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Type Direct: Drive Manual Turntable
Turntable Speeds: 33-1/3, 45 and 78 r/min
Starting Torque: 0.18 N・m / 1.8 kg・cm (1.56 lbs-in)
Build-up Characteristics: 0.7 s. from standstill to 33 1/3 rpm
Wow And Flutter: 0.025 % W.R.M.S.
Turntable Platter:
- Aluminium diecast
- Diameter : 332 mm (13-5/64 inch)
- Weight: Approx. 2.0 kg (4.5 lbs) (Including Turntable Sheet)
Tonearm Section
Type: Universal Static Balance
Effective Length: 230 mm (9-1/16")
Overhang: 15 mm (19/32")
Tracking Error Angle:
- Within 2° 32' (at the outer groove of 30 cm (12") record)
- Within 0° 32' (at the inner groove of 30 cm (12") record)
Offset Angle: 22°
Arm-height Adjustment Range: 0 - 6 mm
Stylus Pressure Adjustment Range: 0 - 4 g (Direct Reading)
Head Shell Weight: Approx. 7.6 g
Terminals
Audio Output PHONO (Pin Jack) x 1
EARTH TERMINAL x 1
LINE (Pin Jack) x 1 | Now it’s time for the heavy lifting. The motor alone weighs in at over 5lbs. This massive AC motor sits to the side of the table, providing complete isolation, and has a pulley for the belt that is machined to .0005% tolerance to achieve perfect speed. If you find the motor heavy, wait until you pick up the platter. This 20lb. beast is made out of aluminum and damping materials. It’s 39” circumference is machined to a +/- .001” tolerance. Coupled to the hardened steel bearing, this system spins at a perfectly constant speed. We believe this characteristic is essential when trying to achieve the “live” feeling from music. If the speed is off, the music does not sound realistic. VPI’s method of mass is one of the best ways to accomplish this since the heavy platter will maintain consistency once it gets up to speed. The first time you flip the switch on the motor, you’ll hear it squelch as it torques up, but don’t let this worry you. While it sounds a bit odd, it’s normal.
The Prime’s 10” 3D tonearm is quite a feat. Ideally, a tonearm would be one single piece of material, yet until 3D printing, this has been almost impossible to manufacture. VPI was able to use anti-resonant materials, and the end result is an elegant one-piece tonearm.
The tonearm is a unipivot type, meaning it’s free to move around in all directions and only has one bearing. Many in the audio industry believe this is the most friction-free bearing around, allowing your phono cartridge to do its job. The unipivot bearing even has two side outriggers to fine tune its level position. VPI includes a 6” lightweight rod you rest in a groove on the top of the headshell section, allowing you to easily determine whether its level.
Another impressive tonearm feature is its fully adjustable VTA (vertical tracking angle), which allows you to move the tonearm in order to align the top of the phono cartridge parallel to the record surface in order to achieve the best possible sound. With most tonearms, this is done by loosening screws in the side or base to raise or lower the arm, which makes it difficult to fine-tune the height. With the VPI arm, however, you simply loosen up two large screws, then use a large round knob to move the height up or down in small increments. Just as coffee fanatics experiment with achieving the perfect grind, VTA allows audio fanatics to experiment with achieving the perfect sound. There is even the option to make minor adjustments based on the thickness of your vinyl records, and the arm has a scale so you can record the exact setting for each record.
Finally, to couple the record better to the damped platter, VTA includes a stainless steel and delrin record clamp, which simply drops down over the center spindle to hold down the record.
At Audio Advice, we’re very particular about cables included with turntables. Since the signal coming out of your phono cartridge is extremely low in output, it’s necessary to use a higher-end set of cables so nothing is lost in the transfer of the signal from your turntable to the phono preamp. The Prime does not come with cables, which we actually prefer, since it allows you to choose from any of the aftermarket cables on the market today. Your choices are unlimited and whatever model you select will fit firmly onto the high-end RCA jacks found on the back of your Prime table.
One final word of advice: you must ensure your Prime is set up by a professional. They can mount and align the cartridge perfectly, and should also preset the VTA to the right height for an average record. From there, all you need to do is put it back together and set the recommended tracking force.
