- The Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10 costs €1,199 (around $1,410 / £1,047)
- Newly developed aluminum/carbon hybrid arm
- New bearing block design and clean power
Pro-Ject’s Debut line of turntables was launched in 1999 with the goal of bringing high-quality vinyl playback to a wider audience, and since then the Debut line has had a consistent presence in our rankings of the best turntables – the Debut Carbon Evo is our current number one. And now there’s a more advanced and premium model: the Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10.
It’s a typically beautiful, minimalist design with some major new features, including Pro-Ject’s first carbon/aluminum hybrid arm. This is combined with a Pick it PRO Balanced cartridge, a revised version of the original Pick it PRO that promises “truly balanced” signal transmission.
Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10: Key Features and Pricing
The Debut Reference 10 features a resonance-free acrylic platter, a diamond-cut aluminum sub-platter, and a power generator that Pro-Ject says delivers a “completely new, clean sine wave” to the motor, which in turn offers improved speed stability. There’s also a new bearing block design, with a TPE-cushioned aluminum counterweight and an adaptive anti-slip mechanism at the rear.
The arm is fully adjustable in both azimuth and vertical tracking angle, and height adjustment for different cartridge or turntable mat heights is just a matter of loosening two grub screws. All three feet are also height adjustable; there are three feet instead of four because the former configuration is less likely to wobble on an imperfectly flat surface.
The turntable is manual, but there is a switch here to change between 33 and 45rpm without having to do it manually. And the package includes the popular Connect it Phono RCA optimized phono cable for its gold-plated RCA outputs.
The chassis is MDF under eight layers of hand-applied lacquer, choosing MDF for its ability to reduce vibration, and all visible metal parts are diamond cut.
Price-wise, the Debut Reference 10 sits between the affordable Debut EVO 2 and the high-end premium turntables also made by Pro-Ject: it costs €1,199 (around £1,047 / $1,410).
Four figures may seem like a lot for something in Pro-Ject’s entry-level line, but just look at this: It’s a beautiful piece of equipment, so who am I to criticize?
The best turntables for all budgets
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