A great first turntable
You don’t need to set eyes on Pro-Ject’s Primary E turntable to know it has a lot going for it. It’s the most affordable traditionally designed Pro-Ject turntable and it is also more or less a twin of the Pro-Ject Primary deck to which we had already handed five stars.
Like most twins, there are a few key differences that set the two apart. The Primary E’s power supply is built in to the deck rather than the plug; it is available only in black rather than the Primary’s red or white options, and it costs a little less than the original model. So how does this successor measure up?
Confidently nails the basics
The Primary E has a familiar look, from the 22cm tonearm and Ortofon MM cartridge to the effortless set-up of the near-plug-and-play design. As you might expect from a similarly specified machine, the Primary E has an entertainingly musical performance akin to the Primary’s, too.
While our sonic expectations are rightfully tempered for a turntable at this price point, the Primary E’s priority seems to be entertainment. Sure, there are glimpses of dynamic insight and subtlety to this deck’s presentation, but it doesn’t try to walk before it can run.
The Primary E confidently nails the basics, from an even tonal balance to a delivery that is clear and clean and spacious enough to keep things coherent. Decent body and substance cling reliably to every frequency, and that’s made all the more enjoyable by a spirited sense of drive and momentum.
We lay down The National’s Trouble Will Find Me, and the Pro-Ject wilfully promotes the LP’s warmth and sweetness, communicating Matt Berninger’s vocals as well as the contrasting sense of effort behind the track’s drum beats.
It is sensitive to the sullenness of the band’s instrumentals, demonstrating levels of detail and precision that are more than passable in the company of budget amplification and speakers. And though it’s not capable of huge scale or reach, it sounds far away from being small or confined, too.
By the time we reach the final track, Hard To Find, we are asking ourselves what more we could want from a budget deck. Realistically, very little.
Plug in and play
You don’t have to set aside an hour of your time, nor dust off the toolbox before you can benefit from the Primary E’s performance.
With the anti-skate weight and the 1.7g tracking force pre-set (the