Performance
To check out the Prime, we used it with the Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC cartridge. Like VPI, Soundsmith has been around for over 30 years and is actually made in the USA right down the road from VPI in Peekskill, NY. This is a $1,749 low output moving iron cartridge. The Zephyr was very easy to get setup properly with it’s square body. It also has very good channel separation.
One of our favorite test LPs is Cat Stevens Tea for the Tillerman and the Prime perfectly captures his somewhat gravelly voice. The first cut, “Where Do the Children Play,” has a variety of sounds and rhythm changes that are a noteworthy test for a high-end turntable. In the first 5 seconds, you can tell the Prime is special. we’ve never heard bass notes reach down so low while maintaining such a realistic tonal quality. This same track has some very close mic’d guitar lines throughout the song. There are actually two guitars playing which on some rigs is hard to distinguish. Not so on the Prime! They each stand out alone even when things really build up towards the end of the track.
The 3D arm really lets your phono cartridge do its job, too. Once everything was set up we were not able to detect a shred of cartridge mistracking. In terms of dynamics, the percussion sounds explode to life with the Prime. After critically listening to a few more tracks, we ended up turning off the lights and putting on an old favorite, the first Chicago Album, CTA. We were instantly immersed in the music. The 3D representation afforded by the Prime is almost spooky.
As we played more records, we found the presentation of the music on almost every recording was extending wider left to right than our speakers. We believe part of this is the outstanding audio quality of the Zephyr MIMC, but if the table and tonearm are not going a great job, you would never get that type of soundstage. The Zephyr is certainly a great match for this outstanding turntable. The combination produced deep rich bass, with a high-end extension that was never harsh -- always smooth and liquid.
- 10-inch 3D Tonearm
- VTA Tower included
- Classic 20-pound platter and bearing
- Four solid Delrin corner assemblies designed for isolation and mechanical grounding
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The new Classic Evo is based on the successful EISA Award winner The Classic and the experience Pro-ject won designing and building their icon turntable, the 175 VPO. The main improvement is the sub-platter, where they used the experience they gained from designing the Vienna Philharmonic Recordplayer to add key changes to the Classic Evo, adding performance features that are rarely seen in this price category. For improved comfort, an electronic speed change was built in, which lets you switch from 33 to 45 rpm (and vice versa) with the push of a button.
Compared to the old Classic, we improved the subchassis; we tried to make it heavier and stiffer to reduce resonances. Isolating the platter and tonearm from the resonances of the motor and main plinth is the target.
Platter & sub-platter
The heavy aluminium main platter construction utilises advanced thermoplastic elastomers (TPE*) for optimising resonance behaviour. A drawback for most of the old designs was the platter. Casted platters all have been heavy (which is good for speed constancy and low wow and flutter) but suffered very much from ringing effects which again caused colouration of the sound. The platter of The Classic Evo is precisely machined out of a special aluminium alloy again damped with TPE*, which offers special damping abilities. The main bearing construction we use is a similar system as the one on the Vienna Philharmonic Record player.
The diamond-cut precision alu sub-platter, like in the limited edition Vienna Philharmonic Recordplayer, enables much improved tolerances. This extraordinarily sophisticated part is accurately machined and guarantees very good isolation between bearing noise and the platter itself.
New carbon/aluminium tonearm
The radical new designed Classic tonearm is the result of 25 years of experience in mechanical construction. The tonearm tube is made out of a sandwich of carbon and aluminium: carbon for stiffness and speed, alu for better damping. The bearing has been upgraded to the same type that is used on our Pro-Ject CC EVO tonearms. It facilitates frictionless vertical and horizontal movement, guaranteeing precise tracking across the entire duration of the record. The counterweight incorporates a TPE* damper which allows us to reduce the amplitude of the tonearm cartridge resonance frequency by 50%. As typical for Pro-Ject and absolutely not standard at that price range we offer also azimuth and VTA adjustment to use a variety of cartridges.
MC Cartridge
We supply as standard the Ortofon Quintet Red moving coil cartridge. However, as the tonearm offers excellent damping and flexibility as well, its effective mass can be called middle heavy, so it is also a very good partner for MC cartridges. As the Classic is a wonderful state of the art deck, we decided to use an MC cartridge to use the potential of the player. MC cartridges are expensive, but the better choice. They are rarely used at such a price point. Pro-ject is therefore convinced to offer you an unbeatable price-performance package.
