Pro-Ject EVO Tonearm Upgrades Announced

Pro-Ject's new EVO tonearm range spans four models, each offering 9-, 10-, and 12-inch effective length variants and can be ordered with a high gloss finish should you require more shine than the standard option.

As the Austrian hi-fi firm is keen to point out, the tonearm is one of the most critical parts of a turntable, allowing the cartridge to trace the grooves of the record and then transmit the generated signal to the phono stage. There are many implementations of tonearm designs in the current market; however, many in the 'affordable' bracket come bundled with a turntable with minimal opportunities to upgrade or change. Pro-Ject proudly boasts that its new EVO range sets out to challenge that situation. The new tonearms feature tubes formed of either carbon fibre (CC), carbon fibre and aluminium (CA), or S-shaped aluminium (SA).

The new EVO tonearm range might span a dozen different models, but we're told they all follow the distilled results of the ten key insights that Pro-Ject's design team came away with. These include that a conical tonearm tube reduces the moving mass of the tonearm/headshell and pushes resonances to the bearing block, and that single-piece tonearm tubes increase stiffness and lower mass, increasing sound transparency. The Pro-Ject team also noted that correct tonearm and cartridge matching regarding resonance is critical for clean tracking and accurate bass reproduction; low compliance cartridges require tonearms with high effective mass, and counterweights that sit near the bearing assembly when balanced with the fitted cartridge perform best due to increased stability.

You can upgrade your new turntable purchase with a CA Premium, AS or AS Premium equivalent for the cost difference between the Pro-Ject turntable's standard tonearm and your selected tonearm upgrade. Henley Audio completes the installation before it sends out the deck, so there's no manual work required on the customer's part.

A similar upgrade is also open to all existing Pro-Ject turntable owners, where you can trade in your current 9-, 10- or 12-inch tonearm and save on a new, improved EVO model.

Finally, users with non-Pro-Ject tonearms can also trade in any other 9-, 10- or 12-inch tonearm and receive 30% off the SRP of your chosen EVO tonearm. Furthermore, Pro-Ject can also supply high-quality mounting flanges for many common high-end turntables. In cases where the part is unavailable, Pro-Ject can make a custom flange to suit the required measurements, so no turntables are out of reach for the new EVO range.

PRO-JECT EVO CC

The EVO CC uses ultra-low friction ball bearings with four stainless steel tips. The one-piece conical carbon fibre tonearm tube keeps mass lower at the headshell end, mitigating standing waves and directing unwanted resonances towards the bearing block.

The EVO CC is internally wired with high-quality copper cabling and terminates into a 5-PIN DIN tonearm cable connector. The tonearm is supplied with two damped aluminium counterweights and rests in a heavy CNC-machined holder secured by a magnet locking system. Fine-tuning the set-up can be achieved thanks to the tonearm's adjustable VTA and azimuth.

PRO-JECT EVO CA PREMIUM

The EVO CA Premium tonearms are high-precision tonearms with an innovative carbon fibre and aluminium sandwich tonearm tube for increased effective mass and improved electrical isolation and come wired with high-purity silver cabling terminating in a 5-PIN DIN connector.

The EVO CA Premium uses inverted Cardanic Swiss ABEC 7-quality bearings with four stainless steel tips. We're told this upgrade "ensures the installed cartridge can pick up even more of the delicate musical information in the record groove". The bearing is mounted in a heavyweight stainless steel housing for added protection.

The hybrid tonearm tube sports a one-piece carbon fibre layer wrapped around an aluminium inner tube, resulting in a slightly higher effective mass than the standard CC version, improved damping, and better electrical isolation.

PRO-JECT EVO AS

The EVO AS boasts an aluminium s-shape tonearm tube with "outstanding damping characteristics" and an SME-style headshell connector. Additionally, this tonearm uses ultra-low friction ball bearings with four stainless steel tips. The bearing is mounted in a full aluminium housing.

The EVO AS is internally wired with high-quality copper cabling and terminates into a 5-PIN DIN tonearm cable connector. Fine-tuning the set-up can be achieved thanks to the tonearm's adjustable VTA and azimuth.

PRO-JECT EVO AS PREMIUM

The EVO AS Premium adds the inverted Cardanic Swiss ABEC 7-quality bearings and high-purity silver cabling to the EVO AS.

As standard, all EVO tonearms are available with metal parts finished in matte-black paint. However, for an additional charge, you can substantially upgrade the cosmetic appearance of your turntable and buy one of the high-gloss (HG) finishes. For £450 with the CC and CA models or £550 with the AS models, you can upgrade to a hand-polished HG finish, a professional process that takes 6-8 hours to complete per tonearm.

The full EVO Tonearm range will be available in the UK from September 2023, priced from £725 to £1,649 (UK SRP) in standard finish, rising to £2,199 for high gloss options.

Visit Pro-Ject for more information