Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Pro-Ject Essential III Belt-Drive Turntable with Ortofon OM10 Cartridge

Top positive review

I like it and this will probably last me until the grave unless it croaks before I do.

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2017

This is a really good turntable. I hadn't dealt with records since the early 1990s, but I wanted to get back into vinyl and for anyone looking for good sound at a good price, this turntable is it. So far, it's been durable. There was one time where I re-racked the arm (pardon the terminology) and forgot to turn the turntable off (the rotating part) and it stayed on for a few days non-stop and it didn't break a sweat and continued to work as new. I have zero buyer's remorse for this turntable.

The only nitpick I have of it is that the felt mat that it comes with should be replaced with a better mat. I understood why they did it, which was for cost savings purposes, which doesn't bother me at all. I replaced the felt mat with the the Electrohome Turntable Platter Mat (bought that on Amazon as well) and that did wonders for the sound. The turntable didn't sound bad with the felt mat, but upon replacing the felt mat, the sound became brighter and more defined. Comparing the two mats, the sound was flatter with the felt mat. There are a gazillion different mat options out there and that is something you should factor in when purchasing this turntable.

14 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

adam j.

Beware of dirty electronics

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2019

I am just going to put my main issue for this table on the line. 6 months after I purchased the turntable the hinge for the dust cover became stuck in which it ended up separating from the turntable. I sent it to Sumiko audio who makes this junk to take advantage of the warranty. Huge mistake, when they sent my table back to me 2 and a half months later they "forgot" to package both the power supply and the belt. Even worse still the table was returned to me with a pile of dirt and grass clippings on it. If you know about electronics you know this is a no no. I personally would not trust a thing that comes out of that factory plus to top it off I sent them a fully functioning turntable and received a non functioning turntable in which I am expected to replace the power supply and belt through gramophone. A truly sick joke.

9 people found this helpful

68 total ratings, 38 with reviews

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From the United States

qdeezie

I like it and this will probably last me until the grave unless it croaks before I do.

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

14 people found this helpful

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CrankeeOldMan

Quite Good

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

Pros: Looks very nice, great channel separation and great clean sound, altho I'm sure that my Klipsch R-15M speakers contribute greatly to this.
Cons: when I received my turntable, there was no loop at the end of the anti-skating weight. Because the "fishline" is rather short and very, very fine, it was a little difficult to make a loop so that it could be attached where it was supposed to go. And, I have fairly small and steady hands. Also, this being my first experience with a belt drive turntable, I learned that it was quite easy to dislodge the belt when placing , or removing, an lp from the turntable. Not a big deal, but it usually takes me 2, 3, or 4 efforts to re-position the belt. One of my major inducements to get this turntable rather than a few others I was considering was the Ortofon 10 cartridge which, I learned, was a better cartridge than some of the competition. I would recommend this turntable to others, but the extra care that's required to avoid constantly dislodging the belt is a minor nuisance and not a dealbreaker.

9 people found this helpful

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K. Downing

High grade turntable for a resonable price

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

I am very satisfied with this turntable, it has actually surpassed my expectations I had before I bought it. I needed one that could withstand being used near, or actually on top of the sound source. Not an easy demand for a turntable due to bass feedback, but this one is perfect. It's stabilizers (feet & platform) are very vibration resistant, and can withstand being played fairly loud without feedback. The belt system works well, the tonearm balancing and anti-skate are also top quality.

Helpful

adam j.

Beware of dirty electronics

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

I Love Hi-Fi Stereo Music

Outstanding Entry-Level Audiophile Turntable

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

IF you can find it, get it. The craftsmanship and quality of this Pro-ject Audio turntable is outstanding, especially for the price. The setup was easy (I do recommend finding a 'how-to' video on YouTube, the manual isn't real clear), the table turns very quietly, and the Ortofon OM10 phono cartridge sounds great. This is perfect for someone looking for high-end quality without the enormous price. The Essential III comes in several models with different features, if you want. I only needed the basic version and I am very, very happy with it.

Helpful

carpecarpium

Sounds great...but...

