True Balanced Sound, Handcrafted Character and Precision
Pro-Ject’s X2 B belt-drive turntable follows hot on the heels of its X1 B, hosting the company’s vaunted True Balanced Connection — a specially developed mini-XLR phono output that supports, you guessed it, truly balanced sound, supplying uncompromising fidelity and signal preservation that has Sweetwater’s hi-fi aficionados seriously impressed. You can read more about this state-of-the-art technology below, but the end of the heavy-duty X2 B’s signal processing is only the beginning of what makes this hi-fi powerhouse such a lauded addition to homes and listening lounges around the world. Its 1-piece carbon-aluminum tonearm and headshell are anchored to a precision-CNC-milled and resonance-dampening MDF plinth, sporting an Ortofon Quintet Red (moving coil) phono cartridge. Moreover, every aspect of its bearing, bushing, platter, and counterweight systems has been meticulously vetted and dampened to ensure your playback experience is always insulated from disruptive resonances. Across three playback speeds, luxe aesthetics and uncompromising quality abound with the Pro-Ject X2 B — which record will you play first?
A masterclass of minimalist aesthetics and maximum fidelity
Considering Pro-Ject founder Heinz Lichtenegger’s commitment to vinyl, analog, and all things hi-fi, it should come as no surprise that the visual panache of the X2 B is teeming with character, blending mid-century modern aesthetics with contemporary shades of minimalist style lines. But the X2 B is about form and function, and Pro-Ject pulled no punches in outfitting this turntable to match, if not exceed, the turntable’s room-elevating presentation.
The X2 B’s heavy-duty MDF chassis is CNC-machined with unparalleled precision, from the highest-caliber materials, methodically designed to support a suite of engineering prowess that works to ensure audiophile-grade sound is always on deck. Its naturally quiet motor is carefully isolated by a revamped suspension system that keeps it free from external interference, vibration, and noise. Decoupled from the main plinth, the floating motor-chassis system features a TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) belt that’s leveled to be perfectly horizontal, optimized for exacting accuracy, stability, and insulation from outside influences.
Listen your way
Adding to the mechanical efficiency of the X2 B’s motor and surrounding design supports, Pro-Ject gives you two belts to support its three playback speeds. The pre-mounted flat belt and the elegantly out-of-the-way speed-selection button allow you to toggle between 33 and 45 rpm. However, swapping the flat belt and mounting the included round belt opens the door for 78 rpm records — let that shellac shine and sing!
Those older shellac 78s may be less common these days, but that’s not the only reason some companies choose to omit the option with their turntables. Consider the interrelationship of speed and pitch that exists within the relatively smaller margin between 33 and 45 rpm records. If you go from one to the other and forget to change the speed — don’t worry, we’ve done it before, too; we won’t tell — on the turntable, the difference is immediately noticeable and often jarring (if not a little bit comical). At roughly double the speed of 33 or 45 rpm records, this expansive range of playback speeds requires a substantial increase in processing power. Fortunately, Pro-Ject built the X2 B with an elegant and advanced DC/AC generator that’s electronically controlled, ensuring consistent and ultra-stable playback speed and rotational balance.
Note: Due to the distinctive surface physicality of shellac records, it is recommended that an alternative cartridge and stylus be used when listening to 78 rpm records. Please contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer to learn more.
Ortofon Quintet Red: magnificent moving-coil magic
The True Balanced Connection system that Pro-Ject developed is — like all of the company’s endeavors — merely one part of a larger hi-fi equation. While the X2 B accommodates multitudes of cartridge-stylus configurations, Pro-Ject elected to pre-mount this turntable with an Ortofon Quintet Red MC phono cartridge. The result of Ortofon’s ceaseless commitment to research, development, innovation, and premier sound, the Quintet Red delivers unrivaled precision and performance without the risk of coloring your sound. Achieving this was no small task. Its body was crafted from a specialized thermoplastic material, which is not only imperative to its lightweight structure, but also makes it incredibly resilient to scratch or impact damage. Its internal impedance is exceptionally low, decreasing its sensitivity to load sizes and allowing it to adapt to an expansive range of transformers and preamplifiers. When it comes to output, neodymium magnets are essential to the Quintet Red’s uncompromising fidelity, in addition to its elliptical stylus. The result is a soundfield teeming with transparency, offering all-around versatility that imbues your sound with a breath of warmth and a detailed dynamic range. All these qualities are only amplified by the power of Pro-Ject’s onboard True Balanced Connection technology.
