Essential II

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Essential II
Take a step forward with the Essential II introductory turntable.

The Pro-Ject Essential II takes everything that was great about the original Essential and makes it even better! The Essential II is the latest offering from Pro-Ject's affordable turntable range.

Welcoming a new motor control the Essential II offers quieter running and minimises unwanted vibrations. This turntable is a manual turntable that comes supplied with the popular Ortofon OM 5E pick-up cartridge.

This deck is the ultimate in introductory hi-fi; an 8.6” aluminium tonearm made from a single piece of aluminium combines with a sturdy plinth to make an even greater sounding and affordable turntable package.

Essential II Phono USB
Take a step forward with the Essential II introductory turntable.

The Essential II Phono USB comes with a built in phono stage with a USB out allowing for connection to both the line-level input of your hi-fi system and your PC/Mac so they easily can be used simultaneously!

Essential II Digital
Take a step forward with the Essential II introductory turntable.

The multi-award winning Essential II turntable from Pro-Ject Audio Systems has been a huge success since its launch back in 2013. The simplistic yet elegant design built on solid hi-fi principles has delivered a great turntable at an affordable price. But now Pro-Ject have taken their own traditional design, and completely revolutionised it to accommodate the needs of the modern vinyl listener.

The Essential II Digital aims to be the first turntable that can be connected straight out of the box to any modern hi-fi system. The brand new integrated phono stage gives users the option between an analogue line level output or a 24-bit/96kHz digital Optical output. The Optical output uses a high-quality Analogue-Digital Converter (ADC) to send a clean, uninterrupted signal to any digital hub. So whether listening to music through a soundbar, an AV receiver, a DAC, a digital pre-amplifier or a multi-room system with different input options - the Essential II Digital should fit in flawlessly. The analogue output uses a phono stage based upon Pro-Ject's iconic Phono Box design to deliver a brilliant performance from the fitted Ortofon cartridge.

The added benefit of optical transmission is that you can run longer cables without the same signal loss you would experience with long RCA leads. So if you want your turntable to sit away from your amplifier while still sounding great, that's now possible!

The Essential II Digital further stands out from those around it thanks to the new black and white high-gloss paint finishes, and the "Digital" logo emblazoned on the plinth. It also boasts all the pre-existing features that have made the Essential II an international award winner. The 8.6" aluminium tonearm, heavy particle-board platter and low-voltage motor with perimeter drive belt make a winning combination; while the Ortofon OM 5E is the perfect cartridge to get instant gratification from your vinyl collection.

This product is no longer available to order and will not be coming back into stock.

In Stock products are those that are currently held in stock at our Oxfordshire warehouse. This stock status is updated regularly but is subject to change at very short notice.

Products that are Awaiting Stock are items that we would normally carry on stock at our Oxfordshire warehouse, but are currently unavailable. Chances are there is already more on the way, but if you would like a more accurate availability status please feel free to Contact Us.

Urgent order items are products that we do not normally carry on stock, but they are typically held on stock by our European suppliers. Depending on availability, we will seek to order these products quickly, when we have an enquiry. They can therefore be subject to quicker availability times than "Special Order" products.

Special Order items are those that are most often built to order. For these items, we tend to experience longer lead times as we negotiate them into the production line with our suppliers.

Essential II

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Take a step forward with the Essential II introductory turntable.

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What Hi-Fi , August 2015

What Hi-Fi take a closer look at the Essential II Digital turntable

"We admire Pro-Ject for tweaking its Award-winner, but the results are not quite a total success. The added convenience of a phono stage and digital output will appeal to many, but we’re not taken aback by the performance."

See full review

What Hi-Fi? , October 2013

What Hi-Fi? go deep with this "excellent entry-level turntable"

"Pro-Ject has done it again. The Essential II is a frill-free entry-level product that gets all the basics spot-on. It’s easy to set-up and even easier to enjoy."

See full review

Hi-Fi World , 2015 Awards

Best Turntable at the 2015 Hi-Fi World Awards

"The Pro-Ject Essential II Digital is quite an amazing package. It gave great results, having lush sound quality from its analogue output that I found thoroughly enjoyable and entirely in keeping with expectations from LP."

See full review

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  • Many of our turntables may have multiple compatible counterweights available. The counterweight you actually need is the one that allows you to balance your existing cartridge while ideally sitting near the tonearm bearing when fully installed.

    If your counterweight sits right at the back of the tonearm, it runs the risk of introducing some micro-vibrations, so aiming for a counterweight where your cartridge weight is in the lower range of the supported weights is ideal.

    To help you make the right decision, we've produced a comprehensive list of all our tonearms and counterweights

  • JPG | 828 Kb | Essential 2 Black

  • JPG | 1 Mb | Essential 2 Red

  • JPG | 707 Kb | Essential 2 White

  • PDF | 773 Kb | Product Information

  • PDF | 279 Kb | User Guide