Austrian turntable specialist Pro-Ject has launched its first fully automatic turntable in the form of the A1, which has gone into production – hand-built in Germany.

Described as “Your best companion to comfortably enjoy your favourite vinyls”, the A1 has a fully automatic belt-drive system and Pro-Ject says it delivers a quiet, efficient and reliable experience at 33 and 45 RPM.

The A1 features an 8.3-inch ultra-light-mass aluminium tonearm, together with a Ortofon OM10 cartridge, says Pro-Ject, which offers an “extraordinary fast response and detail in terms of transients and microdynamics”, the company claims.

In addition, the tracking force and anti-skating are factory pre-adjusted which make the A1 plug and play ready within a few seconds, Pro-Ject says. This is said to make the A1 perfect for vinyl beginners and experienced listeners alike, as the sound quality is carried by all the audiophile features the A1 has on offer.

Other “audiophile features” include a carbon fibre headshell reinforced with polymer which is super stable and rigid, while keeping the weight as low as possible. The composite material results in excellent internal damping of resonances, Pro-Ject says.

The chassis has minimal hollow space, meaning that unwanted resonances are kept to to a minimum. The damping ring on the inside is said to add weight and reduce resonances further, while the platter is turned and precision balanced to receive its fine edges and lowest wow and flutter deviations, the company adds.

The A1 also boasts a built-in phono preamplifier, which can easily be switched off should the user want to use their own, and comes with a high-quality phono RCA cable. “Our Connect it E is a semi-balanced, low-capacitance cable, with superior shielding,”, Pro-Ject says.

Key Selling Points

• Fully automatic belt drive
• Ultra-light-mass 8,3” aluminium tonearm
• Damped aluminium platter

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