Golden Ear Award Winner – The Absolute Sound
"Play It, Love It"
The Pro-Ject Xtension 10 Evolution turntable is tailor made for vinyl addicts who crave the sound quality of Pro-Ject's critically acclaimed Xtension 12, but in a more compact size that easily fits standard audio racks.
This special Superpack version of the Xtension 10 includes a Sumiko Starling low output MC cartridge and an upgraded tonearm cable.
The Absolute Sound magazine awarded the Pro-Ject Xtension 10 its coveted Golden Ear Award for 2014 in the September 2014 issue. "This combination pays off with great sound, as well as a deep emotional impact, meaning that it retrieves deep layers of information from an LP's grooves while bringing an intellectual and emotional connection to the music that is rare in my experience," raves Wayne Garcia.
"This turntable has the build quality and looks to hold its own among turntables costing thousands more," marvels Jim Clements in his June 17, 2013 post for Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity reviewing the Superpack version. "Through the Xtension 10, Pro-Ject has made a very strong case to be considered a serious contender in a more upscale turntable market."
"Strongly Recommended"
"'Plug it, play it, love it,' is the order of the day," reports Alan Sircom in the October 2013 issue of HiFi+ magazine. "It's a turntable that combines all of the benefits and none of the psychoses of the high end. Strongly recommended."
"Sound was fresh and detailed," notes Germany's Audio magazine for February 2013. "Our test listeners never had the experience of aggressiveness. Nevertheless, in its deep agility, a fundamental authority constantly dominated."
Mass Loading Meets Floating Turntable Design
The Xtension 10 takes maximum advantage of Pro-Ject's 20 years of experience in turntable design. The chassis is made from MDF filled with metal sand to achieve high mass and non-resonance. Magnetic feet, which decouple the main plinth from its base, are combined with a weighty 48.5-lb. total turntable mass. The result is a unique combination of 'mass loading' and 'floating turntable' design principles.
Sophisticated 'Sandwich' Platter
Instead of the standard approach of using pure metal for the main platter, Pro-Ject has developed what the company calls a "perfect alloy," which is damped on the inner side with Sorbothane. Next, Pro-Ject glued recycled vinyl records to the top to act as a "perfect" mat and then baked this sophisticated 'sandwich' before precision balancing it. The final product becomes a wonderfully resonance-free, heavy platter that runs ultra-silently on an inverted ceramic ball bearing with magnetic suspension.
Electronic Speed Control
The Xtension 10 offers electronic speed control at the push of a button, thanks to the built-in Pro-Ject Speed Box DS. No fumbling with belts and pulleys when you want to change speed. The quartz regulation and filter circuit used by the Speed Box DS deliver superior speed stability for smooth and undisturbed motor operation.
10cc Carbon Fiber Tonearm with High-Mass Tonearm Base
Included with the Xtension 10 is 10cc Evolution tonearm with conical carbon-fiber armtube which eliminates standing wave reflections. The solid armbase permits accurate height adjustment of armtube and VTA (vertical tracking angle). The single-screw fixing of the armtube allows rotation for easy adjustment of the needle azimuth despite the fixed headshell. The 10cc Evolution uses highly flexible top-grade copper internal wiring and a Linn standard mount
The tonearm base benefits from high-mass technologies and is isolated from the main board by a sheet of Sorbothane. The tonearm accommodates a wide range of top quality phono cartridges, from 4g to 14g, and comes with a set of four different Sorbothane-damped counterweights.
SumikoStarling MC Phono Cartridge
The Starling is Sumiko's new reference open architecture design featuring a MicroRidge stylus on a boron cantilever in a low output/low mass configuration. This is a powerful, dynamic cartridge with a very refined coherent presentation. The Starling is the latest manifestation of Sumiko's forty years of refinement of phono cartridge design. It features a new CNC‐precision milled high grade aluminum body with optimized resonance properties.
Starling's open-architecture design builds on the strengths of the Songbird. With the addition of a long-grain boron cantilever and a MicroRidge stylus, the Starling offers significant improvements in resolution and dynamic range over the Songbird.
Dustcover Included
Xtension 10 Evolution comes with a beautiful dustcover with adjustable hinges.
Product made in Czech Republic.