Features:
- Diamond cut precision alu sub-platter
- Improved sandwich subchassis
- Ortofon Quintet Red cartridge pre-installed
- Electronic speed control (33/45 rpm)
- Belt drive with electronic speed control 33/45 rpm
- Height adjustable decoupling feet
- Precision balanced TPE-damped aluminium-platter
- Metal/MDF sandwich chassis floating on TPE suspension
- 9” carbon/aluminium tonearm with MM & MC capability
- Inverted EVO bearing design with four ABEC7 spec ballraces
- Arm bearing housing of solid ring type. The massive outside ring is open to avoid resonances
- Azimuth and VTA fully adjustable
- TPE damped counterweight
- Classic wooden chassis in 2 satin finishes (walnut, eucalyptus)
- Dustcover included
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Building on the ground breaking Juke Box E, Juke Box S2 is taking the first audiophile all-in-one system to the next level. By changing to a more sophisticated acrylic platter and an upgraded, Pro-Ject proprietary cartridge gave the Juke Box the extra bit of audiophilia it deserves. Juke Box S2 effectively saves space by implementing a pre-amplifier and power amplifier in its chassis. With the rated 50 Watts per channel it you will be able to use your stereo speakers and enjoy realistic sound stages and great depth.
- Instant playback with super-easy setup
- Bluetooth and 1 line input
- Acrylic platter
- High contrast display on top
- Line record output
- Gold plated sockets
- Pre-adjusted tracking force & anti-skating force
- Pick it 25A cartridge, pre-mounted
- 8.6" aluminium tonearm with sapphire bearings
- Belt drive with silicone belt
- Low vibration synchronous motor & DC power supply
- Special feet for effective decoupling
- IR remote control included
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The Cliffwood was made to celebrate the heritage of VPI and to honor the city where their turntables are built. VPI teamed up with Grado Labs to engineer a cartridge shell specifically for the Grado to make it easier to mount and contribute to the sound signature.
- New 9" machined aluminum gimbal tonearm with lateral type bearing.
- 1.25" thick textured vinyl-covered non-resonant MDF chassis. Platter rotates on an oil bath bearing.
| The C-Major is EAT's best value turntable, incorporating many of the design features of the more expensive C-Sharp. You'll get a heavy platter for great speed stability, a solid record clamp, and the C-Note 9" tonearm, which uses very precision bearings. Combine this with the included $500 Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge and fitted dustcover, and you will be getting a real value. This package will bring all your vinyl to life and give you many years of listening pleasure.
Design & Build Quality
The first time that we had a chance to play with the EAT turntables there were a couple of things that really impressed us right off the bat. Their striking appearance will obviously catch your attention. We’ve even had several happy EAT customers tell us that when they first got their table out of the box they just stared at it in awe. Once you start to put the table together, however, you will immediately get a great sense of the superb craftsmanship.
The EAT C-Major has a very similar look to the C-Sharp -- the same low slung body and mix of high gloss black, carbon fiber, and brushed aluminum which make many of the other tables on the market look chunky in comparison. The plinth is made of carbon fiber and is nestled on some floating isolators inside a thin, high-gloss black base. The C-Major’s 9” tonearm features a carbon fiber arm tube and the heavy platter supports a special mat that is made from recycled LPs. It’s then topped off with a substantial record clamp. The whole combination just looks fantastic!
Like all great turntables, the C-Major is a fully manual turntable. You might think that a high-end table like this would be difficult to use, but we were pleasantly surprised to discover that it’s just the opposite! You simply turn it on, move the tonearm over the record, lower it down, and enjoy the tunes!
Features & Technology
We’ll start from the bottom of the table and work our way up. The sleek and slim base is made out of a super dense MDF material. Inside, the low-noise motor is mounted to the lower sub-chassis which is isolated from the upper plinth with eight cone-shaped pieces of a high tech damping material called Thermoplastic Elastomer, or TPE. These provide great isolation from the motor and really do a great job damping out external vibrations. If you want to feel the damping effect, simply push down gently on the plinth.
The plinth is made from an outer shell of carbon fiber sandwiched over MDF. The C-Major has three adjustable feet which make leveling everything a snap. The feet are also internally damped to reduce any external noise from getting up to the table. The EAT also includes a low profile dust cover with the C-Major, which not only protects it, but also matches up with its sleek appearance.
