Some products transcend being simply important in their category and become genuinely structural to their existence. The resurgence of vinyl that has been underway for most of the 21st century simply wouldn’t have been possible without an affordable, widely available and simple-to-use turntable to get people started. The Pro-Ject Debut was very much the right product at the right time. There has been a Debut of some form or another in production for over 25 years, and in that time it has slowly crept upmarket. The Evo 2 you see here now costs £600 - which pitches it against some serious competition.
It's just as well, then, that the Evo 2 is a pretty serious turntable in its own right. The Evo 2 replaces the original Evo and keeps the same ethos of being a Debut - but where everything is just that bit better. It’s still a belt-driven, unsuspended turntable with a tonearm that is an exactingly specific 8.6 inches long. After the original Evo went on sale, Pro-Ject pushed the design further with the Pro, and the Evo 2 takes on board many components we first saw on the Pro.
The first of these is the bearing for that 8.6-inch carbon fibre arm. It now uses the housing developed for the Pro, which is a heftier and more confidence-inspiring object - although if you want to adjust the height of the arm above the record surface, you’ll still need to go Pro. At the end of this arm, the Ortofon 2M Red of the Evo has been replaced with a Pro-Ject Pick It MM Evo cart. This is clearly related to the 2M models and it’s still made by Ortofon, but it has been tailored to work with the Evo 2.
The list of items borrowed from the Pro doesn’t end there either. The platter is an aluminium unit - on the top, at least. Turn it upside down and you’ll find a ring of TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) which deadens the whole platter; an aluminium platter, even one that is relatively thick like this one, ‘should’ ring when struck but this one doesn’t. This process is impressively efficient in how it works - but you can upgrade your Evo 2 to an acrylic platter if you wish. This platter sits on top of a sub-platter which mounts the belt. This makes fitting the belt easier and gives another opportunity to upgrade the deck with a metal unit at a later date.
The Evo2 also gets the feet developed for the Pro - they are impressively pliant and now also offer self-levelling to help get the plinth level even if the surface it is placed on is not. Pro-Ject has been offering its turntables with excellent feet for a while now, but these are a step up from those used on the previous Evos.
Where the older Evo wasn’t broken, Pro-Ject hasn’t fixed it. The motor uses the same on-board DC converter as before, and this works well. Other details like the ‘line and weight’ antiskate (which looks a bit Heath Robinson but works well) and felt mat (which can be upgraded to cork) are all carryovers from Debuts that have gone before.
Sound quality
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment you become aware of when listening to the Evo 2 is that, for all the improvements (and there are plenty, as I’ll cover), it still keeps the qualities that Debuts have demonstrated since the beginning. This is not an urgent-sounding turntable. It doesn’t go in for relentlessness or the sort of energy that’s great when you want to listen to punk but rather wearying at lower tempos. Instead, like its ancestors, the Evo 2 flows through material in a manner that might not be as agile when things are really intense but that acts like a ‘best fit’ for most music styles.
What the Evo 2 does brilliantly is refine this flow. The Pro introduced a level of bass depth I’d never experienced from a Debut before, and the smattering of Pro components on the Evo 2 has given it some of this weight and impact. It’s not a blunt force, either - the detail and definition are genuinely noteworthy for a turntable costing less than £1000. Combined with the decent pitch stability that ensures that even extended notes sound absolutely stable, you have a turntable that ensures you don’t have to make any allowances for vinyl playback.
The Evo 2 isn’t done there either. The combination of those feet and the damped platter means that noise levels are impressively low. Even tested via a whisper-quiet Cyrus Classic Phono phono stage, the Pro-Ject puts no unwanted noise into the performance and this means you hear more record and less record player in the signal. Since the original Debut came along, affordable turntables have become quieter, but this latest iteration is still hugely impressive.
The single biggest step forward is that cartridge, though. It’s surprising how something that is so clearly related to the Ortofon 2M Red that was on the original Evo (and that is not significantly more expensive) is so much better. There is a refinement and sweetness to the presentation that I found needed a 2M Blue stylus on the original to achieve (and that on its own brought the price to near what the Evo 2 costs). Not only is this a fine cartridge for the Evo 2, I suspect it’s a very decent option for a number of affordable turntables.
Living with
Pro-Ject has long believed in giving you a choice when it comes to finishes and the Evo 2 is no exception. No less than ten finishes are available (one wood, three gloss, six ‘satin’) which should ensure you can find something to suit your space. This sets a trend for pretty much every aspect of living with the Pro-Ject. That basic Debut design is elegant and nicely proportioned, and you get a lid which keeps dust off and children and pets out.
There are some refinements for this new model, too. Until now, all Pro-Ject Debut models have slung their audio and power connections in a little metal chassis underneath the plinth. The Evo 2 moves them to the back of the plinth proper which is more elegant and a great deal easier to use. Pro-Ject remains keen on using detachable cables with their turntables and supplies a good-quality grounded interconnect with the Evo 2. You don’t have to be too obsessed with cable performance to feel this is a good idea, as it gives you more flexibility in positioning the turntable where you want. It rounds off an installation process that feels honed and improved. There was a time where Pro-Ject lagged behind rivals in this regard and that’s no longer the case.
It has more to give, too. All of the upgrade parts that fitted the original (and there are a lot) also fit the new model, and the combination of the metal sub-platter and clamp would still be right at the top of the list of things I’d do to the Evo 2 in the pursuit of higher performance. This developed ecosystem of components that get more from the basic turntable without needing you to trade it in is another huge strength of the design.
So, is there anything I don’t like in order to offset this relentless positivity? Well, I wish that the sheen colours were gloss (the yellow would be fabulous) and the start/stop switch on the underside still feels a little crude. You flick it one way for 33 and the other for 45rpm and it’s not quite as slick as everything else. If this is the limit of my criticisms though, you may surmise that the Pro-Ject is rather good.
Conclusion
In fact, ‘rather good’ is underselling it. While the Evo 2 has to play second fiddle to the newly released Pro B in the Debut range, if you don’t need the balanced functionality that product offers, this one gives you a huge chunk of Pro performance for less money. It might appear pricy for a Debut - a turntable that once upon a time cost £115 - but it’s sufficiently capable that very little at the same price can match it out the box or offer the same upgrade stretch. This is a formidable device and a must-audition at under £1000.
Listening Notes
Justin Timberlake Justified
Unbelievably catchy, immaculately mastered and a great pressing. In the hands of the Evo 2 I promise you that you’ll be singing along before the opening track is half finished.
The Chameleons Script of the Bridge
A wonderful album on a slightly sketchy pressing gives the Pro-Ject the chance to show how capable it is at getting information out of less-than-perfect material and making it enjoyable as it does so.
Fiona Apple Tidal
A startling album packed with nuance and flourishes allows the Evo 2 to put in a performance that charges through ‘h-fi’ and into out-and-out ‘audiophilia’.
You need to ask yourself a very simple question: do you want the best turntable you can buy under £1000? If the answer is ‘yes’ (and if it isn’t, I’m not quite sure what you’re after), the reality is you need an Evo 2 in your life.
