Project X8

The X8 is the new LP player that Austria’s Pro-Ject is betting on to entice vinyl lovers onto that next step beyond the entry-level and midrange products that are the brand’s bread and butter. To justify its higher price point, this sleek-looking deck borrows features from the company’s top-tier Xtension turntables, making it ProJect’s most affordable ‘mass-loaded’ model to date. It’s also fitted with a rigid 9cc Evolution carbon tonearm, which is an upgrade on the carbon-aluminum arms found on its lower-range offerings.

1) New platter:The X8 offers a heavy, TPE damped mass-loaded platter precision lathed from a single aluminum block and finely balanced. The X8 comes with a standard felt mat, also allowing you to experiment with different material mats in the future and tailor the sound to your taste.

Our TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) technology now helps to damp it completely and also increases the weight to 5.1 kg. Because the TPE is mounted on an outer ring, the moving energy will also create a flywheel effect. The result is an even quieter and noiseless operation and less wow and flutter – more stable speeds.
Note, that speed stability was always close to perfect because of our expensive AC motor synchronization (or in other words the built-in power generator board). Cheaper alternatives are no power generator board or even a cheap DC motor. But DC motors result in extreme speed variations and need to be readjusted all the time (for this reason you will find access to speed control fine-adjustments on almost all DC turntables – it is an often overlooked and not talked about fact, that you need to readjust those speeds constantly, if you want accurate speeds!)

New Bearing

The neodymium magnetic load reduction system produces less rumble and noise producing “rubbing”, which also lowers bearing/thrust pad mechanical noise—a critical issue in a design that puts the noise producing interface so close to the platter surface.Considering the massively heavy platter, this leads to a smoothly rotating base for your vinyl records and perfect speed stability. The inverted bearingputs the platter’s center of gravity well below the point of rotation for far greater stability than a standard bearing design.

New True Balance connection.

Balanced audio connections are usually known from the professional sector like recording studios or live concerts. It is very important to have a stable & interference free connection, as these signals will be highly amplified. The same applies to the connection from your turntable to the phono preamplifier. The big advantage of a balanced connection is its ability to remove picked up noise and interferences. And best of all, cartridges by nature are already balanced signal transducers! With True Balanced your are simply using everything, literally everything, that your cartridge is picking up from the record groove. You are not throwing away half of the usable signal, like is done in typical single-ended RCA phono connections.

The X8 comes with a 5pin output jack and with our standard semi-balanced Connect it Phono E 5P -> RCA cable. By upgrading it to our fully balanced 5P to XLR version (available separately) and using a balanced phono stage, like our Phono Box DS3 B or any of our RS/RS2 phono stages, you are fully set-up for the True Balanced experience. This leads to increased dynamics, less noise and improved signal to noise ratios. You can imagine it, like hearing parts of your music that literally were not there before.

Reviews

‘The X8 offers you more than a glimpse of high-end performance in a ready-to-enjoy package, avoiding the very high price, and potential complexity, that an uber-upgrade might entail’
‘By distilling key features from the X9 and X10 models into the X8, Pro-Ject has built a sleek turntable that appears minimalistic but offers a sizeable step up in performance compared to its budget decks. The Quintet Blue MC plays an important part in this, but the match is entirely fortuitous. As a result, the X8 spins your vinyl with minimal distraction and maximum detail, immersing you in the music’

read the review in HiFi News

Specifications

• Speed: 33, 45 (electronic speed change)
• Drive principle: belt drive
• Included phono cable: Connect it E 5P -> RCA, 1.23m
• Aluminum feet: Height adjustable & TPE damped
• Platter: massive 5,1 kg lathed aluminum & TPE damped
• Platter bearing: inverted with ceramic ball tips and magnetic support
• Wow & flutter: 33: ±0,11%; 45: ± 0,10%
• Speed drift: 33: ±0,11%; 45: ± 0,09%
• Signal to noise: 73dB
• Tonearm: 9“ one-piece carbon-fiber tonearm
• Effective arm length / mass: 9“ (230 mm) / 8,5 g
• Overhang: 18mm
• Included accessories: 15V DC / 0,8A power supply, dust cover, 7“ single adapter, felt mat, phono cable
• Power consumption: 5W / 0,3 W standby mode
• Dimensions lid closed: 465 x 150 x 350 mm (W x H x D)
• Dimensions lid opened: 465 x 415 x 420 mm (W x H x D)
• Weight: 15kg

Audiofi is your Project X8 dealer, we ship free in Canada