Do you have an older vintage turntable that requires a new tonearm and you just looked at the price of the recently reintroduced SME M-2 Tonearms and cried out in terror because the prices basically doubled. Not a cool move on SME’s part after taking the tonearms off the market for a few years and only making them available on their own tables. Greedy to say the least.
But what about a tonearm from Pro-Ject? They are the largest manufacturer of high-end tonearms in the world, but they have also been somewhat reticent about making them available as an upgrade for existing Pro-Ject tables or other decks.
Recent Pro-Ject tables like the Debut Pro, Debut Carbon EVO, and X2B have impressed the hell out of us and we have wondered privately how one could upgrade their performance even more.
Look no further.
The Debut Pro in particular, could really take a step forward with one of the new EVO tonearms and the Sumiko Wellfleet Cartridge or the Blue Point No. 3 that we reviewed in 2022.
The lineup includes 9″, 10″ and 12″ versions available in straight and “S” shapes and with various arm tube materials and bearing quality. All of those options impact the final price.
Another interesting part of this is that Pro-Ject/Sumiko are instituting a trade-in program for those who own older Pro-Ject turntables and also for those who may want to upgrade their tonearms on other tables.
Pro-Ject/Sumiko will be selling install bases for Jelco, Ortofon, and even SME; my restored Thorens tables are already smiling and that will open the door for a lot of other tables.
Comparison
| Standard | Premium | |
| MSRP | 799-1799€ | 1399-2399€ |
| Tonearm tube | AS: Aluminium polished by hand | AS: Aluminium polished by hand |
| CC: Conical Carbon | CA: Conical Carbon-Aluminium | |
| Inner wiring + cartridge leads for AS tonearms | High purity copper | High purity silver |
| Counterweight | TPE damped | TPE damped (new design!) |
| Tonearm bearing | Inverted ABEC 7 quality 4 stainless steel tips in cardanic ball bearings | Inverted swiss ABEC 7 quality 4 stainless steel tips in cardanic ball bearings (highest selection) |
| Bearing block | Aluminium | Stainless Steel Massive construction |
| Weight | 265 – 311g | 506 – 520 g |
Compatibility
| EVO CC Tonearms | EVO CA Premium Tonearms | EVO AS Standard & Premium Tonearms | |
| Headshell weight | 12 to 30 μm/mN | 5 to 25 μm/mN | 5 to 25 μm/mN |
| Cartridge type | High compliance cartridges | Medium compliance cartridges | Low compliance cartridges |
| > 20 μm/mN | 10 to 20 μm/mN | 5 to 10 μm/mN | |
| Cartridge recommendations | Ortofon 2M Series Ortofon Quintet Series Sumiko Songbird Sumiko Blackbird Sumiko Moonstone | Ortofon Cadenza Series Ortofon Quintet Series Sumiko Songbird Sumiko Blackbird Sumiko Rainier | Ortofon Cadenza Series (with aluminum/carbon heads hell) With wood headshell: Ortofon Cadenza Series Ortofon Quintet Series |
Pricing & Availability
The standard EVO tonearms are priced between 799€ and 1799€ (including VAT) depending upon length, finish and shape.
Those looking for EVO Premium tonearms can expect to pay between 1399€ and 2399€ (including VAT) and those prices depend on the length, shape, and finish of the arm.
Sumiko (which is part of McIntosh Group) is the official importer and we still do not know when these arms will be available and if the USD and CDN prices will be equivalent based on the current exchange rates. Canadian consumers will definitely have to pay more than their American counterparts.
For more information: EVO Brochure (pdf)
Tip: Pro-Ject turntables are available at Crutchfield.
Related Reading
ORT
September 23, 2023 at 2:34 am
Verily, I own 4 Pro-Ject ‘tables and if I could upgrade the tonearm it would be for three (3) reasons only.
1) If it looks cooler than the stock one, which given
absolute weirdness of the one on my Sgt. Pepper
50th (I so loathe the looks of that cartridge!) is
an easy goal in that case.
2) If it frees me from that fishing line w/dinky
weight pathetic excuse for an anti-skate device
guaranteed to make you go bug-eyed crazy if you
drop it! Anti-skate should NEVER be pro-lunacy
and every one of my Pro-Ject’s have that set up.
3) The new arm of toness does NOT cost waaaaaaaay
more than the entire turntable did.
I have spoken.
Ku-El the ORTnaught
Ian White
September 23, 2023 at 3:07 pm
ORT,
I think you nailed both issues on the head. They are better made arms with superior engineering and parts. Look at the insane prices that SME, Graham, and others charge. I can’t wait to try one of these on the X2B or Debut Pro…let alone my Thorens TD-160 super. Screw SME and their $3,000 M2 arms. They were $1,500 at one point and are suddenly now worth $3K??? I think not.
ORT