Mass-Loaded High-End Turntable
The X8 turntable is a true high-end solution with major technical features adapted from the Xtension 9 and 10. The precision balanced platter is machined out of a single piece of aluminum and damped with a TPE (Thermo Plastic Elastomer) insert. The platter rotates on an inverted bearing with ceramic ball and PTFE thrust pad. To decrease the load on the bearing, an opposing neodymium magnet repels the platter from the plinth and bearing, ensuring smooth and quiet operation for decades to come.
The massive MDF chassis is supported by custom feet which are are CNC machined out of aluminum and are fully height-adjustable. They utilize TPE damping technology, very effectively decoupling the X8 from the surface it is placed on.
The combination of mass and damping provide a very stable system, isolating the stylus from both airborne and structural vibrations, without being finicky to setup and remains stable and properly aligned over time. You hear your music, not the turntable.
The 9cc EVO carbon tonearm utilizes inverted cardanic tonearm bearings, has four stainless steel tips mounted in ABEC 7 quality ball bearings mounted in a C-shaped section to minimize resonances. The low mass one-piece carbon fiber tonearm tube is crafted in a conical shape to minimize standing wave vibrations. The tonearm wire loom is one piece, from the cartridge to the 5pin DIN output, designed to allow either single ended or True Balanced phono connection.
True Balanced
Low output MC (moving coil) cartridges are acknowledged as capable of the best performance in terms of information retrieval, but the increased performance comes at the expense of a lower signal output. This makes MC cartridges more susceptible to radiated interference, hum and noise. However, since most MC cartridges are inherently electrically balanced, it is possible to retain the balanced wiring configuration direct to the phono preamp, much as professional microphones are run fully balanced to mic preamps as you would see in any recording studio in the world. To take full advantage of the balanced output of MC cartridges, Pro-Ject has developed our True Balanced upgrade path.
The X8 ships with a semi-balanced Connect it E 5P-RCA cable and the Sumiko Moonstone, a moving magnet cartridge. When upgrading to a moving coil cartridge, by incorporating our fully balanced 5P-XLR connecting cable (available separately) and using a balanced phono stage (Phono Box S3 B, Phono Box DS3 B, RS/RS2 phono stages) you are fully set up for the True Balanced experience. This dramatically improves the signal to noise ratio, minimizing susceptibility to noise and hum and preserving recorded dynamics.
