The World Is My Oyster- Pro-Ject One Turntable
As a guy in my late forties, the record player, turntable as we prefer, is not a new
novelty. It’s how I grew up listening to music. It was my introduction to all
the great things in life. For me, it never went away. I never threw mine in the
trash and went without. There has always been, and will always be, a turntable
in my system. In fact, there are no less than 4 of them running in my home.
Yes, I’m addicted.
Is it the sound quality? Is it the tactile feel? Is it the
pure tangibility? Yes, yes, and yes. There is just something so real and
cathartic about a record turning at 33-and-a-third revolutions-per-minute in
front of me. I find it very soothing. Unlike a CD, the record doesn’t disappear
into the player. It’s a constant visual, turning and giving back to you. It’s
therapeutic, somehow.
The sound quality of vinyl is always the subject of much
debate. You’ll instantly get the “click and pop” naysayers coming down on you
at every dinner table, it seems. Yes, I’ll put a record on and have to deal
with some of that sometimes. I’ve always considered it part of the tactile experience.
“Keeping it real,” if you will. But then come the sound quality questions - do
records really sound that much better?
Here’s the only way I can answer people on that. First, it
largely depends on the system you’re listening on - speakers, amplifier, etc.
It all makes a difference, of course. Because, a cheap CD player on a cheap
system will sound better than a cheap turntable in that same setup. The
fidelity just won't be there. But, a good turntable, through a good system
sounds better than just about anything. There, you will hear the difference in
fidelity, I assure you. Great, now let’s go blow 10 grand on a turntable,
right? Hold up…
Having spent years as a DJ, I used a DJ turntable in my
system for a long time. There are several advantages to these tables, such as
stability, low rumble factor, durability, and ease of use. One day, however, I
was cruising through a stereo store and stumbled across a close-out on a floor
model Pro-Ject One. The caveat was there was no power supply with it. I would
have to find my own for it. The price was silly good, and I pulled the trigger
on it. The power supply was fairly easy to find on eBay, and there I was, all
set!
First impressions of the One were just the sleekness of it.
It’s very stripped down, basic black, down to business, and dead sexy. The
power switch is underneath, and there is no selector for 33 or 45. Instead,
this is done by moving the belt from one part of the motor spindle to another.
There is no rubber mat, but only a thin piece of felt for the platter. Mine is
a bit oval, and (I think) poorly cut. My only bit of complaint about the whole
product at all. I will likely buy a cork mat soon, just to experiment with that
anyway.
The turntable came stock with a Sumiko Blue Oyster needle
and cartridge, and this was worth the price of admission in itself. What a
tremendous departure this was from the DJ phono cartridge I had just left
behind that morning. It’s going to sound so cliché, but it really was like
having a whole new record collection! Right from the first drop of the needle,
it was a much more open soundstage, with everything suddenly seeming more
rounded, more open, and much more alive. The sibilance didn’t feel so
accentuated, and the bass felt much more natural. Oh man… I was becoming
hopelessly lost in my record collection all over again.
One thing I was concerned about was noise floor and
stability, which were the reasons I had been using a DJ turntable for so long.
I’ve been very happy with the Pro-Ject in that regard. Rumble factor seems very
low, and the noise floor (what it picks up from its own platter and such) is
almost non-existent. I can walk normally through the living room without
concern of skipping a record, and there doesn’t seem to be noise picked up into
it. However, I am going to have to look into some better isolation, and it will
pick up some low-end feedback if I get too far into the volume. I’m sure my
laminate floors really don’t help my cause here.
I have found the tracking to be absolutely flawless, which
is amazing, since Pro-Ject uses this tiny weight on a little fish line that you
have to run through a hook. It requires some patience, and a good set of
glasses. The straight tone arm has been just perfect. This has, and continues
to, out-perform and outshine its price point! The only flaw on my particular
model is that my tone arm lift doesn’t work, so I have to lift my needle
manually every time. Since this was a floor model, and a blow-out price, I’m
not crying about it.
I see a lot of questions online regarding good entry-level
turntables, and I really have to give Pro-Ject my strongest recommendation for
this. This particular model has been replaced, but there still is an entry model
in their lineup. I wouldn’t hesitate to give it a spin, given what mine has
done for me.
Excellent article Michael ! If I could add:
ReplyDeleteDo records really sound that much better? I contend that vinyl definitely sounds better due to the combination of two factors: Dynamics and Fidelity.
Dynamics: Unlike most other mediums, records are unfettered in their dynamic range, meaning there is no signal “processing” of the volume levels being reproduced. To my ears, the instruments seem to jump out the speakers as you hear each instrument take its turn popping out front. But the real beauty is that unfettered dynamics manage to overwhelm the noise level. Even moderate crackle/pops on a decent quality vinyl is largely cancelled out by the loudness of the instruments. Knowing this recording engineers would also record “hot” onto tape to widen that signal-to-noise ratio. FM radio is most obvious how dynamics are manipulated in reproduction. First, the peak volume is attenuated to make every song exactly the same volume level while raising the quieter passages to just short of the peak volume. This results in a volume range annoyingly narrow range which sounds mashed. Also bands are recording with increased compression to attain a “loud” sound in the digital realm; think “Boston”. When the solo 12-string guitar sounds every bit as loud as the “Wall-O-Guitars”, to me this does not sound real. Now, listen to a Boston song over FM radio, if you can! Then of course, how do you think they squeeze that song to a puny size so you can get a zillion songs onto your phone? Yup, more compression…
High Fidelity: Defined as “sound reproduction over the full range of audible frequencies with very little distortion of the original signal”, falls a bit short to fully explain why analog may sound better than digital. To graphically reproduce an analog sine wave which is a continuous line, the digital reproduction becomes a stair-step reproduction of the waveform. The fineness of each “step” is a function of its sampling rate, which is synonymous to resolution in photography. MP3’s and other portable formats sacrifice resolution to the extreme for the sake of speed and portability. Playing these formats though earbuds and “soundbars” continues to diminish the quality in my opinion. Most folks today only hear true high fidelity music outside their homes at movies, concerts and clubs.