A Clear View: True Balanced Sound and Handcrafted Character
Pro-Ject’s XA B belt-drive turntable offers new-coming and entry-level audiophile listeners an unprecedented view at its vaunted True Balanced Connection — a specially developed 5-pin DIN output that supports, you guessed it, truly balanced sound, supplying uncompromising fidelity and signal preservation that has Sweetwater’s hi-fi aficionados seriously impressed. Still, the end of the XA 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 premier aluminum tonearm is anchored to a resonance-reducing and lightweight acrylic plinth, sporting Pro-Ject’s cutting-edge, True Balanced–compatible Pick it PRO Balanced cartridge, while 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. With luxe aesthetics and uncompromising quality delivered via equal hi-fi measure, the Pro-Ject XA B is a masterstroke of style and substance — 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 XA B is teeming with character, blending mid-century modern aesthetics with contemporary shades of minimalist style lines. But the XA 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 XA B’s shimmering acrylic chassis is more than just an eye-grabbing upgrade to your listening space. It’s a coveted choice of material, thanks to the immense noise-dampening capabilities of the near-invisible polymer. Still, the difficulty in refining its acoustic properties is no small qualm to address — over-dampening is indeed a risk. That said, Pro-Ject is never one to back down from a challenge, having previously forayed into a similar experimental venture some 15 years ago with the 6PerspeX turntable. To avoid the dry-sounding profile of an over-dampened acrylic plinth, rigorous testing and analysis helped Pro-Ject refine the sonic base of the XA B’s foundational sounds, pairing it with a robust platter and precision-focused tonearm, each crafted from aluminum.
Listen your way
Adding to the aural engineering prowess of the XA B, Pro-Ject designed this turntable with both 33 and 45 rpm supports, undergirded by a highly sophisticated DC/AC power generator. A byproduct of Pro-Ject’s historic affinity for premium European craftsmanship, the handmade turntable features a state-of-the-art speed-monitoring system, within its power generator. Alongside the electronic speed switch, this system is engineered for uncompromising performance, boasting an average wow and flutter of roughly 0.12% — consistency is key, and Pro-Ject unlocks reliable, stable playback, with their XA B.
Personalized performance doesn’t end here, however, as the XA B was built with extensive flexibility in its tonearm system. Both the VTA (vertical tracking angle) and azimuth are completely adjustable. This allows you to not only further refine the most nuanced pickup of your listening experience but also accommodate an immensely diverse array of playback possibilities. Across various record weight, cartridge, stylus, and slipmat configurations, your XA B is effortlessly tailored to sound your best.
Pick it PRO Balanced: engineered for balanced hi-fi sonics
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, and while the XA B accommodates multitudes of cartridge-stylus configurations, Pro-Ject engineered the preinstalled option to maximize the quality and character the True Balanced Connection supports. The Pick it PRO Balanced is an MM (moving magnet) cartridge that captures every detail and nuance of your records with stratospheric fidelity, featuring an elliptical stylus and streamlined minimum-component design. Exceptional depth and dimensionality are matched by ultra-low distortion and a massive 20Hz–20kHz frequency-response range, guaranteeing lively musicality and prismatic soundstages with every record, at any speed.
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. Further, this problem only amplifies itself by the proximity of your turntable to your speakers. Pro-Ject built the XA B with as few extraneous opportunities for wayward resonance to infect your listening experience as possible, and it starts with the tonearm system. While other X-series turntables are celebrated for Pro-Ject’s ingenuity via carbon-aluminum composite designs, the XA B’s 1-piece tonearm is all aluminum. Its noise-dampening properties far better complement the acoustic profile of this turntable’s acrylic chassis, while its increased structural rigidity and reduced weight are essential to laser-focused tracking.
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. Additionally, the counterweight system is both dampened and decoupled from the tonearm by TPE, reducing the overall resonance, while the anti-skating mechanism — with its intricate yet meticulous architecture — automatically adjusts to the subtle variances of each groove, as your needle conjures your favorite musical works.
Surface-wise, Pro-Ject endowed the XA B with an aluminum platter, thanks to its natural dampening properties, resistance to resonance, and supplementary sonic support that preceded the decision to include an all-aluminum tonearm. Moreover, the slab of aluminum is quite weighty, coming in at just south of four pounds, resting atop a 0.001mm bearing-tolerance sub-platter, stainless steel platter bearing, and soft-brass bushing. Each of these intentional choices culminates in a noise-free listening experience that’s robust, reliable, and resonance-reducing in equal measure. Aural integrity abounds, thanks to the reworked and re-balanced platter design. Its top-side notch aligns with the label on your record, centering the included Record Puck E record weight to seal your sound into unbridled ranges of hi-fi character. Underneath, a TPE dampening ring has been carefully applied to further hamper and hinder your output, in addition to massively minimizing wow and flutter.
Everything needed for instant hi-fi enjoyment
Right out of the box, Pro-Ject provides all the essentials for getting things going with your XA B, including a felt slipmat, a DC power supply unit, and a dust cover, alongside a Record Puck E weight that further dampens resonances and stabilizes playback — enriched depth is always one Puck away. More importantly, the XA B comes with Pro-Ject’s Connect it E phono 5P cable, featuring the 5-pin DIN 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 XA B Features:
- Hi-fi turntable with Pro-Ject’s groundbreaking True Balanced Connection system for unrivaled quality and listening possibilities
- Painstakingly tuned and refined chassis crafted from acrylic for an attention-commanding marriage of form and function — visual panache meets essential noise dampening
- Bottom-mounted 5-pin DIN output supports numerous True Balanced Connection playback configurations
- Preinstalled Pro-Ject Pick it PRO Balanced cartridge gives you instant access to True Balanced Connection listening in an MM design
- 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
- Onboard DC/AC generator supplies advanced speed-monitoring support, ensuring rotational speed and stability are rock solid and consistent
- 10-in. aluminum tonearm boasts 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 3.7-lb. aluminum platter mitigates disruptions at an essential point of contact with the record and stylus, chosen for its sonic complement to the acrylic plinth
- Connect it E phono cable includes a 5-pin DIN connector to support True Balanced Connection listening with compatible systems
- Height-adjustable feet feature dedicated dampening, guaranteeing seamless integration into your space, without worry of surface-born disruptions
