"A Terrific Package… for Years of Vinyl-spinning Thrills"
Pro-Ject's RPM 9 Carbon turntable combines beautiful and clever design with true high-end sound quality. And the price is exceptionally low, considering the level of performance that the RPM 9 delivers.
"The Pro-Ject RPM 9 Carbon continues the brand’s outstanding run of sonic and technical improvements in affordable vinyl playback,' reports Neil Gader in his July 31, 2015 review for The Absolute Sound. "Without qualification, the RPM 9 Carbon is a terrific package, certain to give a great many lucky owners years of vinyl-spinning thrills."
Thanks to extensive research and development, Pro-Ject has raised its classic RPM turntable design to an even higher level. Although the RPM 9 resembles the very popular RM-9.2, it is a significant upgrade which features a new mass-loaded, sandwich design plinth, a TPE-damped polished aluminum platter with integral vinyl mat on top, and an exceptionally quiet DC-driven motor which incorporates the design of Pro-Ject's Speed Box II technology with electronic speed control.
Last but not least, the no compromise 9“ EVO tonearm with conical carbon-fiber armtube and inverted bearing design ensures perfect tracking, even with demanding cartridges.
Newly Designed Extra Heavy Chassis
The RPM 9 Carbon uses a new extra heavy chassis. It features a special CNC machined MDF plate that incorporates hard resin coated steel pellets to form an extra heavy precise sandwich construction. A special, complex heat treatment and a carbon surface coating ensure superior low resonance levels. The mass-loaded chassis is effectively decoupled from its surface using magnetic feet.
Special Polished Aluminum Platter
Rather than using a acrylic platter like the RM-9.2, the RPM 9 uses a new special polished aluminum platter with internal TPE damping and a vinyl layer on top which forms an integral turntable mat. The inverted ceramic main bearing delivers an absolute stable turntable speed with extra low rumble.
Ultra Quiet Motor with Electronic Speed Control
The RPM 9 features an extra heavy outboard motor unit using an extremely quiet DC-driven power supply. Drawing on Pro-Ject's Speed Box II, the RPM 9 has precision motor control and features a built-in switch that lets you very conveniently select 33-1/3 rpm or 45 rpm speed. No messing with pulleys or belts to change speed, and the delivered speed is precise and very stable.
Outstanding 9cc Evolution Tonearm
An outstanding 9" tonearm, the 9cc Evolution, incorporates a conical carbon fiber arm tube with integrated headshell made of a single piece of carbon fiber and new ultra-rigid bearing assembly to give you the ability to use more massive and lower compliant moving coil cartridges.
The headshell and conical armtube are formed from a single piece of carbon fiber for maximum rigidity and resonance control. The armtube stills allows azimuth adjustments, despite the fixed headshell. The vertical tracking angle is also adjustable. Nominal speeds are 33-1/3 rpm and 45 rpm.
Chassis-mounted female RCA connectors on the rear panel allow you to use any single ended interconnects. A brass record clamp is included.
Optional Sumiko Blackbird Cartridge
For an unbeatable value, the RPM 9 Carbon is available in a special money-saving version that includes the critically acclaimed Sumiko Blackbird phono cartridge.
Designed for exceedingly low noise levels, wide dynamic range, and the highest possible fidelity in its price class, the Sumiko Blackbird MC moving coil phono cartridge is destined to become an analog classic. Each cartridge is assembled using time honored, labor intensive techniques, and then is hand calibrated and critically auditioned to meet the most rigorous standards of consistency.
Choose a high output or low output version of the Blackbird.
"Sumiko’s Blackbird is a strong Class B cartridge. I highly recommend it," says Michael Fremer in Stereophile for January 2004. "If you're currently living with a $300-$500 cartridge, move up to this and your world will be rocked… Its sound is as sumptuous as its packaging."
"Sumiko’s Blackbird is one of the finest cartridges I’ve heard in its price range, and it serves as a highly credible 'reference cartridge for the real world,'" notes Chris Martens in his October 2003 review for AVGuide.com.
Product made in Czech Republic.
Note: Dustcover not included.
