What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
24 MAY 2005
Pro-ject Debut III Phono SB
An Award-winning turntable with a built-in phono stage – a simple and incredibly effective idea
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It's a familiar scenario: you want to add a turntable to your system, but your amp doesn’t include a phono stage. Pro-ject has the answer: the latest Debut deck is a turntable and phono amp all in one.
Phono ready and waiting
Look underneath the platter and you find a moving-magnet phono stage ready and waiting to amplify the signal. Plug the deck’s leads into any of your amp’s line-level inputs and you’re good to go. Well, okay, you still need to set it up properly, but unlike some models the Debut III Phono SB is a cinch to prepare, and comes with easy-to-follow instructions.
The turntable is fitted with an Ortofon OM 5E cartridge – which costs around £20 if you buy it separately – and the adjustable arm means you can upgrade the cartridge whenever you fancy.
As it stands, the Ortofon OM 5E does a fine job and overall delivery is what you’d expect from our 2004 Award-winning sub-£250 turntable. Bass is rich, yet good and tight, while overall delivery sounds full of confidence and authority. There’s plenty of detail, too, and Morrissey’s vocals on I Have Forgiven Jesus from his You Are The Quarry set sound full of purpose and feeling.
Switch to Irish Blood, English Heart and the Pro-ject copes well with the aggressive percussion, avoiding hardness in favour of sweeter, more detailed higher frequencies.
Great value
Add in an even tonal balance and capable dynamics, and you’ve got an obvious example of the great value available from today’s leading turntables. And if you fancy playing some 45s, there’s no need to mess around with the turntable belt – the ‘SB’ in the name stands for speed box, so changing from 33rpm to 45rpm involves just a press of a button.
Anyone want an Award-winning Debut III deck fitted with a quality phono stage and that convenience-enhancing speed box? Yes please!