning, so I thought I'd answer my own questions. (I'm not mad, honest. It just might help others.) Here's my thoughts.

1. Set up: Not too difficult, very fiddly though. The tracking force is a royal PITA to set up if like me you've never done it before, definitely made me think 'Is this worth it?' a few times.

2. Sound: It certainly was worth it. I'm surprised how close this thing sounds to my Marantz CD player, which cost nearly twice as much! Maybe they use the same DAC? (That's a joke, BTW.) Sure it hasn't quite got the detail, soundstage and openess of the Marantz, but at £150 who cares? It comes rather close, though. However, on the flip side, this thing has better timing, dynamics and outright musicality than the CD player. No mean feat.

One thing I was quite surprised about, was that it actually sounds quite bright. It's no problem as I just turn the Treble down 1-3 notches, and the Bass up 1-3 notches on my Amp, depending on the record and level of brightness. If you haven't got tone controls on your Amp you're screwed. Although it should be noted that I like a really warm sound. You may like it 'as is'. It's still not as bright as many digital sources are, and there's not really any harshness in the top end.

All in all a brilliant purchase, and highly recommended. Gives an excellent sound, probably better than most sub £200 CD players. As a bonus it looks really nice, and doesn't look cheap.

Sorry about all the CD player references, but that's all I've got to compare it to.

Kind regards, Mark.

Edit: On a side note Vinyl is still a PITA to handle and clean/keep clean. (Some things never change.)

If your deck has an Ortofon cartridge, as mine did, then it will be the cause of the brightness. Bottom line is the Ortofon carts Pro-Ject supply with their decks just aren't very good. They sound thin, have a load of distortion and surface noise. I think if you changed cart, you'd find that little £150 deck would beat your CDP in all areas.

When I first listened to my deck, with the original cart, I thought vinyl wasn't for me. Now that i've changed cart, if I could marry my deck, I would.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know if its THAT bad.

I can't hear any distortion, for example, and the tone controls take care of the rest.

I picked up the 180 gram pressing of The Doors' L.A. Woman yesterday, and it sounds pretty damn good. Soundstage, detail, rhythm, timing, dynamics, it's all there.

Which cartridges would you recommend? Although I'm very reluctant to start upgrading yet because: 1. Just reading the bit in the manual about changing Cartridge is enough to give me nightmares, and 2. Once I start upgrading I usually can't stop. (I'm sure people on here can relate to this.) At the moment I'm just enjoying the music for the first time in ages, without thinking soley about the equipment and how to get more out of it.

Kind regards, Mark.

 

[bretty]

veii:
I don't know if its THAT bad.

I can't hear any distortion, for example, and the tone controls take care of the rest.

I picked up the 180 gram pressing of The Doors' L.A. Woman yesterday, and it sounds pretty damn good. Soundstage, detail, rhythm, timing, dynamics, it's all there.

Which cartridges would you recommend? Although I'm very reluctant to start upgrading yet because: 1. Just reading the bit in the manual about changing Cartridge is enough to give me nightmares, and 2. Once I start upgrading I usually can't stop. (I'm sure people on here can relate to this.) At the moment I'm just enjoying the music for the first time in ages, without thinking soley about the equipment and how to get more out of it.

Kind regards, Mark.

If the sound is great to your ears, that's all that's important. Keep on enjoying the deck, mate!

 

[Anonymous]

There's no need to change cartridge, the Ortofon OM series body is very good and readily upgradeable.

If you do have the Ortofon OM series cart there's a number of cheap upgrades available simply by changing stylus.

The OM10 stylus will lift the level of performance noticeably, while the OM20 and above styli will give you further increases in performance. There are also upgrades available at Jico and lpgear in the states, plus probably some companies in the UK.

I'd start by putting on an OM10 stylus and see how you like it.

 

[simon3102000]

Im happy with the sound of my project with the factory fitted cartridge, but my cd player still has the edge but i will deffo be upgrading to a better catridge like the ortofon 2m blue as this is ment to be a massive improvement but at a cost of £`150 but will be worth saving up for i reckon.

 

[Anonymous]

Grottyash:
There's no need to change cartridge, the Ortofon OM series body is very good and readily upgradeable.

If you do have the Ortofon OM series cart there's a number of cheap upgrades available simply by changing stylus.

The OM10 stylus will lift the level of performance noticeably, while the OM20 and above styli will give you further increases in performance. There are also upgrades available at Jico and lpgear in the states, plus probably some companies in the UK.

I'd start by putting on an OM10 stylus and see how you like it.ÿÿ

Do the Stylus simply clip on/off? ÿIf it's that easy I may get an OM10 sometime after Christmas.

Kind regards, Mark.

 

[Anonymous]

Yup, it's as simple as that.