Looping the nearly invisible fishing line over the stub at the back of the tonearm is delicate work, but once it was on, I really thought I had it. But because I’d failed to hook up the antiskating weight, the tonearm skated away, moving across the record like a hockey puck on ice. This procedure is carefully detailed in the Debut Carbon’s manual. When the arm looked as level as I could get it, I turned the counterweight to zero it out before turning it to set the vertical tracking force. I removed the cartridge headshell and slid the counterweight onto the rear end of the tonearm shaft. I was obsessive in my attempts to get it perfectly right. The first order of business was to balance the tonearm. The use of carbon fiber for the armtube rather than, say, aluminum does seem to be an extravagance that would normally be reserved for higher-end models. But while the hidden bargain of this package is the cartridge upgrade - Ortofon’s 2M Red moving-magnet retails for $100 on its own - it’s obviously the tonearm that Pro-Ject is most proud of. Pro-Ject touts the improvements in the quality of the Carbon’s platter and motor from the basic Debut. I set the Debut on a level surface, threaded its drive belt around the platter hub and the motor capstan’s 33 1/3 pulley (there’s also a 45rpm pulley), and onto them gently lowered the sturdy metal platter and felt record mat. The four rubber feet, motor, platter hub, and carbon-fiber tonearm with Ortofon 2M Red cartridge were all already installed on the heavy-duty plinth, which comes in seven colors (mine was in high-gloss black). When I opened the Debut Carbon’s carton, I was reminded to throw nothing away, and to make sure all of the pieces, large and small, were actually included therein. And while not quite an exit-level turntable, its build quality tells me that Pro-Ject cares about the entry level of the market. Pro-Ject Audio Systems knows its customers well - the Debut Carbon turntable ($399 USD), while not quite plug-and-play, comes with everything the aspiring vinyl-loving audiophile needs.
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