Pro-Ject XA B Turntable – Quick Look

All Image Credit: Pro-Ject

Pro-Ject has announced the XA B turntable, an acrylic entry-level vinyl player for the X-Series. This new turntable uses an acrylic plinth chosen for its damping qualities, resulting in what the maker describes as a “wonderful sounding” turntable at a competitive price. That plinth is combined with a 10-inch aluminum tonearm with a new Pick it Pro Balanced MM cartridge to produce a “dynamic and detailed sound signature” using its “True Balanced” technology or unbalanced connections.

This new design comes with a premium 10-inch arm (254 mm effective length) that features an ultra-low friction 4 pinpoint bearing and a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) damped counterweight that promises precise, stable, accurate tracking and improved resonant behavior. Instead of carbon fiber, this arm is a one-piece aluminum tube (10g effective arm mass) as it is claimed to better complement the sound characteristics of acrylic plinth. Ensuring optimal cartridge alignment the the tonearm base offers azimuth and vertical tracking angle (VTA) adjustments, plus the usual bias and tracking weight adjustments. The arm comes with a Pick it Pro Balanced MM cartridge that is factory pre-aligned.

The 11.8 inch (300mm), 3.75lb (1.7Kg) aluminum belt-driven platter has been both precision balanced and features a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) ring inside that helps dampen resonances, and is supported by a stainless steel and brass bushed main bearing. Included is a Record Puck E that is said to provide extra damping and stability.

Driving the belt is an AC motor that supports both 331/3 and 45 RPM speeds. It receives its electronically generated sine-wave signal and speed control from a local precision DC/AC generator that is “remote” powered by a switched mode supply, all ensuring a clean and stable sine wave signal, helping to minimize wow and flutter, which is stated as 0.13% @ 33RPM and 0.12% @ 45RPM.

DC/AC Sine Wave Generator

The acrylic plinth sits on three thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) damped & height-adjustable feet helping to further isolate the turntable from structure born vibrations and by using 3 feet levelling the stability on uneven surfaces is easier to optimize, maximizing the performance of the tonearm & cartridge.

Finally, besides the standard unbalanced RCA phono outputs the XA B features a Mini XLR balanced output, which claims to reduce noise and interference in the signal path.

Features At A Glance:

• Premium 10″ one-piece aluminum tonearm
• Pre-adjusted Pick it Pro Balanced MM cartridge
• Adjustable VTA & azimuth
• Adaptive anti-skating mechanism
• Cardanic ultra-low-friction 4-pinpoint tonearm bearing
• Precision 1.7kg aluminum platter with TPE damping
• 5-pin DIN balanced output
• Connect it Phono E 5P > RCA/ground cable included
• Acoustically inert transparent acrylic chassis
• DC/AC generator for clean and stable power
• Electronic speed regulation & speed change
• Precision bearing assembly (0.001mm tolerance)
• Stainless steel axle in soft brass bushing
• TPE-damped counterweight
• Special TPE-damped height-adjustable metal feet
• Record Puck E included