REVIEWS PRO-JECT
DEBUT III S AUDIOPHILE £325
Curve ball
As Pro-Ject continues to expand its most
popular turntable range, Adam Smith
checks out the Debut III S Audiophile
I
recently found myself
chatting with a fellow
audio scribe about the
number of turntables
currently available. We discussed a
few favourites and his final comment
was: “Yes, a great selection; although
about half of them are made by
Pro-Ject!” While we chuckled, I
couldn’t help thinking he had a point.
Not since the late seventies, and the
bewildering array of decks to be
found in the Technics catalogue, has
one manufacturer covered such a
wide span with its model lineup.
The latest sub-range to be
augmented is the Debut Line. Not
content with the Debut S/E3, Carbon
DC (HFC 366), Carbon Esprit SB
(HFC 383), Carbon Phono USB,
RecordMaster and Carbon
RecordMaster Hi-Res, it has now
introduced the £325 Debut III S
Audiophile, which is distinguished
by the new S-shaped tonearm.
REPRINTED FROM
The newcomer also introduces a few
other new features, the most obvious
of which is a new Pro-Ject logo. This
graces both the plinth and the dust
cover, and its arrival heralds some
changes at the company, including
the opening of a new headquarters in
Austria, and expansion of its turntable
factory in the Czech Republic.
The Debut III S Audiophile is based
around a superbly finished gloss
plinth, which is available in black
or white. The sub-platter has a
stainless steel bearing shaft, which
spins in a brass housing and is driven
by a flat belt from the motor – which
is a synchronous AC type. Its drive
signals are generated on a PCB inside
the deck, with a wall-wart 15VDC
power adaptor supplying the
necessary juice to run everything.
The main platter sits directly on
the sub-platter and is 300mm in
diameter and made from steel. A
felt mat is supplied, but is not wholly
DETAILS successful in removing the resonance
from the platter; more of which later.
PRODUCT
Pro-Ject Debut III The S-shaped aluminium tonearm
S Audiophile is 8.6in long and easy to set up and
ORIGIN fine-tune. The adjustments available
Austria even include azimuth, as the arm
TYPE
Belt-drive turntable
tube can be rotated about its axis in
the bearing housing after loosening a
WEIGHT
5kg
screw, which is convenient. It comes
DIMENSIONS
(WxHxD)
pre-fitted with a moving-magnet
cartridge, which is another newbie
415 x 118 x 320mm from Pro-Ject, but one that is
FEATURES currently only available as part of
l 33 & 45rpm
l 8.6in S-shaped
a turntable package. Designed for the
aluminium tonearm Austrian company and dubbed the
l Fitted with Pick-IT 25 A, it’s based on an Ortofon
Pro-Ject Pick-IT 25 OM10. However, internally, the coils
A moving-magnet
cartridge have been replaced by pure silver
DISTRIBUTOR types, which Pro-Ject claims: “Opens
Henley Audio Ltd. up the transparency of the cartridge”
TELEPHONE and offers better quality and dynamics.
01235 511166 The deck’s output is via stereo phono
WEBSITE sockets at the rear and a £45
henleyaudio.co.uk
Connect-IT E cable is bundled.
The final new feature is to be found
underneath in the form of three feet
constructed from Aluminium and TPE
(Thermoplastic Elastomer) to offer
better levels of insulation against
vibration. Exotic feet like this are
usually found on more expensive
decks, whereas I tend to be of the
opinion that they make more sense
on budget designs that are less likely
to find themselves sat on a proper
audiophile support. Their inclusion
here gets a thumbs up from me.
www.hifichoice.co.uk

Sound quality
The Debut III S Audiophile turns out
to be aptly named. While many decks
at this price level are thoroughly
enjoyable, they can often ultimately
be a little rough around the edges.
Not so this one, as it has a poise and
sophistication that belies its price tag.
While it has absolutely no problem
with bounding along like an excited
puppy when the mood takes it, there
IN SIGHT
1 Manual speed
5 4
www.hifichoice.co.uk
DEBUT III S AUDIOPHILE £325
is an underlying couthness that makes
it sound surprisingly grown up.
Bass performance is impressively
weighty which, again, puts it a step
ahead of its peers. There is a caveat
here, however. Initially, I find myself
enjoying things, but with a slight
feeling that the low end is a little
fruitier than I would like at times;
bass notes occasionally outstaying
their welcome a little. However,
years of turntable fettling leads me
to point the finger straight at the mat
and platter issue, and so it’s off with
the felt mat and on with a Pro-Ject
Leather-IT (£50) from my personal
vinyl toolbox.
I have to keep on
reminding myself
this deck only has
a three-figure price
Now, the platter responds with a
dead ‘thunk’ when tapped with a
fingernail, and bass lines are much
tighter and better controlled. Jessie
Ware’s Your Domino on 45rpm LP
bounds along with verve and
enthusiasm and the Debut III S
Audiophile keeps everything at the
low end under firm control. Even
better, the bass guitar from Donald
Fagen’s Morph The Cat is quite
beautifully detailed.
Across the midband, the deck also
does a very fine job of capturing
instruments and singers vividly.
Budget designs often tend to blur
the finer aspects of the soundstage
somewhat, but this separates
individuals out surprisingly well. It
1 it is clear that this is a design that has
change by moving
the belt
2 8.6in aluminium
S-shaped tonearm
3 Pro-Ject Pick-IT 25
A MM cartridge
4 12in steel platter
2 and felt mat
5 Power switch
3 OVERALL
PRO-JECT
REVIEWS
images very competently and has
good depth perspective, giving a fair
sense of atmosphere to recordings.
Ultimately its lateral perspective is
somewhat curtailed and central
image stability could be stronger, but
I have to remind myself that this deck
not only has a three-figure price tag,
but it also has one that’s still a long
way from four figures. All things
considered, it turns in a very fine
performance for the price.
At the top end, however, it is clear
that the newly developed cartridge is
working its magic. I’m very fond of
the old Ortofon OM series, but am
well aware that it is a little soft
around the edges. Not so the Pick-IT
25 A, however. Those silver coils
imbue just the right amount of
sparkle upon proceedings, but
without ever straying into harsh
territory. As a result, violin strings
are vivid but without screech and
the cymbals backing Outlaw Man by
the Eagles shimmer delicately off into
the distance. Out of curiosity, I dig out
an Ortofon OM10 from another
compartment in my audio toolbox for
comparison. While the rich, smooth
tones of the OM10 are like an old
friend, the sound becomes a little
soporific and loses its sense of keen
musicality. As a result, I’d definitely
stick with the cartridge as supplied,
which balances the combination of
deck and cartridge superbly.
Conclusion
Even though the Pro-Ject Debut range
might already be a little daunting, the
Debut III S Audiophile is a welcome
addition. It takes the best of the
existing models and adds a dash of
extra sophistication and poise to their
performance. The individual changes
add up to a convincing package, and
been properly thought out. The whole
is most definitely greater than the
sum of the parts, but be sure to
budget for a better mat l
OUR VERDICT
SOUND QUALITY LIKE: Stylish new
tonearm; cartridge;
effective isolation
VALUE FOR MONEY DISLIKE: Supplied felt
mat limits performance
BUILD QUALITY WE SAY: A highly
capable hi-fi turntable
package at a great
FEATURES
price point
REPRINTED FROM