Nobody needs a record player. Vinyl has lower fidelity than CDs, more distortion than digital music, and you can get all the music in the world for a small monthly sum on a streaming service. By the figures, on the face of it, record players should be redundant.And yet annual sales for vinyl continue to increase. Against the flattening effect of the internet, in which everything is disposable, replaceable, and ineffable, physically owning music, supporting the artists that made it, and holding something to mark “this album means something to me” is extremely important. It’s also why Criterion Blu-ray sales continue to increase, and I’ll never buy an audiobook or read from a Kindle even as my bookshelves grow. In the digital world, there has been a wonderful revenge of the real.Pro-Ject T1 Turntable Platter Detail. Courtesy of Pro-JectIn this spirit, I had been looking to buy a record player for a long time but never quite knew where to start. The audiophile world is full of snake oil salesman and audio hardware fanatics, and there are too many products designed explicitly for people who want an inconvenient experience; for those who want to spend their days tweaking their equipment. But I just wanted to listen to my records.After testing several units, speaking with more knowledgeable audiophile friends, and researching the market, I landed on the Pro-Ject T1 BT turntable. Though there are cheaper entry turntables and more advanced Hi-Fi players with price tags that can compete with cars, the T1 BT is an excellent audiophile middle ground. It gives you superb audio quality with no real compromises, and doesn’t feel cheap in the slightest, but Pro-Ject also doesn’t waste your money on fancy, unnecessary additions. Most importantly, it’s easy to use. Within five minutes of buying it, you’ll be listening to your albums and won’t have to change it again afterward.Pro-Ject T1 Turntable Varients. Courtesy of Pro-JectDespite being an “entry” audiophile turntable, Pro-Ject spared no expense on the build quality. It has a CNC-machined wooden plinth as the base, stiff hinges on the transparent dust cover, glass platter, tripod arrangement of felt-lined feet, and an all-aluminum tone-arm which is just a delight to use. The motion of lifting it across and lowering it is smooth, easily balanced, and paired with the light Ortofon OM5E cartridge, meaning there’s no sliding or vibrations. That’s a lower-end cartridge but you would never know it from the sound quality; and most importantly, everything is calibrated out of the box.There are more elements to the sound of a great vinyl Hi-Fi setup than a record player — something I’ll expand upon in an upcoming piece — but as the player at the core of it, the T1 brings out the best in your music without any of the quirks you want to avoid. The bass isn’t rumbly and muddled, the highs aren’t piercing, and the mid-range isn’t abandoned. It all just sounds right, and with great headphones like the Austrian Audio Hi-X65, your records will sound euphoric.Along with this clean, balanced sound, one notable advantage over entry-level turntables is just how expansive its soundstage is, which makes everything from Ryo Fukui’s “Mellow Dream” to Tyler, the Creator’s “Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale” sound spectacular and enveloping.The T1 range comes in three variants: the T1, T1 BT, and T1 Phono SB, with the T1 starting at $400 and the SB and T1 adding $50 to the price for added features. All come with the same core parts and are offered in gloss black, satin white, or a light wooden finish.Pro-Ject T1 SB Turntable Switch. Courtesy of Pro-JectThe extra $50 brings you an internal pre-amp, meaning you can directly connect them to a headphone amp or speakers, rather than needing a separate pre-amp. The SB lets you switch between 33 RPM and 45 RPM with the press of a switch, whereas the BT has Bluetooth connection. Forty-five RPM records are technically higher fidelity but they’re also rarer, so I’m happy to just easily change the band if I want to listen to the few I own, and the Bluetooth output is a handy upgrade, hence why I went for the BT. Regardless of whether you think you will use any of these add-ons, I think the $50 upgrade is worth it.
