EVO 2 TURNTABLE FROM PRO-JECT

Its taken over three and a half years, but the EVO turntable finally has a sequel, the EVO 2

Looking at the Pro-Ject EVO 2. As it stands there on your shelf. It offers clean lines. It’s not fussy, elaborate, it doesn’t scream ‘look at me’. It looks almost utilitarian. It looks like it’s here to do a job, not faff about. 

The colour variations – I reviewed a green model – is the only sense of luxury about this design. 

Changes from the original Mk.1 EVO? Gone is the old EVO steel platter. In comes an aluminium variant. Both have TPE damping under the platter but the new model holds TPE in a sort of structured trench now.

Both platters have the same general weight but the EVO 2 is less resonant. Tapping the EVO 1 platter, it is obviously damped but there remains a sliver of vibration. Tapping the EVO 2 platter? Well that sounds completely dead in vibrational terms. 

The tonearm is a carbon fibre-based model spanning 8.6 inches that looks the same as the arm found on the Mk.1 at first glance but isn’t.

A new, rear-mounted aluminium bearing block grabs the tube directly now, which looks to enhance damping while the bearings themselves have been upgraded.

The counterweight also features a new damping ring.

TPE feet still form the basic support system. The speed select is the same rocker switch positioned under the left side of the plinth. 

I like the improved positioning of the RCA sockets and ground grub screw plus the power socket.

They are part of the actual plinth now instead of slung underneath the plinth as with the EVO 1, which means they are easier to access during installation. Again, the positioning should help damping.

Finally, the Ortofon 2M Red has been upgraded to a Pick IT EVO MM cartridge, also made by Ortofon.

In the box you still get a pair of Connect-IT phono cables which I have reviewed separately some time ago and like a lot. 

SOUND QUALITY

I began with Peggy Lee and the title track from Is That All There Is? Which has a Germanic, Weimar Republic, disconnected hedonism about it. Something from the film Cabaret perhaps. This one uses a piano, a bank of strings, a brass section, bass, acoustic guitar, a tuba and what appears to be a banjo. This is also a useful test track because Lee talks though part of this song. So there’s that speech thing to consider. 

VS REGA PLANAR P3

And I emphasise the older P3 as opposed to the newer Planar 3. You might question the inclusion of the P3 but the the latter shares the same essential personality as the former. It’s just that the Planar pushes the good points on a step or two. But the essential sound structure is retained. 

I was expecting the Rega to offer great upper mids and treble and the EVO 2 to hit the bass in a serious manner but actually? I was impressed by the EVO 2’s clarity within both the mids and the treble. There was a noticeable lowering of high-frequency noise and vibration from the EVO 2. This produced an impressive upper-frequency insight around the soundstage. There was also a real focus that added to the sense of tonal realism. 

And yes, bass was impressive. It didn’t hit you over the head. It wasn’t that kind of bass. Bass here had real character so the tuba had extra weight while the upright bass had a fast, responsive bounce.

Overall, Peggy Lee’s music had more swing and finger-clicking rhythm.

VS MICHELL TECNODEC

The thing about the Tecnodec versus the EVO 2 is this. The Tecnodec is a more expensive and highly-regarded design. It has history. It’s also coupled with a Goldring 1042 which is another superb design. Adding the two together pushes the price point upwards to around £2k. I drafted it in to see just how far the EVO 2 could be pushed out of the box. 

Together, the Michell and Goldring combo is superior to the EVO 2 in terms of upper mid detail and bass structure. Not surprisingly. 

I was expecting that result. 

Thing is though, the Michell/Goldring combo sounds like an enhanced EVO 2. So the EVO 2 proves, at least to me, that it’s on the right lines here, it;s on the same path. It’s doing the right things. In fact, in many respects, the Michell/Goldring combo sounds like a modded EVO 2. This is a compliment to the EVO 2. It shows that the EVO 2 isn’t doing anything odd, it isn’t over emphasising any one frequency to the detriment of another and those frequencies themselves are well disciplined. 

To me then? For the EVO 2? This test was successful.

VS EVO 1

Which leaves one more test to fulfil. Possibly the most important test of all. How does the EVO 2 compare to the EVO 1? Personality. That’s what the EVO 2 gives you. Personality. That is, extra detail, extra subtleties and extra emphasis that give any song…soul. Generally? There’s a basic enhancement of upper mid detail here and a larger, firmer bass. In practice though? 

Well, there’s a sequence in this song that talks about a child’s view of the circus. But the drum sounds like than a basic drum on the EVO 2. How the drum is hit. That’s the thing. On the EVO 2, it sounds like it’s being hit by a half-drunken clown while the trumpet section sounds positively bored. Almost as if, these beaten-down, rather neglected employees have performed the sequence so many times it means nothing at all now and it says a lot about that particular circus. Its decay. It also contrasts to the child’s sparkling innocence with the truth of the situation. It’s revealing but also funny. 

Lee’s vocals also provide extra emphasis. So when she hits a particular letter hard in a lyric, and you hear that with the EVO 2, you feel a sharp emotional point is being made here. Also, later on? The rasp of a shy acoustic guitar is now heard, that provides extra layers of detail, accentuating detail and information. The music sounds richer for elements like this. 

Playing Earth, Wind & Fire’s Shining Star from the That’s the Way of the World album from 1975, I was impressed by both the bass response and the energy from the vocal performances. With this group, it’s easy for detail to be masked and the mids to be muddled but the inherent clarity from the EVO 2 rep that detail present and correct.

CONCLUSION

When I reviewed the original EVO 1 turntable from Pro-Ject, I fell in love with it immediately. It provided the best overall performance of any turntable for the price point. Sure, other turntables out there did some things better than the EVO 1 and some things worse, it has to be said but overall, as a balanced package, weighing everything up in one box? The EVO 1 was tops. Well, not any more. The EVO 2 is the new king of the hill.

For this new Mk.2 design? High-frequency noise and vibration have been lowered, upper mid detail and treble information has been enhanced while bass has bags more character.

Actually, it’s the mature, subtle aspects of sound that the new EVO 2 does well. This sounds like a turntable for grown ups. For the listener who wants more than just a nice sound, a nice noise.

The EVO 2 is for the audiophile, yes but also for the general music lover who wants those little subtleties, wants intensity from their favourite entertainers and wants those little details that make the difference between a rehearsal and true performance.  

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PRO-JECT EVO 2 TURNTABLE 

Price: £599

Website: www.henleyaudio.co.uk

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GOOD: midrange information, bass character, low noise, fine detail

BAD: nothing

RATING: 9

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