Pro-ject Debut Reference 10 turntable
When a company with the history and reputation of Austria’s Pro-ject launches the ‘best ever’ turntable in its established and well-respected Debut series, it cannot be ignored and I got myself in the queue to get one for the Ear as soon as the news broke.
Pro-ject claims to be the world’s largest turntable manufacturer, producing around 200,000 decks a year. The company was set up by Heinz Lichtenegger just over 30 years ago and although it started with turntables, it now also makes a wide range of audio electronics of pretty well all varieties.
The Debut Reference 10 was launched at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show in February this year. It is priced at £999, including a Pick It Pro Balanced moving magnet cartridge (£199) and sits at the top of the now five-strong Debut line-up, with the £450 Debut Carbon Evo at the bottom. The range was first launched in the late 1990s. The Reference 10 is said to have benefited from many of the upgrades to the Debut range since it was first introduced.
The design has a visually pleasing simplicity with its tasteful hand-painted MDF chassis sitting on four damped, height-adjustable feet that are said to provide good isolation and levelling. I can attest that even my heavy-footed progress across my suspended living room floor failed to make the Reference 10 skip or jump.
The electronically-controlled motor offers three speeds – 33, 45 and 78rpm – with a flat belt for 33 and 45 and a round-section belt for 78rpm. A toggle switch offers 33 and 45/78, but to obtain 78rpm you have to change belt manually. The motor is fully decoupled from the chassis and housed in its own substantial base in a bid to minimise the transmission of vibration to the platter/arm/cartridge.
All of the aluminium parts of the Reference 10 are finished with a diamond-cut process for a more premium appearance. The platter itself is made from acrylic and sits on an aluminium sub-platter. The turntable also has a new bearing block design, machined from solid aluminium with a stainless steel spindle sitting in a bronze bushing.
The Reference 10 also boasts a brand new 10 inch hybrid carbon/aluminium tonearm. The one-piece arm tube has an outer layer of carbon fibre for high rigidity, with an aluminium tube inside to damp vibrations. The result, says Pro-ject, is an arm that is extremely stiff and exceptionally well-damped. It features a screw-on, damped aluminium counterweight and an adaptive anti-skating mechanism.
The new arm also has two small grub screws in the base that allow height/VTA adjustment for different cartridges, but out of the box it comes already set up with Pro-ject’s own Pick It Pro Balanced moving magnet cartridge. All you need to do is put on the counterweight, balance it out and apply the tracking force, using the gauge provided. It easy to use and everything on it worked smoothly.
Balanced or unbalanced
The cartridge itself is based on an Ortofon design, but is unusual in allowing balanced operation, for which there is a special five-pin output socket on the back of the turntable chassis, alongside the RCA phonos and earthing post.
Most moving magnets do not suit balanced operation as they have an earth strap from the blue or green terminal to the cartridge chassis that would cause hum if used balanced. The Pick It Pro Balanced, however, is specifically designed for balanced operation. Pro-ject explain that the cartridge’s four terminals provide a positive and negative voltage, much as a microphone does, which allows balanced operation where the signal and its inverse are recombined at the phono stage to cancel out any noise.
To use the cartridge in balanced mode you will need one of Pro-ject’s own phono stages, such as the Phono Box DS3B at £599. This is because the output from the deck is not via the usual two XLRs used for balanced audio connections, but rather a proprietary connector that cannot be used with any other make of phono stage. A balanced lead is not provided with the deck, but you get one when you buy a Pro-ject phono stage. I used the Reference 10 in non-balanced mode with the standard RCA phono lead supplied.
To facilitate comparisons with a similarly-priced and well-respected benchmark deck that I used to assess the Reference 10’s value for money, I mainly used it with a Goldring Eroica moving coil cartridge. I did give the Pro-ject fitted cartridge a listen too, and it gave a perfectly respectable performance for its asking price.
Weighty issues
I listened to the Pro-ject deck mainly in a system comprising a Hegel 190V integrated amplifier with a Vertere phono stage and Oephi Lounge 2 standmount speakers, but also briefly in my main system of Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister amp and Fyne Audio Vintage 10 speakers with Supertrax super-tweeters. All connected to a Musicworks mains distribution block and cables.
