Pro-Ject AC/DC Limited Edition

Few turntables assert themselves as an object quite so much. Produced in a limited series within Pro-Ject's Artist range, this one takes up the Australian band's slash-lightning bolt, following editions dedicated to Metallica and Pink Floyd. Beneath the styling, it is a manual belt-drive turntable, complete and ready to play, with the cartridge already fitted.

The mechanics rest on a 28 mm MDF plinth and a 10 mm red glass platter, whose mass and damped character limit resonances transmitted to the stylus. The platter turns on a high-precision stainless steel spindle housed in a bronze bearing, paired with an acrylic sub-platter. Switching between 33 and 45 rpm is done electronically, without moving the belt by hand. The stated measurements reflect this stability: wow and flutter of +/- 0.16% at 33 rpm and +/- 0.14% at 45 rpm, speed drift of +/- 0.40% and +/- 0.30%, signal-to-noise ratio of 68 dB. A red LED backlight highlights the whole.

The straight tonearm is made of acrylic, a material chosen for its behaviour with regard to parasitic vibrations. Its effective length is 218.5 mm for an effective mass of 6 g, with an overhang of 18.5 mm. This moderate effective mass matches the lateral compliance of 20 µm/mN of the cartridge fitted as standard, an Ortofon 2M Red moving magnet with elliptical stylus.

The relevant values for this cartridge for setup and connection:

This model is aimed at anyone who listens to records regularly but also wants the turntable to be seen: listening room, living room, study, or a room dedicated to a collection. The 5.5 mV output level makes it directly usable on an amplifier fitted with an MM phono input or on a separate phono preamplifier. At 495 x 135 x 405 mm and 6 kg, it requires a stable, level surface, with the 135 mm height worth checking if the dust cover needs to open beneath a shelf.