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2019

First and most important the Essential with the supplied Ortofon cartridge sounds terrific. Compared to its replacement--a 30 year old Technics and Shure cartridge combo--the bass is tighter, the soundstage is broader with better depth and sense of space among the instruments. Just wonderful. It has also been more immune to heavy foot steps. I mean you can't play basketball in the same room but I haven't needed to tread carefully to prevent skips.

I've had it for over a week and everything has worked as intended until one day the belt slipped off the platter several hours after I last used it. This has been a fairly common complaint in the negative ratings I have seen but I decided to take a chance because I could get an open box for an excellent price and the vast majority of customer ratings did not have this complaint.

The belt coming loose might not be a concern if it turns out to be an occasional occurrence. If it turns out that I'm regularly looping the belt around the platter I will regret my getting the Essential.

We shall see.

Other than this potential concern, I've really liked the Essential. Not only does it sound terrific it is also an attractive, elegant and simple design that offers all I need to play vinyl with excellent sound and protection of my records along with the potential for longterm use.

Addendum:

So far, the thin tube that Pro Ject calls a belt, has come off by itself only one other time. So, I guess I'm more fortunate than some others to avoid a chronic problem.

The Essential does seem to have its delicate side though. While putting the belt back around the platter--which is by far the most difficult part of the setup for me-- I lightly bumped the tonearm. I played a record and it had a gritty sound.

I then took off the antiskate, rezeroed the tone arm and redid the tracking force. The sound was just fine after that but it was a minor annoyance to have to redo the entire set up.

I now avoid getting my hands any where near the exposed belt pulley. The exposed belt and motor pulley does not seem to be an inherent design flaw since many other TT's, including some well regarded and very expensive TT's have this feature and I haven't seen reviews complaining about the belt coming off these TT's.. Maybe Pro Ject has a quality control issue with the belt?

Another feature I'm not wild about is the antiskating mechanism. It works just fine and is simple enough to install but I can see accidentally dropping the tiny weight and nearly invisible fishing line and crawling around to find it.

I guess if you lose it it's simple enough to use a short piece of light fishing line and a small sinker weighing the same (I am a fisherman) to make a replacement.

But far more easy would be a dial that adjusts antistaking like most other TT"s have.

These are minor criticism in what is overall a TT I like very much partcularly at its price. But if you are a hamfisted klutch like I am you might want to takes these issues into consideration.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Geordie

Sounds fantastic, requires some tinkering.

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2019

Verified Purchase

Pro:
The sound is amazing, I knew it would be good, but wow! I have had numerous record players, this is in a completely different class!
Cons: very light weight, material on mounting feet is "slippery", no auto return, requires setup, belt rides on the out side of the platter, and slips off easily.
Overall: I love this turntable. You will need some mechanical aptitude, to set it up, and it will require patience to fiddle with the belt until you get in the habit of very carefully removing, and replacing the discs. The units lack of weight does not seem to be a Sonic issue, I am just used to much heavier units. I replaced the felt platter material for a nice heavy neoprene unit, and have the unit sitting on a heavily deadened, non slip base. It will be a long time until I listen to anything digital again.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Stephen

Outstanding value!

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is an outstanding entry level turntable. And it looks every bit as good as it sounds. The only problem I have with it is that it weighs too little. This is why I deducted a star in my rating of the product. When you press the ON switch on the left side the table wants to slide to the right. When you lift up on the dust cover the entire table wants to flip over. I'm currently working on a way to secure the table so I won't have to worry about the thing sliding off the shelf or flipping over. If anyone has experienced this and has a cure please share it.

16 people found this helpful

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Cyber Sommelier

Light-weight champ.

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

When I find a permanent home for this very good turntable, I will affix it one way or another. My old platter weighed more than the whole Essential unit. It slides around while raising the dust cover or even turning the unit on/off. Praise Bacchus she tracks light and true. S/N seems tolerable for my uses. Cheers.

Helpful

Molly Clinton

I love it!

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2021

Verified Purchase

Great sounding 'mid-entry' level turn table. I am a noob so I had to youtube how to set it up since the directions it came with were impossible to follow.
Only other thing I wish is it let you use your own cables, besides its great!

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Pro-Ject Essential III Belt-Drive Turntable with Ortofon OM10 Cartridge - Piano Black

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