Comparison Pro-Ject X2 vs Pro-Ject X1

Model of the pickup (cartridge) supplied with the player. The pickup is one of the most important parts of any vinyl player, the quality of the received sound largely depends on its quality. Knowing the name of the model, you can find detailed data on it and determine how satisfied you are with this particular cartridge.

The signal level at the output of the pickup supplied with the player is, in fact, the power of the signal coming from the pickup to the phono stage. This parameter is necessary, first of all, in cases where the player is planned to be connected to an external phono stage: such equipment must be designed for the corresponding power of the signal coming from the pickup.

The effective length of a tonearm in set is the distance from the attachment point (axis of rotation) to the stylus.

This indicator is important primarily for rotary tonearms: the longer the length, the lower the angular error, the smaller the discrepancy between the direction of movement of the track and the longitudinal axis of the pickup (for more details, see “Type”) and the lower the level of corresponding distortion. In addition, a longer length reduces the resonant frequency and reduces the likelihood of distortion. On the other hand, a longer tonearm turns out to be heavier, which requires certain technical tricks and can also negatively affect the purity of the sound. Therefore, a large length is not always a guarantee of high quality – you should also pay attention to weight (see below).

The presence in the design of the player or a dust cover, or devices for its installation (the cover itself is not included in the kit).

Both vinyl records and the equipment for playing them require protection from dust: settling on the tracks, dust leads to extraneous noise and increased wear of the records and needle. Thus, for normal listening to music, it is highly recommended to have a turntable with a lid — otherwise you will have to regularly clean up. But for a DJ "turntable", the lid, on the contrary, is an excess.

A phono corrector is a specially designed preamplifier used when working with vinyl record pickups. Initially, the sound on such records is recorded with distortion of the amplitude-frequency characteristic, namely with an increase in volume from low to high frequencies; this is due to the technical features of the recording process. Accordingly, the phono corrector not only amplifies the signal to a level sufficient for feeding to the power amplifier, but also corrects the amplitude-frequency characteristic, “pulling out” the bass and reducing the volume of the HF. And the built-in phono corrector allows you to connect the player to the power amplifier directly, without using intermediate equipment. True, in terms of characteristics, built-in preamplifiers-correctors are inferior to external ones. Therefore, some models with this function may provide a “bypass” mode, allowing you to pass the signal bypassing the built-in phono corrector to an external, more advanced one. And there are also vinyl players without a phono corrector at all.

The ratio between the useful signal and extraneous noise at the output of the player. It is also colloquially called "electrical noise" (although this is not entirely true).

The higher this indicator, the quieter the noise (it is impossible to completely eliminate them), the clearer the signal will be. In the case of turntables, the signal-to-noise ratio is considered to be at least 50 dB; and in the most high-end devices it can exceed 90 dB.

Note that this paragraph may additionally indicate the value of mechanical noise. Despite the similarity in name, this is a completely different indicator — it describes the volume of extraneous sounds produced by the motor, drive and other moving parts of the "turntable". Accordingly, for mechanical noise, the lower the decibels, the better. You can estimate its approximate level using special comparative tables.

The maximum knock factor that the turntable is subject to under normal conditions.

Detonation in this case is called sound distortion associated with short-term periodic irregularities in the rotation of the disk. The lower the detonation coefficient, the lower the level of such distortions; it is believed that for audiophile-class equipment it should not exceed 0.2%, although in more modest models it may be higher.

Note that for different playback speeds, knock coefficients can also be different. Manufacturers in such cases may indicate the minimum value, despite the fact that it can be achieved not at the usual 33 rpm, but at 45 or even 78 rpm. Therefore, when choosing a high-end turntable, it's ok to clarify this point.

The maximum deviation of the disc rotation speed from the nominal, which can occur during normal operation of the player. This indicator should not be confused with the detonation coefficient (see above): in this case, we are not talking about constant irregularities, but about the largest deviation possible in principle. Such a deviation can reach 1.5%, although for high-end equipment, 1% is considered the maximum value (and in general, the lower the better).

The thickness of the disc on which the record is placed. Other things being equal, a thicker disc will be more massive and, accordingly, stable, and will also be better able to cope with extraneous vibrations. Therefore, in high-end models, the thickness of the disc can exceed 100 mm.