Pro-Ject - Debut Carbon DC (Black)

Product Information

This is a display of strength: with its construction quality and sonic characteristics, it‘s the new reference in this price category. With specs like these, it is highly recommended! the newest Pro-Ject’s creation outperformed tonally and once again emotionally – dare I say – pricier, older, and higher up the rank offerings.

It has a kind of seductive, organic richness and woodiness, that we never were aware it was hidden inside the Ortofon 2M Red moving magnet – not until now. While it's not the cheapest record player on the shelf, the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon is still an incredible value. We can’t recommend this turntable enough. When the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon launched in 2012, three things initially stood out for us: the turntable's minimalist aesthetic, the range of bright colours variations, and the fact it had a carbon-fibre tonearm (hence the name). Well, all of those attributes are still present and correct in this new version. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 28th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) We're loath to call it a negative – some would probably welcome the more subtle approach – but it did take a little sheen off our overall experience. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO review: The alternatives

One of the best entry-level hi-fi turntables you can buy

A classic signature feature of the original model that has been carried through is the carbon tonearm. Usually found on more expensive turntables, this provides significant benefits to the sound quality. Being stiffer than steel, the tonearm is more rigid, which helps reproduce the music more accurately. In short, the music sounds tighter, punchier and more detailed.

Of course, that is of little surprise. The company has long proven its ability to offer up a magnificently plush midrange, with vocals so often a particular treat when given so much warmth and held up by plenty of weight in the bass. Right from the beginning, the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO was far better: more emotional and weighty, more living-and-breathing, more detailed, more dynamic, more spacious. Also much more engaging and resolute without any distraction of harshness. This is more great affordable Hi-Fi but done in a way that is brilliantly user-friendly. It’s hard to see the result as anything other than a Best Buy.While it's still incredibly easy to use (especially for anyone used to setting up more complicated players), you are giving up conveniences like auto start/stop, an anti-skate dial and a built-in phono preamp but for audiophiles, none of these downsides matter as the turntable’s sonic performance vastly outweighs its minor trade offs. What impressed me the most was the easy setup. The Debut Carbon EVO took me under ten minutes to set up, and everything felt dialed-in and ready to go almost immediately.

There is no doubt that the entire performance of the Debut Carbon EVO model escalates to new levels of richness, realism, and detail retrieval, entering ‘restricted’ audiophile ground territory.

21 years is a long time to be making your Debut

Our review sample is in Fir Green, and very nice it looks too. The finish is flawlessly smooth, and as reassuring as the build quality.

New for this model are a set of three height-adjustable, damped aluminium feet that will ensure the turntable always sits perfectly level on your cabinet or table, while reducing vibration. They look pretty cool, too, especially when contrasted against one of the more funky-coloured variants. The Debut doesn’t have any isolating suspension (unless you count a set of compliant feet) so make sure its support is as rigid and vibration-free as possible. Whether or not the Debut Carbon Evo is the best record player for you might be decided by whether you prefer its fuller, more relaxed character or the more spritely and lean alternative of its main competitor. That’s not to say the Pro-Ject’s performance is clinical: it’s expressive, clearly displaying a good deal of subtlety and fairly wide dynamics.There’s heat in the low frequencies, certainly, but they’re not overcooked and it’s certainly not at the expense of detail or texture. There’s a similarly lavish amount of detail retrieved in the midrange – it reveals so much about the glee and malevolence Nina Simone imbues her performance with it’s almost hair-raising – and while the top end is rolled off just fractionally, it’s far from a blunt instrument. A floating sound, big soundstage, extreme attention to delivering a deep emotional connection with the music. There's nothing worse than buying a new record player and having no clue where to start. Thankfully, setting up the Debut Carbon is simple, even for beginners just getting into the hobby. This is due in no small part to the included manual which simply and clearly explains where everything goes.