Pro-ject RPM-10.1 Evolution with Sumiko Blackbird LO Cartridge

When you think of a reference turntable do you fear having to trade in your car or mortgage your house? Not anymore.The Pro-Ject RPM-10.1 Turntable offers tremendous
value and performance that’s incredible for any price. This unit is a year old with less than 25 hours of playing time and comes with the 10cc Evolution tonearm, Sumiko Blackbird LO Cartridge and Optional fiberglass cover as shown in picture.This table sounds great and looks fantastic and is a major step up from budget tables sold at the advertised price.

From Manufacturer's Website:

The elegant
teardrop chassis of the RPM-10.1 is filled with granulate damping and weighted
with a substantial metal block. The motor resides in an outboard metal housing
for complete vibration isolation. The entire package sits upon a damping
platform with magnetically supported feet for isolation from
footfalls and vibration.

Massive
platters offer explosive dynamics and high resolution but also cause bearings
to rumble and wear out. The RPM-10.1’s solid acrylic platter is supported by
opposing magnets, leaving almost no weight on the ultra-quiet ceramic
ball/plate bearing.

Pro-Ject’s best
10″ tonearm, the 10cc Evolution ($1,299), is included at no extra cost. This
state-of-the art ‘arm’s wand and head-shell are constructed from a single piece
of carbon-fiber. The inverted bearing features hardened stainless-steel tips
and the counterweight is Sorbothane-damped to avoid resonance. The 10″ length
offers superior tracking angles to 9″ ‘arms, ensuring consistent
sound from one edge of the record to the other.

33 1/3 and 45
RPM are available via manual adjustment. High-gloss piano dark-grey
is the only color available (as pictured).  Note:  Due to a
slight pearl effect in the finish the turntable and plinth ARE the same color.
 The pictures and lighting make them look slightly different, but they do
match perfectly.

Weighty but
well-priced, this player vindicates Pro-Ject’s work on plinth materials, but
what really makes it work so well is the high-grade 10cc Evolution arm. There
is clean, deep bass quality that allows the rhythmic drive of the music to come
through, solid but not heavy-footed. Giving an uncolored and
open mid-range with fine imaging, this is a well-balanced, vice-free
package, and very good value.

TAS Editor’s
Choice Award

Turntable  

• Chassis, motor housing and granulate filled equipment
base Ground it deluxe piano-lacquered dark grey  

• The equipment base Ground it deluxe rests on four
individually height-adjustable magnetic field feet.  

• A quiet running AC motor with a two-step pulley drives
the platter's outside edge via a belt.  

• The medium density fiber plinth stands on three
height-adjustable Sorbothane®-damped aluminium cones.  

• Granulate filled plinth guarantees constant damping. A
supplied spirit level allows easy adjustment.  

• The motor is mounted in a separate metal housing to
eliminate vibration transmission.  

• The resonance-optimized platter is a sandwich construction
utilizing an acrylic platter weighing 5,4Kg and a brass record puck.  

• The magnet supported (amount of support adjustable),
inverted bearing uses a stainless-steel axle carrying a ceramic ball on which
the ceramic bearing plate runs.  

• Central metal block optimizes center of gravity and
damps main bearing.  

• Connection to the phono input of the amplifier can be
made with connecting cables of your taste through the gold plated phono sockets
and earth screw.  

• External power supply avoids potential
electro-mechanical interference.  

Tonearm Pro-Ject 10cc Evolution  

• The head-shell and arm-tube are fashioned from a single
piece of carbon-fiber.  

• Conical arm-tube avoids standing wave reflections.
 

• Inverted tonearm bearing comprises four hardened
stainless tips in ABEC7 spec ball-races.  

• Rings provide very solid arm bearing housings. The
massive outside ring is open to avoid resonances.  

• Sorbothane®-damped counterweight effectively
counteracts unwanted resonances.  

• The counterweights supplied are suitable for cartridges
weighing between 4 - 6g, 5 - 8g, 6 - 10g or 8 - 14g. An alternative
counterweight for cartridges weighing between 15 - 20g or 16 - 22g is available
as an accessory part.  

• Counterweight shaft lowered to record level reduces
cantilever forces and dynamic wow when playing warped records.  

• Solid arm-base permits accurate height adjustment of
arm-tube and VTA (vertical tracing angle).  

• Single-screw fixing of arm-tube allows rotation for
easy adjustment of needle azimuth despite fixed head-shell.  

• Silicone-damped arm lift can be adjusted to suit
working height of the arm.  

• The internal wiring consists of flexible high-purity
copper from the head-shell right through to the gold-plated phono sockets.
 

Technical data

- Nominal speeds: 33 / 45 r.p.m. - Dust cover: Pro-Ject
Cover it (Optional) - Record weight: yes - Motor in separate housing: yes - RCA
phono sockets: yes - Sorbothane-damped aluminium cones: yes - Central metal
block: yes - Granulate filled plinth: yes - Ground it deluxe 3 included: yes -
Granulate filled equipment base: yes - Tonearm: Pro-Ject 10cc Evolution -
Carbon-fibre headshell and armtube: yes - Effective tonearm length:10 "
(245mm) - Effective tonearm mass:8.5g - Overhang: 16mm - Supplied
counterweight: cartridge weight 4 - 6g, 5 - 8gcartridge weights 6 - 10g, 8 -
14g - Optional counterweight: cartridge weight 15 - 20g, 16 - 22g - Downforce
range: 10 - 35mN - Speed variance: ±0,5 % - Wow and flutter: ±0,01 % - Signal
to noise: -73dB - Platter weight/diameter: 5,4kg/300mm - Power supply type:
Mains-fed outboard power supply100 - 110V, 60 cycles - Output voltage16V/500mA 
- ACPower consumption: 2W - Dimensions: 480 x 210 x 330mm - Dimension Ground it
deluxeIII : 500 x 65 x 400mm (including cones)H without cones 45mm -
Weight14,5kg + motor unit 2kg - Weight Ground it deluxe III11,6kg 

Sumiko Blackbird LO MC Cartridge

Designed for exceedingly low noise levels, wide dynamic range and the highest possible fidelity in its price class, Blackbird is destined to become an analog classic. Each cartridge is assembled using time honored, labor intensive techniques, hand calibrated and critically auditioned to meet the most rigorous standards of consistency.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Cartridge Type:
Low output MC

Stylus Type:
Low mass elliptical

Cantilever:
Long grain Boron

Dynamic Compliance:
12x10-6 cm/dyne

Frequency Response:
12Hz-50Khz

Output Voltage/Channel:
.7mV

Load Impedance:
>100 Ohms

Channel Separation:
35db (1KHz)

Channel Balance:
0.5dB @ 1kHz

Tracking Force Range:
1.8 ­ 2.2 grams

Cartridge Weight:
9.6 grams

Mounting System:
Standard 0.5” hole spacing