- Pro-Ject’s Debut Reference 10 costs €1,199 (approx. $1,410 / £1,047)
- Newly developed hybrid aluminium/carbon tonearm
- New bearing block design and pure power
Pro-Ject’s Debut line of turntables was launched in 1999 with the goal of bringing high-quality vinyl playback to a wider audience, and since then the Debut line has been a constant presence on our best turntable rankings: the Debut Carbon Evo is our current number one. And now there’s a more advanced, more premium model: the Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10.
It’s a typically sleek and minimalist design with some key new features, including Pro-Ject’s first hybrid carbon/aluminum tonearm. It is matched with a Pick it PRO Balanced cartridge, a revised version of the original Pick it PRO that promises “true balanced” signal transmission.
Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10: key features and pricing
The Debut Reference 10 features a resonance-free acrylic plate, a diamond-cut aluminum subplate, and a current generator that Pro-Ject says delivers an “all-new clean sine wave” to the motor, which in turn delivers improved speed stability. There’s also a new bearing block design with a TPE-damped aluminum counterweight and adaptive rear anti-skating mechanism.
The tonearm is fully adjustable for both azimuth and vertical tracking angle, and height adjustment for different cartridges or turntable mat heights is just a matter of loosening two thumb screws. The three feet are also height adjustable; there are three rather than four feet because the former configuration is less likely to wobble on an imperfectly flat surface.
The turntable is manual, but here there is a switch to switch between 33 and 45rpm without having to do it manually. And the package includes the familiar Connect it Phono RCA phono-optimized cable for its gold-plated RCA outputs.
The chassis is MDF under eight layers of hand-applied varnish, with MDF chosen for its ability to reduce vibration, and all the exposed metal bits are diamond-cut.
Price-wise, the Debut Reference 10 sits between the affordable Debut EVO 2 and the premium high-end turntables that Pro-Ject also make: it’s €1,199 (approx. £1,047 / $1,410).
Four figures might seem a bit much for something in Pro-Ject’s entry-level line-up, but just look at this thing – it’s a beautiful bit of gear, so who am I to kid?
The best turntables for all budgets
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