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Pro-Ject’s Xtension 12 incorporates decades of experience in turntable design & build. It represents their latest technological efforts to address mass-decoupling and resonance reduction. Beginning with the mass-loaded magnetically suspended sub-chassis and the precision-balanced sandwich alloy platter (recycled vinyl/alloy), the foundation of this system alone weighs in at over 50 lbs. Additionally, Pro-Ject employs magnetic-decoupling feet to prevent mechanical vibration from disturbing playback. This mass and its isolation create an environment of extremely low resonance allowing music to emerge from an ultra-silent background. An AC motor with a two-step pulley with electronic speed control maintains perfect pitch and rhythm resulting in inaudible wow & flutter.
There’s also a built-in spirit level to assist in setting the height-adjustable magnetic feet. Further reducing noise and vibration is the isolated TPE mounting board for the 12″ carbon-fiber tonearm. The conical arm with integrated headshell are fabricated from a single piece of carbon fiber to avoid problems associated with standing wave reflections. Single-screw fixing of the armtube allows for simple azimuth adjustment if needed. Additionally, the arm is fully VTA adjustable and includes a purpose-designed DIN-RCA phono cable (1.23m).
Inside the Plinth
RPM 9 & 10 Carbon, Xtension 9, 10 & 12 Evolution, and Signature 10 & 12 use plinths that are more than meets the eye. These high-end turntables not only use medium-density fiber (MDF, which absorbs resonance), but inside the plinths are also “central gravity points” filled will steel pellets. Drawing harmful resonance to the central gravity point all but eliminates the potential for plinth and bearing noise to reach the tonearm and cartridge. Pellets are used as opposed to a solid alloy due to their dispersion effect where a solid alloy may resonate. This design heightens the overall mass of these turntables as well, a well-known approach to optimizing sonics.
True Balanced – Get Blown Away
Setting us apart from the competition, all Pro-Ject turntables are configured for balanced operation.* Switching to balanced is no subtle upgrade and promises to redefine ‘reference’ sound quality in your turntable system. What’s needed to get there are a) a moving coil cartridge, b) a turntable with balanced phono outputs, c) a phono preamp with balanced phono inputs and d) a balanced cable carrying the phono signal from turntable to phono preamp. Typically a much more costly endeavor, Pro-Ject has changed that landscape by offering products that make the technology attainable to any serious listener.
Xtension 12 Evolution comes equipped with a balanced 5-pin DIN phono output and can be run balanced with either DIN > XLR or DIN > mini XLR phono cables and a balanced phono stage. The turntable ships with a DIN > RCA phono cable for maximum compatibility out of the box (unbalanced dual single-ended RCA/ground is by far the most common connection type in phono). Balanced add-ons are sold separately. Browse options for balanced phono preamps & cables in the reel below!
*Excluding turntables with built-in phono preamps.
Tonearm Upgrades for Your Xtension 12 Turntable
The Xtension 12 Evolution turntable ships with the adept EVO 12 CC tonearm with ABEC 7 quality bearings & a one-piece carbon fiber armtube. The EVO 12 CA Premium tonearm is available as a drop-in upgrade (no soldering needed). It features a one-piece carbon/aluminum armtube, high-purity silver tonearm wire, an upgraded bearing assembly using stainless steel and an improved TPE-damped counterweight on a threaded stub. Explore even greater versatility with the EVO AS and EVO AS Premium tonearms. These are curved options with replaceable headshells- especially good for phono cartridge collectors. The EVO AS Premium receives the same upgrades as the EVO CA Premium mentioned above.
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