Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › Looking for my first turntable, got around £200, Pro-Ject Debut III a good choice?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Looking for my first turntable, got around £200, Pro-Ject Debut III a good choice?

post #1 of 6
12/28/09 at 6:00pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, I'm looking to get my first Vinyl set up, and have come across the Pro-Ject Debut III for £155. I've had a look at some reviews and they all seem very good, so is it a good choice?

I'll be using some HD580's with it, so if any of you want to offer some help, I'd very appreciate advice on which headphone amp would be sufficient enough to run the HD580's aswell as having a good phono stage, I could spend a further £100-150 on the amp.

Thanks
Reply
post #2 of 6
12/28/09 at 7:35pm
I've read good things about the Pro-ject brand. I haven't had one, alas, but these seem to be the real deal.

Have you factored in the cost of a cartridge as well?

I was in your shoes a few years back. I found a used Rega P3 and this has proved to be a great deck and has also been free of problems over the years. It might be a bit out of your price range -- but keep your eyes open for a nice used specimen.
Reply
post #3 of 6
12/28/09 at 7:48pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I think I'll get the Debut Mk III, haven't heard a bad thing about it, and it seems to offer the best value for money in my price range.

It comes with a cartridge (Ortofon OM5e) which I'll upgrade at a later date.

I'll keep a look out for a used Rega, they're not too common over here though.

Any ideas on an amp with a good phono stage? I've been looking at the Little Dot MkIII. Does that have a phono stage? It says it's a pre-amplifier too, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing, bit new to this
Reply
post #4 of 6
12/30/09 at 8:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samius View Post
Any ideas on an amp with a good phono stage? I've been looking at the Little Dot MkIII. Does that have a phono stage? It says it's a pre-amplifier too, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing, bit new to this
The Little Dot does not have a phono stage. I'm not aware of any headphone amps that have one built in, although they are common in older receivers which themselves may have decent headphone circuits.

If you want to stick with a headphone-specific amp, you'll need separate box to amplify and equalize the signal from your phono cartridge. The TC-750 from Phonopreamps.com Home Page is a decent cheap phono stage, but if you've got a bigger budget I'm sure someone could recommend something for you.
Reply
post #5 of 6
12/31/09 at 8:38am
I had the Pro-ject Debut II but eventually got rid of it. It had a 60 cycle vibration - not 60hz hum. When the cartridge hit the vinyl is when this would occur. The motor is suspended so that shouldn't occur, but it did. From what I could gather this doesn't happen with every Debut III but there were a few other people reporting the same problem when I had put that out on a couple forums for discussion or advice. Just make sure you can audition the unit you plan to buy before actually purchasing it to make sure yours isn't one that has this problem.

Ben
Reply
post #6 of 6
12/31/09 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samius View Post
Hi, I'm looking to get my first Vinyl set up, and have come across the Pro-Ject Debut III for £155.
That's a good price for a Pro-Ject Debut III alright assuming you're in the UK. The other contenders would be the Rega P2 and various clones from NAD or Goldring which you may find cheaper. Cambridge Audio also have a nice looking deck on offer at Richer Sounds which you should definitely check out.
As a rule you should spend more on the turntable than any other item in an analogue front end system as this is the most important component from a sound quality perspective.
Also look at Richer Sounds for deals on amplifiers. Don't forget as well that you can often pick up older kit on ebay or in the local classifieds which will be almost just as good as what you buy now. Decks like the Dual CS505 which today costs 500 Euros can be had for 30 quid and classic '80s amps like the NAD 3020 for 50-100UKP. The latter has a decent onboard phonostage and a pretty damn good headphone stage to boot.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Dedicated Source Components
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › Looking for my first turntable, got around £200, Pro-Ject Debut III a good choice?