Vinyllover

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I am looking to upgrade my Project 2 with Ortofon 2M Blue. It has been a terrific servant for two decades but it has developed a couple of issues and I'm thinking it might be better to invest in a new turntable than buy parts/pay for repairs.

I have been doing some research but wondered if anyone might have some advice - do stay with Project and go for maybe something like the X1 (£699) or X2 (£999) or should I head over to Rega and look at the Planar 3 (£649) or Planar 6 (£1049 w/o cartride)? Has anyone got experience of the X1 and X2, what are the main differences besides the physical? How much of a step away is Rega from Pro-Ject? Would my Ortofon 2M Blue work on it or is the Elys 2 a better solution for Rega? How does the Ortofon 2M Silver compare to the Blue?

My kit is all pretty much from the same era so I am pretty sure the tech has all been updated but I'd rather keep my amp, which has an inbuilt dedicated phono stage.
 

daytona600

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Only job of a turntable is to rotate at the correct Speed & support the tonearm & cartridge
X1 has a 21st century advanced DC motor & controller only used by a company of projects size & resources not the cheaper off the shelf AC units
£700 X1 betters RP3/6 & even the £2500 RP8 without the use of a external motor PSU

The numbers show the speed deviation as well as the maximum low pass filtered deviation relative and absolute. These are very good numbers and especially “well-balanced” in terms of plus and minus speeds. In fact, they are better than the more costly Rega P8

 
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Vinyllover

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Thanks, Daytona 600. I’m really tempted to remain on Project rather than move to Rega as when I originally tested Rega v Project I got the Project 2... Do you know how different the sound and performance is of X1 and X2 And if the latter is worth the extra money? Are they essentially the Project 1 and Project 2 of yesterday completely overhauled and notches raised a few levels?
 
Seems to me that the X2 has a more substantial build with a better, high effective weight tonearm.
If you're looking to upgrade to moving coil cartridges at any time in the future it might be a better long term buy, however if you don't see yourself going down that rather expensive route then the X1 would be the best compromise.
You could spend the money you saved on a better cartridge.... :)
 
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daytona600

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X2 is better TT only you can decide if its worth a extra £300
pop into a dealer & compare them or get the X1 & 300quids of records or a project RCM
Edwards TT6 also another excellent deck with carbon fibre unipivot arm

.edwards-a7434.jpg


 
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Vinyllover

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Seems to me that the X2 has a more substantial build with a better, high effective weight tonearm.
If you're looking to upgrade to moving coil cartridges at any time in the future it might be a better long term buy, however if you don't see yourself going down that rather expensive route then the X1 would be the best compromise.
You could spend the money you saved on a better cartridge.... :)

Thanks, AI ears, if X2 has more upgrade potential, I think that might mean I lead towards it rather than the X1. I have a 2M Blue. Would that be a good choice or is there a better solution? I see it comes with a 2M Silver which just seems to come with Projects.
 

Vinyllover

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X2 is better TT only you can decide if its worth a extra £300
pop into a dealer & compare them or get the X1 & 300quids of records or a project RCM
Edwards TT6 also another excellent deck with carbon fibre unipivot arm

.View attachment 1402


I’d never thought of the Edwards, only really Rega. How does the sound differ to Project?
 
Thanks, AI ears, if X2 has more upgrade potential, I think that might mean I lead towards it rather than the X1. I have a 2M Blue. Would that be a good choice or is there a better solution? I see it comes with a 2M Silver which just seems to come with Projects.
If you already have a cartridge I would look at trying to buy a turntable that doesn't have one already fitted. Either that or sell the 2M Blue.
 
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I do have the Blue 2M. What TT would you then suggest or try to the X2 minus the Silver stylus?
If you can get a discount by buying an X2 without a cartridge then well done you.
The availability of turntables not pre fitted with a cartridge is rare these days, you can suggest a dealer will lose a sale if he doesn't remove cartridge and give you the deck itself, failing this it's buying second-hand or looking for an ex demo turntable.
 
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Vinyllover

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If you can get a discount by buying an X2 without a cartridge then well done you.
The availability of turntables not pre fitted with a cartridge is rare these days, you can suggest a dealer will lose a sale if he doesn't remove cartridge and give you the deck itself, failing this it's buying second-hand or looking for an ex demo turntable.
I'm increasingly tempted to go for the X2. as Pro-Ject has shown my its durability for 20 years. I'm guessing it should have a similar sound to what I have, only better even with my existing setup.
 
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