Pro-Ject is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of turntables, building not only its own lines but also the lines of other companies. And while the prices of its units can extend into the stratosphere, Pro-Ject still makes its mark at the budget end of the price spectrum. Witness the recently introduced Pro-Ject E1 Phono
The E1 actually comes in three different models: the E1 Phono (under review here), a turntable with an onboard phono preamplifier for people whose electronics lack a dedicated phono input; the basic E1 ($349), sans phono preamp; and the E1 BT ($499), which comes with an inboard Bluetooth transmitter that’s perfect for feeding active speakers. E1 Phono users can bypass the unit’s phono preamp, which is how I used it during most of this review, unless otherwise noted.
Pro-Ject bills the E1 as “a turntable made for everyone,” and the description is apt. The E1 is as basic a turntable as the Volkswagen Beetle was a car. Its plinth is made from fiberboard wrapped in a decent representation of walnut; gloss black and gloss white are alternate options in terms of finish. The arm is straightforward—a fairly standard 8.6″ (218 mm) long, lightweight (7 grams effective mass) aluminum tube equipped with an Ortofon OM 5E cartridge, which hosts a 0.3 × 0.7 mil elliptical stylus. It’s been an industry standard for 35 years.
The platter is unusual in that it’s constructed from ABS polymer and is quite light. This isn’t a turntable that relies on the “flywheel effect,” in which the weight of the platter tends to smooth any speed anomalies. However, as Jeff Coates, marketing director for Distributed Brands at Fine Sounds Americas (formerly Sumiko Audio), told me, despite its weight, the platter’s design is well considered:
The platter material is pretty ingenious. Usually turntables at this price point use a very thin aluminum or stamped-steel platter that rings like a pie tin. To counter this, many manufacturers add a thick rubber mat to add mass and reduce ringing. This is unfortunate, as a thick rubber mat can actually absorb energy from the whole system, making playback sound dull . . . so resonance is captured, but at the expense of the high-frequency detail, where great imaging and soundstage cues come from!
The ABS platter, on the other hand, is relatively acoustically inert (pick it up and give it a flick—no ringing!). And when used with a felt, cork, or thin cork-and-rubber mat (like our Cork & Rubber it 1mm), ABS does a great job of providing a stable, low-resonance platform for rotation, without robbing the system of energy encoded in the discs.
The other secret to this design is the subplatter—the dense resin subplatter manufactured around the polished stainless steel spindle/bearing surface also adds to the rotational mass of the whole system, which, once in motion, helps keep speed consistent.
