Project X2B Turntable

Project X2B  

B is for balanced. The beginning of a balanced era

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.

 

The X2B is supported by its large, heavy, dense and stiff MDF structure, reducing unwanted resonances to almost imperceptible levels. By adding this extra mass, the X2 is even quieter, allowing the vinyl reproduction to become more detailed and precise.

1) We use a carbon tonearm – the rest uses aluminum. 

The new 9” carbon/ aluminium sandwich construction tonearm  results in better internal damping. This also means, the entire tonearm bearing is upgraded to compensate for the extra mass; altogether tracking will be more precise, stable and accurate. The increased mass makes the tonearm an excellent fit for low compliance MC cartridges. Finished as a one-piece, with no resonance-inducing headshell, the X2B can also be set for azimuth and VTA adjustment. The TPE damped counterweight reduces arm-cartridge resonances by as much as 50%

2) We added height-adjustable feet in their Alu/TPE sandwich construction that are a very exclusive but necessary feature to level up the turntable and effectively isolate it from the surface it is placed on.

The X-2B's 8 layers of finish and hand polish guarantee its luxury appearance.

3) We have a power generating board, producing the cleanest power for the motor, resulting in the most accurate and stable speeds - the rest just take power directly from the wal, and could result in extreme speed variations that need to be readjusted all the time. Our control system takes care of this for you.

4) Inside, it houses a sophisticated DC/AC generator board which, combined with the convenient speed control board, delivers clean and stable power to the silent motor system. To get the best performance out of it, we have improved the motor suspension. Remaining vibrations are damped and eliminated, so they are not transmitted onto the chassis, platter and cartridge. The X2B‘s motor chassis is carefully balanced and suspended on a precision tuned TPE belt; this way the motor chassis is effectively decoupled from the main plinth for optimal performance. It is free floating, horizontally completely level and able to operate at the highest performance levels. In the X2B, the motor drives a new, heavy, non-resonant Acryl platter via a sub-platter drive system and a premium grade main bearing for liquid smooth rotation.

5)  A new, heavy, non-resonant Acryl platter is standard. There are advantages to Acryl - biggest of which is the way it is a mechanical coupling with the record (records are made of Acryl) Many high-end turntables have adopted Acryl as standard.

We use a sub-platter drive system and a premium grade main bearing for liquid smooth rotation. 

6) Supplied with a premium cartridge, it can be ready to play within a few minutes of unboxing. manufactured by the cartridge experts at Ortofon. Also supplied in the box is our Connect-IT E RCA cables, a semi-balanced, low-capacitance cable with superior shielding that’s optimized for turntable use. 

Again, we have set the bar for an affordable high-performance turntable that also looks and feels incredibly luxurious higher than ever before. We are excited to win more customers for our hobby and passion: analog music listening.

Reviews

Project X2B wins Eisa Europe Award

"Best turntable in its class. The well-playing Pro-Ject X2 is the turntable to choose in this price range" read the review in L&B Tech Reviews

"it's also a strong performer relative to what else is on the market at the price. It sounds open and detailed, has a wide soundstage and is on the neutral side"

Read the review in Review Hi-Fi News

"If your main amplification has a balanced input, adding the Pro-Ject X2 B turntable and Pro-Ject Phono Box S3 B phono preamplifier to your system will mean you will for the first time be able to take advantage of the many advantages of balanced connections all the way from the phono cartridge to amplifier. Even with the benefit of hindsight, I can’t think why anyone hasn’t ever thought of this before. But it’s not just the fact that you’re able to enjoy balanced operation, it’s also the fact that with this duo you’re getting an outstanding moving-coil cartridge, an outstanding turntable and an outstanding phono stage. Tell me, what’s not to like?" 

read the review in Australian HiFi

Specifications