Pro-Ject Automat A2 Automatic Turntable
A2 Technology
The A2 continues the success of our fully mechanical automatic turntables. With the A2, you can now select the drop off point for 7“ (singles) or 12“ (LPs) for 45 RPM records. We have also added 78 RPM to the system allowing you to dig back into old shellac collections. To enjoy listening to your A2, just press start and the tonearm automatically moves to the lead in groove of the record. Once playing, the automatics are completely taken out of the equation.
And because the automatics are working entirely mechanically – no additional electronics needed – they truly do not influence or degrade sound quality during playback! At the end of the record, the tonearm is automatically brought back and gently lowered into its resting position and the motor shut off.
Why sub-chassis?
Automatic turntables have many small mechanical parts, which means you need more hollow space in the chassis to fit them. Hollow spaces are the biggest problem as they always reinforce resonances. By using a sub-chassis, you decouple the tonearm and drive from the chassis. In other words, a sub-chassis is a MUST for automatic turntables and enables them to reach excellent sound performance.
Floating sub-chassis
The A2 employs a sub-chassis construction, where the tonearm, platter bearing and motor are mounted onto a separate floating sub-chassis. This isolates all the most critical turntable elements further and adds an extra layer of protection against outside noise, resonances and interference. This has especially big advantages, when your loudspeakers are very close to the turntable.
Pro-Ject Design Philosophy
Adding Pro-Ject designs and ideas, we have spent a lot of time on the A2‘s clean design language. You will see similarities to iconic designs of the German audio industry. Today, we believe that this minimalistic approach is very much modern again.
Improved automatic mechanism
We have invested in a new aluminium diecast top for the whole sub-chassis and automatic mechanism. We have tried to avoid plastic parts from the original German automatic design as much as possible. This is the first time in all the 50 years of its existance that the original automatic design has received an improvement like this. Due to the new aluminium diecast cover and the massive chassis, the whole sub-chassis construction is more effective and isolates unwanted resonance much better.
Massless tracking force adjustment
The A2 uses a new system for setting the tracking force. As usual, you first level out the tonearm with the damped counterweight. Damping the counter- weight makes the tonearm as a whole more robust and decouples the counterweight from the tonearm reducing resonant frequencies. Afterwards the tracking force is set by turning a dial directly on the tonearm bearing. Not only is this system very fast, precise and efficient, it also keeps the center of gravity directly on top of the bearing center. The spring based anti-skating can also be adjusted directly on the tonearm base.
