A2

The A2 continues and builds upon the success of Pro-Ject's fully mechanical automatic turntables; With the A2, you can now select the drop-off point for 7“ (singles) or 12“ (LPs) for 45 RPM records. Also added is the option of 78 RPM playback to the system allowing you to dig back into old shellac collections. To enjoy listening to your A2, just press start and the tonearm automatically moves to the lead in groove of the record. Once playing, the automatic mechanical controls are completely taken out of the equation. Because of this separation – no additional electronics are needed – they truly do not influence or degrade sound quality during playback! At the end of the record, the tonearm is automatically brought back and gently lowered into its resting position and the motor shuts off.

By necessity, automatic turntables have many small mechanical parts, which means you need more hollow space in the chassis to fit them. Hollow spaces are the biggest problem with traditional HiFi as they always reinforce resonances. By using a sub-chassis, the tonearm and drive are decoupled from the chassis, resulting in a vast decrease in the amount of impact these unwanted vibrations can have on your music. This sub-chassis system is particularly useful when your speakers are close to your system. A sub-chassis is a MUST for automatic turntables and enables them to reach excellent sound performance.

Pro-Ject has invested in a new aluminium diecast top for the whole sub-chassis and automatic mechanism, with the aim of avoiding plastic parts from the original German automatic design as much as possible; This is the first time in all the 50 years of its existence that the original automatic design has received an improvement like this. Due to the new aluminium diecast cover and the massive chassis, the whole sub-chassis construction is more effective and isolates unwanted resonance much better.

The A2 features an 8.3” ultra-light-mass aluminium tonearm with an improved tonearm tube with a bigger diameter. This is a perfect match for the slightly heavier Ortofon 2M Red. As a result, the A2 boasts a super fast response with all transient detail and lots of fine microdynamics, while the new 2M Red adds a lot of body and musical warmth. The tonearm bearing itself has also received a major upgrade and is now made out of aluminium, featuring a 4-pin-point cardanic construction with steel tip ball bearings of Pro-Ject’s own production. This allows for unhindered and free tonearm movement with the lowest amount of friction possible. The A2 will track your vinyl records with the utmost precision and tightness.

Since the inception of HiFi, there has always been a technical discussion about lightweight tonearms with high-compliance MM cartridges vs. heavy tonearms with low-compliance MC cartridges. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages and you can dig deeper into this issue on forums and articles across the web. However, when it comes to automatic turntables, ultra-light-mass tonearms are required. There is no way around it. The mechanical components inside are akin to those within mechanical watches: small and precise. A heavy tonearm would result in a rougher mechanical design as much higher masses would need to be moved. Therefore, the A2 reaches performance heights like no other automatic turntable on the market thanks to its lightweight and nimble tonearm construction.

Pro-Ject spent a considerable of time on the design and aesthetics of the A2, taking iconic technologies and ideologies from the German audio industry, and adding in some of their own ethos.  Pro-Ject believes that today, this minimalistic approach is very much modern again.