The bearing for the inner platter is pretty similar to what you find in most turntables in this category. The inner platter has a shaft that drops into a bronze bearing well where its tip spins on a special plate made of a near friction-free, teflon-like material.
The outer platter weighs in at a stout 4 lbs and has a great design. The top part that touches the record is made out of recycled vinyl, while the rest of the platter is a sandwich design of an aluminum/magnesium alloy with TPE in the center. EAT puts more mass on the outer edge of the platter, which helps to give it a great flywheel effect. This combination of bearing and platter is one reason the EAT tables all have great speed consistency. Like the more expensive C-Sharp, the C-major also comes with an aluminum record clamp.
While there are lots of things we love about this table, one of our favorite aspects is the carbon fiber tonearm that we mentioned earlier. It’s incredibly adjustable, allowing you to use a wide range of phono cartridges on it. These adjustments exude European precision.
The design of the tonearm is a combination of a uni-pivot and a more conventional Carden type.
Uni-pivot arms can move freely, not only across the record and up and down, but also rotating on the horizontal plane. Imagine an airplane coming in for a landing when you see the wings move up and down on each side in relation to the ground. The theory is there is some movement like this in the record grooves and being able to have freedom of movement allows the cartridge to track better.
The downside of uni-pivots is they are a royal pain to adjust. EAT came up with a brilliant solution that gives you the best of both worlds and we can attest to the fact that it works great! You get a small amount of movement where the arm can tip left to right, but it behaves more like a traditional pivoted arm.
The rear counterweight has an additional weighted insert that you can install for cartridges that are heavier than normal. The counterweight doesn’t have any markings like a lot of high end tonearms, so you will need a stylus pressure gauge to set the right force, but luckily EAT includes one in the box.
You also have azimuth adjustment which allows you to adjust the tonearm left and right. When you look at your tonearm from the front while sitting on a record, the headshell should be parallel to the record surface. EAT lets you really fine tune this if you desire. Finally, you can even adjust the height of the tonearm rest and the cueing cylinder, allowing you to really dial things in for your cartridge.
For anti-skating, EAT uses a gravity-based system which we really like. It is a little bit of a pain to set up, but we’ve been able to help everyone through it, so if you purchase one and have any trouble, just give us a call.
Finally, to change from 33 to 45, like a lot of tables out there, you simply lift off the outer platter and move the belt on the motor pulley.
Please don’t let all of these adjustments make you think this table is finicky or hard to set up. The best way to buy it is with the deal EAT has on the Ortofon Blue, Black MC, or their own JO5. These all come preset up and you save quite a bit with the package -- $250 or $500, which makes the table an amazing deal!
Performance
To test out the EAT C-Major, we set up what we thought might be a typical rig. We used the Cambridge CXA80 integrated amp, a Sutherland KC Vibe phono stage and a pair of Paradigm’s new Premier 800F towers. The table used the Ortofon Blue, which we think is probably the best way to go for the money with the C-Major.
First up was the classic Landside from Fleetwood Mac. When you have a great system that is well set up Stevie Nick’s voice should be dead center while the guitars float in between the speakers. This combo aced this test!
Next up was Robbie Robertson’s Somewhere Down the Crazy River from his first solo album in 1987. We look for two things on this one. First, there are some very dynamic bass attacks as the track begins. Then later on, you can hear lots of emotion in his voice when he says "Why do you always end up down at Nick's Cafe?" , "I don't know, the wind just kind of pushed me this way." It’s in the first “why” and “pushed me this way” on a great system you’ll hear all kinds of subtle inflections in his voice. While we have heard more on much more expensive rigs, this combination once again, really drew us into the music. Plus, it nailed the bass attacks.
After hearing this, we wanted to pull out our favorite cut for testing speed stability. This is Pink Houses from John Cougar's Uh-Huh album. If the table has great speed stability, you’ll be tapping your foot to the music. Once again, the EAT was very impressive.
This is one very special table. It has the ability with its precision tonearm to track really well and its isolation system helps it provide that great bass impact. EAT designs are also winning us over for their speed purity. Finally, with its jewel of a tonearm, it's just fun to use!
- The C-Note tonearm on the C-Major is 9" in length instead of 10" on the C-Sharp
- There is no separate speed control
- The main chassis has a more compact footprint
- The platter clamp is smaller
- The platter is smaller
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