Pro-ject Audio - Perspex Superpack - Sub-chassis Turntable Reviews

Introduction to the Pro-Ject six PerspeX Turntable and Sumiko Blackbird MC Cartridge

Noted Austrian audiophile, Heinz Lichtenegger, founded Pro-ject Audio Systems in the 1990's as a way of providing high quality analog playback components at reasonable prices. Since then, Pro-ject has gone on to earn a reputation for high quality, fine-sounding turntables and tonearms irrespective of price. Pro-ject has enjoyed major success over the years and celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2011.

This review is of the new 6PerspeX table which comes fitted with Pro-ject's newest tonearm, the 9cc Evolution. Pro-ject'south North American distributor, Sumiko, included a Blackbird Loftier Output Moving Curl Cartridge in the package. This turntable and cartridge combination is available with parcel pricing when you lot buy them every bit a consummate setup. Delight check with your dealer for the specifics. So let's see how this affordable analog vinyl kit up performs.

PRO-JECT 6 PERSPEX TURNTABLE AND SUMIKO BLACKBIRD CARTRIDGE SPECIFICATIONS

• Turntable
• Pro-Ject half dozen PerspeX
• Design: Belt-driven with Ac Synchronous Motor
• Speeds: 33 RPM and 45 RPM
• Platter Weight: 4.four Pounds
• Tonearm: Pro-Ject 9cc Evolution
• Wow & Flutter: <0.06%
• Southward/Northward: -73 dB
• Dimensions:6.25″ H x xviii″ West x fourteen.5″ D
• Weight: 23.1 Pounds
• MSRP: $1,999 USD
• Pro-Ject
• Cartridge
• Sumiko Blackbird
• Design: High Output MC
• MFR: ten Hz – 50 kHz
• Output: ii.five mV/ch
• Impedance: 47 kOhm
• Internal Impedance: 135 Ohm
• Channel Separation: 35 db @ i kHz
• Aqueduct Balance: 0.5 db @ 1 kHz
• Tracking Force Range: 1.8 – 2.2 gm
• Weight: ix.six gm
• MSRP: $1,099 USD (Packet Pricing on Table + Cartridge Available from Dealers)
• Sumiko
• SECRETS Tags: Turntables, Tonearms, Cartridges, Vinyl

Design of the Pro-Ject half dozen PerspeX Turntable and Sumiko Blackbird MC Cartridge

Pro-Ject makes a surprising number of turntable models that are grouped into four lines. The entry line is called the Essential Line. The next step upwards is the Debut Line. The remaining two Pro-Ject lines are their meridian lines. They are the RPM Line and the Classic Line. The price ranges overlap significantly between these two lines and the models in this upper range are differentiated by way more than by price. The RPM tables embody a contemporary look and design while tables in the Classic Line are characterized by a retro-style but with underlying modern technologies and materials.

The vi-perspeX table is marketed through the Pro-Ject Classic Line. It is the lowest Pro-Ject model that comes complete with Pro-Ject's newest and about advanced tonearm, the 9cc Development.

This turntable has a number of unique features. Probably the almost striking feature is the use of magnets to back up the sub-chassis. Also, the sub-chassis is formed from Corian, a material manufactured by DuPont that is essentially inert to internal resonances. Pro-Ject adult these 2 advances through a serial of rigorous listening tests. The Pro-Ject team was reportedly very pleased with the increment in fine dynamics and the subtract in baloney as a event of these two design choices.

The AC synchronous motor is decoupled from the sub chassis and comes fitted with a caster that has two races – 1 for 33-1/iii rpm and the other for 45 rpm. The motor sits on a Sorbothane pad in its cutout in the plinth. An optional speed box is available that offers electronic speed control so you tin fine-tune the speed and switch betwixt 33-1/3 and 45 rpm without moving the belt. The 6-perspeX table is non compatible with 78 rpm. Pro-ject makes other tables that can adjust 78 rpm. Please see their catalog if you lot need this adequacy for your record collection.

The half-dozen PerspeX table's plinth is acrylic. This material is known for its durability and impact resistance. Not coincidentally, Perspex is one of many trade names for acrylic plastic.

