The Article
Primary E Turntable From Pro-Ject
15th August 2018
New Primary E sub-budget design focuses on sound quality and costs just £149
The Primary E still takes its overall design inspiration from a merging of the Elemental turntable and the Essential II designs.
Like the original Primary, the Primary E uses the same 8.6” aluminium tonearm as the Elemental, with sapphire bearings.
The tonearm is pre-configured and you get an Ortofon OM pick-up cartridge. There’s no need to set-up the tracking force or anti-skate during installation.
Including a stainless steel bearing, the Primary E now uses a direct-to-mains 230V motor. The ‘E’ shares the Essential II’s construction and the purpose-designed wood platter/felt mat combination. The plinth is finished in matt black while a detachable dust cover is featured. Price is £149.
For more information, call 01235 511 166 or click www.henleyaudio.co.uk
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Hi, I am in Australia, I have the Pro-Ject Primary E ($350 AUD) and now need to complete my setup, do you have suggestions for the best amps and speakers to go with the Primary E? I am very new to all of this and this would be my first vinyl set up. Based on my googling, I was thinking the Pro-ject Phono box e ($125 AUD) and Audioengine a2 powered speakers ($400 AUD). I would prefer to spend around $600 AUD to complete the set up but could spend little more if it was worth it (I know you say you should spend the most on the turntable). I really just want to get the best audio quality I can on a budget and don’t have any other criteria. I can get the Q Acoustics 3020i speakers for $500 AUD, but i don’t think they are powered so maybe I could get those with an integrated amp of some kind for a total of $700? Thank you 🙂
Hi Laura – please forgive my ignorance in terms of prices and contact points for Australian hi-fi but here’s a few guidelines to consider. I’d look at a cheap external phono amp. The Pro-ject is ideal. An external phono amp is a good choice as it lowers the noise floor. To keep that low noise floor going though, I’d go for a separate amp. The Cambridge AXA25 can be had for ¬£199 over here but there’s also some deleted Topaz amps swilling around from the company that I’ve seen for ¬£50. Not sure if there’s any left. Then look at the Q Acoustics 3020 speakers – not the more expensive ‘i’ model, although they’re better but more expensive. The 3020s can be bought here for around ¬£150 or less. Hope that helps.