If you guessed the heads of the visitors to your listening room when they view this new flagship from Pro-Ject — you would be correct. The Pro-Ject Signature 12.2 Turntable has become the flagship model in the rather extensive lineup that includes some our favorite tables below $2,000; the Pro-Ject X2 B and Debut PRO B which can compete with anything at their respective price points.
Over 80 lbs. of mass and 100+ high-precision CNC-machined parts comprise this rather stunning piece of industrial design. All manufacturing is being done in-house at the Pro-Ject factory, keeping costs down — which enables Pro-Ject to charge $14,999 USD (no cartridge) for the table.
Before you choke on that mouthful of strudel, keep in mind that the Kuzma Stabi R Turntable outfitted with the Kuzma Stogi Reference 313 CE Tonearm with VTA Tower Mounting is $18,139 USD, a Rega Naia with the Aphelion 2 MC cartridge is $17,000 USD, and the VPI Avenger Standard is $13,000 (no cartridge).
That’s a lot of strudel for anyone, but the bigger point is that Pro-Ject has its sights on 3 of the best turntables under $20,000 (we won’t even get into the tables over that amount) and there is no question that it has the technical and manufacturing capabilities to deliver.
Features:
- 3-point pivot tonearm bearing construction
- Modified counterweight system
- Motors mounted in full aluminium motor block for even more effective vibration damping
- Round shaped MDF chassis
- Spring loaded feet with conical tip adjustable from the top of the turntable chassis
- Heavyweight mass-loaded design
- Magnetically decoupled main platter
- Resonance-optimised alloy
- Inverted main bearing with ceramic ball
- Flywheel belt drive
- High gloss hand-polished aluminium surfaces
- Handmade in Europe
Specifications:
- Speed: 33 & 45rpm (electronic speed change)
- Speed variance: ±0.09% (33rpm), ±0.08% (45rpm)
- Wow and flutter: ±0.01% (33rpm), ±0.01% (45rpm)
- Signal to noise: -75dB
- Effective arm mass / length: 21.7g / 12” (304.8mm)
- Overhang: 13.2mm
- Actuation principle: belt-driven flywheel system
- Motor control system: precision generator
- Platter: 10.55kg (magnetically decoupled)
- Main bearing: ceramic (ball/plate)
- Tonearm: 12” aluminum, 3-point pivot
Technology
The 12” aluminum tonearm features a removable headshell making cartridge changes easy; it also uses a new 3-point pivot for extra stability; the original uni-pivot design was dropped for the 12.2 model.
The DIN plug is conveniently located at the rear of the arm’s base; there are both single-ended and balanced outputs. You will need to use an MC cartridge to benefit from the balanced connection.
The anti-skate & counterweight portions have been simplified and offer finer degrees of adjustment. VTA can be adjusted with a single thumb screw.
The high-mass record platter is over 25 lbs. itself. It is TPE-damped on the underside with an integrated vinyl mat on top (Signature Record Puck included).
To relieve tension on the bearing, a magnet around the inverted bearing well opposes another magnet embedded in the plinth (encircling the stainless-steel shaft). The plinth also features 4 stainless knobs that users can turn to adjust the spring loaded feet.
The platter bearing is a flawless ceramic ball allowing for smooth & silent rotation.
The motors & circuitry are now mounted in a full aluminum motor block, heightening isolation of the electronics within.
We like the new flywheel motor block and bet drive which can offer excellent isolation and speed stability; having used a number of VPI designs with a flywheel setup, I can attest to the excellent technical and sonic performance.
The Signature 12.2 also features Pro-Ject’s proven DC-driven AC generator which delivers clean, steady power to the AC motors.
The anti-resonant MDF plinth is ‘mass-loaded’ with steel pellets, drawing resonance away from the platter & cartridge; the overall weight of the plinth (minus the platter) is almost 55 pounds with everything installed.
The Bottom Line
$15,000 is a lot of money for any turntable and with so much competition between $12,000 and $18,000 USD from the aforementioned decks (and there are a number from Clearaudio, Thorens, and Brinkmann that could also be on that list) — the Pro-Ject Signature 12.2 can’t just be a gorgeous looking piece of Hi-Fi art.
It has to deliver world class performance for that kind of expenditure; and that doesn’t even include the type of cartridge that the Pro-Ject Signature 12.2 requires to reach those levels.
As much as I love the Denon DL-103, this deck requires something like the Ortofon Cadenza Black, Audio-Technica AT-ART20, or Hana Umami Red to show off what it can do — not that I don’t think it would do great things with the iconic low output Denon cartridge.
With the prices for state-of-the-art turntables soaring into the $150,000 to $200,000 range in 2024, the Pro-Ject Signature 12.2 seems like a more practical (and logical) option for those who have the money and the appropriate system to enjoy it with.
Spending more than $20,000 on a turntable has always felt like a huge waste of money — primarily because your money is better spent on the music instead of the hardware.
Did Pro-Ject pull it off with the Signature 12.2? We have a strange feeling that they did.
For more information: pro-jectusa.com
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Edward Brumbaugh
October 20, 2024 at 10:42 am
Looks to be another great turntable from Project, but for me it always seemed a waste spending that kind of money when for under $3K you can have the Technics 1200GR2 and MoFi Master Tracker cartridge that will give you the same or very close to the same performance, which is what I decided to do, and pocket the other $12K, because like you said, your money is better spent on the music instead of the hardware. If you have the money, awesome, you should buy what you want and enjoy your gear, but I just don’t see the price to performance difference … just one guys opinion. Thanks for the read …
Ian White
October 20, 2024 at 4:19 pm
Edward,
I would have to agree on the value side of it. I think spending $15K on a turntable (unless you are like Elon Musk and can afford to give away $1M to a rally attendee) is rather questionable when building a system. Spending $3K is still a lot of money but you can assemble an excellent sounding table/cartridge at that price point and have money left over for a lot of records and a high-end phono pre-amplifier.
I really like the Debut PRO and X2 B tables that I’ve previously reviewed and I’m currently paying for 3 kids in higher education — that’s my ceiling.
IW