The inverted begetting uses a stainless steel spindle to concord the ceramic bearing. The bearing plate is too ceramic. Some other ingenious use of a modern fabric involves the inclusion of Sorbothane in 3 central areas. First, the tabular array's adjustable aluminum anxiety are Sorbothane-damped. Second, Sorbothane is used to dampen the tonearm counter weight. And the decoupled motor sits on a Sorbothane pad every bit mentioned before. The iv.iv lb (2kg) platter is made from MDF and topped with a 0.16″ (4mm) layer of vinyl. The unit comes complete with a screw-downwards record clamp, a spirit level and a hinged dust cover.

The 9cc Evolution tonearm is Pro-Ject's newest and most advanced tonearm. Information technology is bachelor in three lengths 9″, 10″ and 12″. The respective model numbers are the 9cc Development, the 10cc Evolution and the 12cc Evolution.

The 9cc Evolution tonearm here is said to direct unwanted resonances away from the headshell while allowing precise tracking of the tape groove. It also facilitates fine adjustment of vertical and horizontal tracking angles.

The integrated headshell and armtube are made from a single piece of carbon fiber. This is a very good material pick for this application as information technology is lightweight and potent. Plus, it looks very cool and modernistic. The armtube is conically shaped to avoid wave reflections. The bearings are ground to ABEC vii tolerances and the large outside ring is open up to avoid resonances. The counterweight shaft has been lowered to record level to reduce dynamic wow when playing warped records (this worked well in practise).

The arm shipped with two counterweights. All told, at that place are four available counterweights compatible with cartridges ranging from 5 – 14g. The effective arm mass is a mere 8g.

For this review, I fitted a Sumiko Blackbird Cartridge to the 9cc Evolution arm. This is a high output moving coil design in the Sumiko Reference Line of cartridges. The coils are hand-wound and each unit is hand calibrated through a rigorous and labor-intensive process. The Blackbird's rated output is two.5mV into a standard 47k Ohm input. I found this cartridge sufficiently drove typical MM phono stages without a step up transformer. Sumiko'southward claim is that this provides the best possible betoken to dissonance ratio for real-world systems.

The cantilever is made of a potent long-grain Boron. This differs from the design choice of many others who feel that a ductile material is better for a cantilever. My intuition leads me to believe that a stiffer cantilever would ameliorate rail the groove and transmit all the vibrations to the motor structure. The stylus is a very tiny elliptical diamond. The cantilever and stylus are not user-serviceable, but Sumiko offers a low toll re-tipping service in the event you need to supervene upon the stylus due to wear or damage.

This cartridge does not have an external cartridge body. The omission of the external torso eliminates one boosted source of possible sympathetic vibrations in the mechanical construction of the cartridge. Be warned that this pattern pick leaves the stylus, cantilever and leads exposed to possible damage if you do non exercise the utmost caution in treatment and installing this device.

Another pattern advantage with this cartridge is that it attaches to the headshell by manner of tapped, threaded screw holes. This pattern choice means you don't demand nuts to attach the cartridge. This reduces the effective mass even further. All told, this table, arm and cartridge system is designed every bit a suite of products that will work together to transmit unwanted vibrations through the arm and into the armboard with the least possible effects to the musical indicate. Furthermore, the entire system also reduces wow & flutter, hum & rumble, lowers the noise floor and expands the constructive frequency response.

Setup of the Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX Turntable and Sumiko Blackbird MC Cartridge

Equally with most any other turntable, some assembly is required. I plant the assembly time for the 6 PerspeX turntable to be almost normal for most turntables on the market today. That is to say information technology took me around an 60 minutes to become it unpacked and fix to where it was functional. The arm was already installed and all I needed to exercise was install the feet, motor platter, caster and cartridge.

As mentioned above, Pro-Ject provides a decent spirit level with the 6 Perspex. It is not a balderdash's eye level, but is adequate for the job of leveling the platter. Just check two normal axes with it. Pro-ject suggests that you level the equipment shelf before placing the table on it. I agree with that. Even though the anxiety and the sub-chassis are adaptable, it is all-time that you don't rely on these systems whatever more than than necessary to level the platter. And it is also desirable that the motor, platter and belt ride in the aforementioned, level pane. I strongly recommend that you take the fourth dimension to ensure your shelf is leveled.

