Pro-Ject T1 Phono SB

Pro-Ject has built turntables in Austria since 1991, with a name for giving a lot of value for the money. The T1 is the entry line, below the Debut, and it is built on the opposite philosophy to Rega's: you do not strip things away from a beginner, you hand them a complete, ready deck.

The Phono SB variant is the most generous of the T1s: it adds an on-board phono stage and electronic speed change (SB stands for Speed Box). It competes head-on with the Rega Planar 1 and the Audio-Technica LP120, each with its own idea of what a beginner actually needs.

Setup is the easy part of the T1: the sub-platter makes assembly almost automatic, and the 8.6-inch aluminium tonearm arrives with an Ortofon OM cartridge already fitted, tracking force and anti-skate pre-set. The platter is glass, the plinth low-resonance MDF with a high-gloss finish.

The Phono SB name says the rest: a built-in MM phono stage and speed that changes at the touch of a button, with no hand on the belt. Within minutes you are running, with almost nothing to adjust.

The sound character on this page does not come from our own listening: we report it from published reviews, with the name of the person who wrote them.

Hi-Fi Choice (Ed Selley, reprinted on the site of the UK distributor, Henley Audio) describes an energetic, flowing sound. Bass is not the deepest, as the chassis is light, but it is handled with agility; voices are convincing and the band is layered believably, even if the soundstage is not large. The limit: with brightly cut pressings the treble can turn edgy, with some sibilance. No hum at idle, and speed is stable.

SoundStage! Hi-Fi (Philip Beaudette, February 2021), who listened to it as it comes out of the box, through its own phono stage, reports a lively deck with warm, tight bass, an open soundstage and natural voices. Against a far more expensive turntable it lacks body and openness, and at high volume an electric guitar turns a little strident.

The built-in phono stage means a shorter chain and one box fewer to buy. Hi-Fi Choice notes that brightly cut pressings can bring out some sibilance, and that the T1 shows less end-of-side distortion than the Pro-Ject Primary, which uses the same cartridge.

There is a cheap upgrade path too: the Ortofon stylus steps up within the family (from the stock OM to the OM10 or OM20), a real gain in quality for little money. The glass platter adds a touch of rotational stability.

The natural rival is the Rega Planar 1, dearer and more spartan. On features the T1 pulls ahead: a built-in phono stage and electronic speed change make it ready to play from a single box, where the Rega needs an external preamp and a manual belt move. On sound, Hi-Fi Choice — which compared them — gives the edge to the Rega (as the Planar 1 Plus, with built-in phono), more forgiving of mediocre pressings, but concludes that the T1's specification and price are hard to ignore.

In short: the Rega as a platform to grow, the T1 for convenience, completeness and price. Against the Audio-Technica LP120 (direct drive, USB) the T1 gives up the USB output and the third speed.

Because the phono stage is built in, the T1 can go straight into a line input or a pair of active speakers: it is the fewest-boxes option in the class. Turntable (with phono) → amp or active speakers → speakers.

Pair it with an integrated amp with a line input or a good pair of powered speakers and you have a complete system for one more purchase. And if you later want a better phono stage, you can bypass the internal one without changing the turntable.