Premier tonearm design and performance-focused ingenuity
Resonance-based disruptions from sounds, surfaces, and adjacent sources are challenging to mitigate. With more discrete parts to a turntable’s design, the more opportunities there are for things to shake, vibrate, and resonate, and this problem only amplifies itself by the proximity of your turntable to your speakers. Pro-Ject built the X2 B with as few extraneous opportunities for wayward resonance to infect your listening experience as possible, and it starts with the tonearm. For the X2 B, Pro-Ject layered carbon and aluminum into a singular apparatus that makes the tonearm and headshell a 1-piece design, allowing for aluminum-based dampening properties on the inside, reducing weight and increasing structural rigidity. Not only does this eliminate the risk of vibration caused by detachable headshells, but it also supports the use of low- to medium-compliance MC (moving coil) cartridges.
Further sonic-insulation attributes include the tonearm’s 4-pin cardan-bearing system — an ultra-low-friction design that keeps the center of gravity locked in place above the stylus, effortlessly moving across your record and maintaining superlative detail and balance, thanks to the lightweight, 1-piece tonearm. Additionally, the counterweight system is both dampened and decoupled from the tonearm by TPE, reducing the overall resonance of the tonearm-cartridge dyad by upward of 50%. What’s more, the aluminum base of the tonearm lends itself to impressive degrees of personalized performance, with options to adjust both the azimuth of the tonearm and the VTA (vertical tracking angle). With these opportunities, the Pro-Ject X2 B is incrediblyadaptable, enabling you to explore a vast range of playback-customization options, with different cartridges, styli, and subsequent tracking-force/angle needs, as well as presentation possibilities via slipmats or record weights.
Surface-wise, Pro-Ject endowed the X2 B with an acrylic platter, thanks to its natural dampening properties and resistance to resonance. Moreover, the slab of acrylic is one of Pro-Ject’s most rugged, weighing in just south of five pounds and boasting a 1.2-inch thickness. This hefty platter rests atop an ultra-low bearing-tolerance sub-platter, stainless steel platter bearing, soft-brass bushing, and Teflon mirrors. Each of these intentional choices culminates in a noise-free listening experience that’s robust, reliable, and resonance-reducing in equal measure. Plus, the aluminum feet are constructed to be height adjustable without compromising the dampening design inside them, adding to the X2 B’s array of sound-insulation capabilities, as well as expanding the ways in which the turntable can thrive and shine in your personal sonic sanctuary.
Everything needed for instant hi-fi enjoyment
Right out of the box, Pro-Ject provides all the essentials for getting things going with your X2 B, including a felt slipmat, a DC power supply unit, and a dust cover. More importantly, the X2 B comes with Pro-Ject’s Connect it E phono cable, featuring the mini-XLR connector needed for achieving the full sonic potential of the turntable’s True Balanced Connection output. These cables are crafted with audiophile-grade listening in mind, utilizing tin-plated copper conductor wire and gold-plated brass connectors, maintaining signal integrity with the utmost quality and preventing internal and external interference from compromising or coloring these cables’ renowned signal neutrality. The result? Hi-fi playback, all the time.
How True Balanced Connection technology optimizes the vinyl listening experience
As its name implies, True Balance Connection technology employs a balanced audio connection to ensure a stable, interference-free signal between your turntable and preamp. Balanced connections comprise two legs independent of ground: a positive one and a negative one. Since the two signals are opposite in polarity, anything common to both will get canceled. Given that any noise induced into the line will be common to both signals, it will be canceled when it reaches its destination, which is referred to as common mode rejection. Balanced connections are crucial when using microphones, as the audio signal they produce is extremely weak and susceptible to noise (hence the need for a mic preamp). Due to their inherent noise rejection, balanced connections are the industry standard for professional recording and live sound reinforcement.