So I used the supplied level to balance the shelf in my rack before placing the half dozen PerspeX turntable on information technology. The three threaded adjustments that residuum the sub-chassis substantially control the spacing of the magnets in the passive magnetic suspension system. These controls are relatively piece of cake to access. Only be careful anyway. Ane of the knurled screws is nigh the headshell and information technology would be possible for you to bump the stylus when adjusting the sub-chassis at this point. The final adjustment of the Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA), the Horizontal Tracking Angle (HTA) and azimuth took a little more time than with some arm, headshell and cartridge combinations. The 9cc Evolution tonearm is indeed fully adjustable, but the adjustments are non spring-loaded or controlled by shims every bit with some other artillery.

The biggest business organization here was that the VTA and HTA adjustments interacted. In one case yous loosened the set screws to adapt the VTA, you could easily throw off the HTA. And then I tried to get the HTA as close as I could and I just raised or lowered the arm mount with each subsequent adjustment to dial in the VTA. If I threw off the HTA a little, then I could make the fine adjustments by loosening the cartridge and using the play in the headshell to gear up the length and angle relative to the spindle. This took some trial and error to get it right, just the payoff in the sound quality department was worthwhile. I establish the Blackbird cartridge was peculiarly sensitive to changes in the VTA. Slight differences in rake angle fabricated substantial differences in the tonal balance and fourth dimension coherence of the audio. The fashion I resolved this was to set the VTA for a 200 gram pressing. When I played thinner records, I used 1 or more mats to raise the record surface to the optimum level. Voila, best audio achieved!

The anti-skate control uses a modest weight and machined brass pivot. It worked OK with my only complaint beingness that it was behind the tonearm's large pivot ring and information technology was difficult to access.

The transmission that comes with the Blackbird cartridge was very useful in providing guidance on how to utilise your listening skills to punch in the angles, tracking force and anti-skating force. I recommend this manual to everyone adjusting a tonearm/cartridge of any ilk. Information technology is a very useful treatise on the field of study. Here is the online link to the Blackbird Manual.

The Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX Turntable and Sumiko Blackbird MC Cartridge In Utilize

I had one minor operational problem with this turntable that I'd like to go off my breast right here and now. The arm lift lever was very shut to the tonearm pivot. I tended to crash-land the begetting ring when raising or lowering the elevator. No corporeality of adjustment of the lift gave me enough clearance to completely avoid this. So I learned to utilise the elevator with due caution. In actual practice, this was not a large deal afterward I got used to it.

Before sitting downwardly for my critical listening, I broke in the Blackbird cartridge past playing numerous records amounting to a total playing fourth dimension of more than 50 hours. Outset upwards in my serious disquisitional listening was Hacienda: Big Crimson and Barbacoa. This LP received the Secrets of Home Theater and High Allegiance Best New Vinyl Recording of 2010 award. Jason Crawford discovered this group which originated from Due south Texas. Merely, wait a minute there; I'k the guy from San Antonio. I'1000 the one who eats barbacoa for breakfast at Tommy'southward on Nogalitos. I am supposed to be the one to find this group and then wax rhapsodic about the Villanueva brothers!  What exactly is going on here?

In whatever event, I hold with most of what Jason wrote regarding this anthology. Many of the tunes tin get into your head and stay at that place – peculiarly the instrumentals. These guys have their own fusion of psychedelic, conjunto and beach music. It is just pure fun. Virtually every sonic virtue is fine on this record except that the soundstage can become limited to a narrow window nigh the center of the stage.

The salient hallmarks of the Pro-Ject/Sumiko rig were a low noise floor, first-charge per unit bass response, depression harmonic distortion, pleasing air in the treble and a somewhat coolly analytical presentation overall. The bass extension was on full display with Track 3, I proceed Waiting. Non only was the bass extended and clean, only it came through with good delineation of pitch. Although I found that many of the songs had a constrained stereo prototype, this was non true of all the tracks. Take Track 5, Prisoner, for instance. The soundscape was vast and blusterous. I simply fell in love with the guitar groove on this song over the Pro-Ject/Sumiko rig. The closer on Side 1 is the instrumental Big Red. This is how I like Hacienda . . . get yer go-become boots for this upbeat, danceable tune. The transient set on of the percussion and the pacing of the music were held intact by the Pro-Ject/Sumiko fix up. And so it was on to Side ii. All of this side was engrossing through this playback organisation. The leading edges and sibilants in voices were clear and transparent despite the recording having an overall ragged and rough-hewn quality.

