Pro-Ject Debut 2

Good sound especially when coupled with a good preamp such as the nad pp-2 the ortofon om 5e sings and has superb stereo separation even when compared with cds

good stable rotation but slight rumble can be heard if you look for it but not too objectionable.

BE CAREFUL, if you do use headphones a lot you might want to investigate further for a better turntable.

Reservations aside, it is still a nice table for the price and you have to pay considerably more for better performance.

Recommended with some reservations

After ditching the impulsively acquired Ariston, which was something of a disappointment, I thought I'd check out the Pro-ject, which I'd researched a little on the Internet just before going out to return the Ariston to Richer Sounds.

Seems they come in a wide choice of colours and there's a version which has the pre-amp built-in, instead of having to plug in a booster. Nice.

The platform is solid MDF and the turntable is lightweight aluminium and the machine comes with gold plated plugs and an Ortofan cartridge.

Best of all is the price: just £120.

Just, because the sound quality is amazing. Put on a well-kept vinyl (such as the B52's "Cosmic Thing", which came in a proper sleeve) and then compare it to the CD and you'll struggle to tell the difference. In fact, the vinyl might even be preferable: the sound definition is great.

Unfortunately, if you want to play a mix of 33s and 45s, you'll have to keep lifting up the turntable and manually moving the belt from one runner to the other, but that apart, this is an excellent machine, particularly for the money. Reviews suggest that it's as good as turntables at up to twice the price. They might be right.