The best turntables are often as beautiful to look at as they are to listen to, and this new turntable from Pro-Ject is a particularly pretty thing. Made from transparent acrylic, the Pro-Ject XA B turntable has head-turning good looks. And as you'd expect from Pro-Ject there's substance to match the style: the acrylic's there not just because it looks good, but because it's a material that can help the spinner to sound great.
According to the manufacturer (via What Hi-Fi? ), the new turntable's acrylic plinth has excellent damping that results in a "wonderful sounding" turntable (if it does say do itself). It uses the firm's True Balanced tech, with a mini-XLR balanced output that promises to reduce noise and interference; that's an optional extra because you'll also need a balanced phono stage to take advantage of it, so the standard turntable comes with a high-quality phono cable. Pro-Ject XA B: key features In addition to that acrylic plinth, there's a 10-inch aluminum tonearm and a new Pick It Pro Balanced moving magnet cartridge.
This isn't the first Pro-Ject turntable with a balanced output option – the X1 B and X2 B are capable of it too – but those turntables didn't launch with a balanced cartridge installed by default. The tonearm is based on the one from Pro-Ject's premium EVO range with an oversized bearing housing to reduce unwanted resonance and a TPE-damped counterweight. The drive system features an AC synchronous motor with a built-in DC/AC generator that.