Keeping with a Texas theme, I pulled out my 1985 pressing of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown "Pressure Cooker" on Alligator Records. Like Hacienda, Gatemouth is another Texas original. But he is from Buddy Holly'due south hometown, Lubbock, which is in North Texas. Gatemouth eventually hit it big in Europe and this reissue comprises songs from his French records that were recorded in 1973. Spin this 1 if you desire to rock the business firm!

This album isn't plagued with the narrow image as with many of the Hacienda songs on Big Red. In fact, it sure sounded like the aqueduct separation exceeded the Sumiko spec for the Blackbird cartridge. The imaging on this tape was downright holographic. This album likewise came through with a fantastic dynamic range. The cymbals were airy and natural. The fundamentals of the upright bass actually sounded similar information technology was in the room. The bass response in full general will raise eyebrows. Just it wasn't at the toll of frequency balance particularly with this record that exhibited only a slight trace of the analytical qualities I heard before. I also idea Gatemouth'south vocals sounded astonishingly real on "Own't Nobody Here but United states of america Chickens".

I needed to try some female vocals so I reached for Adele 19. I am not a huge fan of Adele, but I must admit (under some duress) that her music is one of my guilty pleasures.

This record has challenges where the crescendos sometimes take on a hardened quality while the soundstage gets a little pinched in the middle. Simply everything falls in place on "Right as Rain" with its up-beat tempo, clean and tight bass. The organ filled the room and I could hear the subtlest inflections in Adele's vocalism. Some other well recorded track is "Make You lot Feel My Love" where the midrange is not thin but is actually very rich while retaining the natural transients. The Pro-Ject/Sumiko set-up brought out all this goodness.

The final selection for my critical listening sessions was my 180 gram pressing of the Mercury Living Presence LP of the Medelssohn Cello Sonata in D Major and the Chopin Cello Sonata in Thousand Minor featuring Janos Starker on cello and Gyorgy Sebök on pianoforte. The performances on this record are downright terrific. The playing is pure emotional virtuosity. And the production qualities are top-flight as well. I also chose this record because pianos tin exist challenging for analog playback. This Pro-Ject/Sumiko prepare up handled the pianoforte expertly. In that location was no aural wow or palpitate. I crossed over into a fantasy realm with most every note on this record. There was tremendous effeminateness and subtlety in the sound. Tape hiss aside, the notes sprang upwards from most nothingness and took me away on a very Zen-like ride. I was able to forget the worries of the day relax, enjoy and accept fun! That is the bespeak of all this hi fi stuff later on all. I prefer side 2 of this album, the key signature and the composition are better likewise equally the interplay between the instruments. The cello had that organic wooden quality that makes reproduced strings as realistic every bit possible. The sound was so well delineated that I could most hear each individual oscillation of the strings.

Conclusions Most the Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX Turntable and Sumiko Blackbird MC Cartridge

I accept learned a number of useful things in many decades of involvement with loftier fidelity. 1 lesson I've learned is that your system can't be amend than your source component. The source component is the major gene in establishing the possibilities for your system. I found that the 6Perspex turntable will allow an achieved arrangement to reach a loftier level of performance – a level of functioning beyond normal expectations because the 6Perspex's very reasonable price. And so if you are looking for a tabular array that is solidly put together, capable of clean and honest audio that won't interruption the banking company, so you owe it to yourself to give the 6Perspex tabular array an audience. You may notice its advanced pattern which includes a magnetic sub chassis support, the generous use of sorbothane, a high quality motor and a mod tonearm provides just the correct mix of operation virtues to come across your needs.

The Sumiko Blackbird cartridge was a solid recommendation as well, so much so that I purchased the review unit. I found that the Blackbird cartridge was able to offer first-class performance with the 6Perspex turntable. But information technology revealed even greater transparency, loftier frequency air, channel separation and bass extension and accuracy with lower baloney when I used information technology in a much college end tabular array. This cartridge tin actually abound with your system. I also call back this cartridge is an excellent choice for a reviewer as I have establish information technology to be uniform with a number dissimilar phono stages.

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Source: https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/vinyl/turntables/pro-ject-6-perspex-turntable-and-sumiko-blackbird-mc-phono-cartridge/

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