Initially, I used the supplied record puck/weight, but felt that it tended to slow the music down, and that bass lines were tighter and better defined and vocals cleaner and clearer without it. The weight also tended to push any lead guitar, sax or piano further back in the mix and I concluded that I much preferred the sound of the deck without it.
I started my detailed listening with a track from a current favourite album of mine, namely Sun Pillars by pianist/composer Fergus McCreadie. The Reference 10 immediately brought a smile to my face with its pace, life and dynamics and ability to convey the delicacy and virtuosity of McCreadie’s play. His drummer Stephen Henderson is also brilliant, displaying both delicacy and power and the Reference 10 captured that beautifully. It also conveyed the upper and lower registers of the piano with equal aplomb and rendered David Bowden’s superb bass line with fluidity, weight and control. By comparison, the benchmark deck slowed the music down, had less space around individual instruments and seemed to impart a slightly muffled quality to McCreadie’s piano.
An album I acquired recently and that’s rarely off my platter for long is Conversations from jazz bassist Christian McBride. On his brilliant cover of the Isley Brothers’ It’s Your Thing, where it’s just him duetting with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, the Reference 10 conveyed the consummate skill of his playing on double bass, capturing its weight, presence and how he shapes each note, and Bridgewater’s delightfully characterful, sassy vocals. The track exudes a sense of fun and that comes across well on the Reference 10. On the benchmark deck, the body resonances of his bass and the nuances of his play were a little lost and vocals were a little too warm for my liking.
I simply had to try a favourite track from jazz pianist/singer/songwriter Ben Sidran – namely It Didn’t All Come True. This is a superb recording that really has fantastic dynamics and the Reference 10 captured that. Drum strikes were crisp and cymbals range true, Sidran’s fluid and fast-moving piano play was convincingly conveyed, while his vocals were open and expressive. The bass line was fast and eloquent and when the track’s tempo really picked up, the Reference 10 did not lag behind, unlike the benchmark deck, which by comparison seemed to slow things down. The Pro-ject was definitely more musically engaging.
Finishing with something a little more contemporary, I played the track Summer Rain from German guitarist Torsten Goods’s excellent Soul Deep album. The track has an easy-going, lilting rhythm and tripped along nicely on the Pro-ject with vocals clean and articulate, cymbals alive and sonorous and his guitar nicely voiced and articulated. Again speed, rhythmic integrity, life and finely nuanced instrumental definition were the Reference 10’s hallmarks. The benchmark deck stumbled more over the rhythmic structure of the track and monkeyed with the tonality of the music too much for my taste. A sound victory for the Pro-ject.
Compelling
The new Pro-ject Debut Reference 10 turned in an excellent performance. It is dynamic, full of life, rhythmically compelling, detailed and gives great insights into what the musicians are playing and how. It is well made, well finished and the new arm is easy to set up and use. At the asking price of £999, I recommend the Reference 10 it wholeheartedly.
Pros
Lively, dynamic sound – Excellent sense of pace, rhythm and musical engagement across a wide range of genres
Strong detail and clarity – Reveals nuance in instruments, vocals and timing with impressive insight
Great bass performance – Combines weight, control and articulation effectively
Wide soundstage and separation – Good space around instruments, avoiding congestion
High-quality tonearm design – New carbon/aluminium hybrid arm is rigid, well-damped and easy to set up
Good build and finish – Premium touches like diamond-cut aluminium and solid construction enhance perceived quality
Effective isolation – Stable performance even on a suspended floor; resistant to footfall issues
Electronic speed control – Convenient switching between 33 and 45rpm
Good value package – Includes a capable cartridge and sits competitively at its price point
Upgradeable and flexible – Adjustable VTA and compatibility with alternative cartridges
Cons
Manual belt change for 78rpm – Inconvenient compared to fully electronic switching
Proprietary balanced connection – Requires specific matching phono stages, limiting system flexibility
Supplied record weight not ideal – Can negatively affect timing, clarity and musical drive
Stock cartridge only “respectable” – Not exceptional; performance improves with upgrades
Balanced operation adds cost – Requires investment in compatible Pro-ject electronics
Limited benefit if used unbalanced – One of its headline features may go unused for many buyers