Pro-Ject X8 Black Gloss + Quintet Black

The X8 turntable is a true high-end solution with major technical features adapted from the Xtension 9 and 10. For the new sensationally low price you get the heavy, TPE damped mass-loaded platter, which is precision lathed and balanced out of a single piece of aluminium. It is supported by a neodymium magnet which decreases the load on the bearing. Considering the massively heavy platter, this leads to a smoothly rotating base for your vinyls and perfect speed stability.

The massive MDF chassis and the top of the line Pro-Ject 9cc EVO carbon tonearm have been ported over to the X8 as well. The major differences to the Xtension 9 and 10 are found in the top of the main platter and the magnetic feet. Instead of the glued-on vinyl top on the platter we went back to the use of slip mats. The X8 comes with our standard felt mat. On the Xtension 9 and 10 you cannot really play around with using different mats due to the vinyl top. This customizability comes back on the X8 and offers a few more options to tailor the sound to your liking.

The new feet are still made out of aluminium and are still height-adjustable. The magnetic suspension has been changed to a TPE damped technology, which is very effective in decoupling the X8 from the surface it is placed on. This is a great choice for a more budget orientated turntable as the new feet are faster and easier to set up than magnetic feet and also require less maintenance.

What‘s True Balanced?

For sure, we offer a moving coil cartridge at this price level, which also makes the turntable ready for balanced phono connections. The X8 comes with a 5pin output jack and with our standard semi-balanced Connect it E 5P -> RCA cable. By upgrading it to our fully balanced 5P to XLR version (available separately) and using a balanced phono stage, like our Phono Box DS3 B or any of our RS/RS2 phono stages, you are fully set-up for the True Balanced experience. This leads to increased dynamics, less noise and improved signal to noise ratios. You can imagine it like hearing parts of your music that literally were not there before.