New Products

The Gramophone Emile Berliner invented in 1887 is the forerunner of the modern turntable, which means flat music discs — or records — and the phonographs that play them have been around for a heck of a long time.

Which begs a question: How much innovation can possibly be left in a category that died 30 years ago only to be resurrected over the last 15-20 years? The vinyl comeback is not only real but remarkable, garnering sales of almost 50 million records last year in the U.S. alone.

But I digress….

Back to the question at hand: In terms of the physical workings of the turntable, refinement is the name of the game so we can’t expect much in the way of significant innovation. You have to look beyond the spindles, moving platters, and phono cartridges — that’s where the innovation lies with the addition of features such as Bluetooth streaming.

The turntable mavens at Austria’s Pro-Ject call their new Juke Box E1 an “all-in-one plug and play turntable system.” It’s a record player on steroids — one that supports Bluetooth streaming in addition to having a built-in phono stage, line-level preamplifier, and stereo power amplifier.

An update of the brand’s popular entry-level E1 turntable, the Juke Box E1 sells for $799 and features a reworked tonearm plus a new platter made of anti-resonant ABS polymer, a new damped DC motor, and a new electronic speed-change mechanism.

The belt-drive table arrives fitted with a factory-adjusted Ortofon OM 5E phono cartridge, 8.6-inch aluminum tonearm with sapphire bearings, and damping feet plus that onboard power amp, which is rated to deliver 2 x 50 watts into 4 ohms.

Unlike your average turntable, the Juke Box E1 is equipped with an analog line-in and three outputs: speaker, fixed-line, and phono. It also comes with a dustcover, 45 rpm singles adapter, and a remote control that lets you select inputs, change loudness presets, and adjust bass and treble.

The Juke Box E1 is available in four finishes: walnut and gloss black, red, and white. For those who want a total turnkey solution, Pro-Ject offers the Juke Box E1 Hi-Fi Stereo Turntable Set that mates the E1 turntable with a pair of two-way bookshelf speakers for $1,199.

For more information on the Juke Box E1, visit project-audio.com.