Interestingly, microphones and phono cartridges have a lot in common. Both are electromagnetic transducers, both produce extremely weak signals, and both require a preamp. Moreover, microphones and phono cartridges produce a balanced audio signal. Unfortunately, typical phono preamps (with RCA connectors) sport a single-ended design and only process one leg of the cartridge’s signal, leaving it open to all sorts of interference. True Balanced Connection technology, on the other hand, uses the full signal, employing common mode rejection to eliminate unwanted noise.
In order to employ True Balanced Connection technology, your turntable needs to be equipped with a moving-coil or Pick it PRO Balanced MM cartridge. Moreover, the connection between your turntable and phono preamp needs to employ one of Pro-Ject’s True Balanced cables, regardless of whether your turntable outputs are on RCA, mini XLR, or 5-pin DIN connectors. Finally, you’ll need one of Pro-Ject’s True Balanced phono preamps.
With True Balanced Connection technology, nothing will inhibit your vinyl listening experience. You’ll say goodbye to unwanted noise and enjoy your LPs with crystal-clear sound.
Pro-Ject: projecting sonic purpose and premium playback performance
Since its founding in 1991, Pro-Ject has pursued a singular mission: provide premium analog listening experiences for music lovers. During a time in which the succession of CDs and digital audio over analog and vinyl seemed all but inevitable, company founder Heinz Lichtenegger doubled down. Lichtenegger and his talented team were determined to introduce new listeners to the world of genuine, true-stereo, hi-fi audio, complete with a menu of value-laden products. Considering that the RIAA reported that vinyl outsold CDs in 2022 — the first time it had done so since 1987 — it’s clear that Pro-Ject’s long-term wager paid off. The company’s initial major success stemmed from the inaugural release of its debut turntable, the Pro-Ject 1. Since then, Pro-Ject has materialized as a worldwide window into the world of high-fidelity analog listening. The company collaborates with manufacturers, engineers, and designers around the world to produce parts from scratch, ensuring everything from the smallest screw to the most complex components maximizes quality. This all-encompassing commitment has manifested in an extensive line of turntables, speakers, cables, amplifiers, tonearms, cartridges, and more. Whether you’re a newcomer to the format or a veteran collector, Sweetwater invites you to chart your vinyl voyage with Pro-Ject — supreme style and sonic substance are only the beginning.
Pro-Ject X2 B Features:
- Hi-fi turntable with Pro-Ject’s groundbreaking True Balanced Connection system for unrivaled quality and listening possibilities
- Rear-mounted RCA connectors and mini-XLR output support both standard and True Balanced Connection playback configurations
- Preinstalled Ortofon Quintet Red MC cartridge gives you instant access to True Balanced Connection listening with detailed, audiophile-grade soundstages
- Motor system is methodically isolated to prevent resonance and other disruptions from traveling through the chassis and motor into your sound
- Platter-bearing, bushing, mirror, and sub-platter components are designed with premium materials and exacting precision to hugely minimize rumble, vibration, and noise
- Flat and round TPE belts are included to allow for 3 playback speeds
- Onboard DC/AC generator supplies advanced speed-monitoring support, ensuring rotational speed and stability are rock solid and consistent
- 9-in. tonearm layers carbon and aluminum into a 1-piece design that eliminates frequent resonance-inducing potential by joining the headshell into a singular component
- Adjustable azimuth and VTA accommodate use with different combinations of cartridges, styli, slipmats, or any personalized performance preferences
- Heavy-duty 4.4-lb., 1.2-in. acrylic platter mitigates disruptions at an essential point of contact with the record and stylus
- Connect it E phono cable includes a mini-XLR connector for True Balanced Connection listening, right out of the box
- Height-adjustable aluminum feet feature dedicated dampening, guaranteeing seamless integration into your space, without worry of surface-born disruptions
