Pro-Ject Turntables Compared: Debut EVO 2 vs Debut Reference 10 vs Signature 10

Three Pro-Ject turntables sit on our demonstration floor, and between them they cover the whole journey: the Debut EVO 2, a first properly serious deck; the Debut Reference 10, the flagship of the Debut family; and the Signature 10, Pro-Ject’s high-end statement. Here’s what genuinely changes as you climb — and how to decide which belongs in your system.

What all three share

All three are belt-driven, and all three change between 33 and 45rpm electronically rather than by moving the belt by hand. None has a phono stage built in, so each needs one — either inside your amplifier or as a separate box. Our turntable buying guide explains why that stage matters so much.

Pro-Ject Debut EVO 2 — the proper first step

The latest version of the world’s favourite Debut. Its 1.7kg die-cast aluminium platter is precision balanced and damped with TPE, and the 8.6-inch one-piece carbon-fibre tonearm comes with the Pick it MM EVO cartridge already fitted — developed with Ortofon. The motor is fed by its own DC/AC generator for a clean, steady drive, and a switch underneath changes speed. Pro-Ject added TPE damping to the platter ring, bearing block and counterweight in this generation, and there’s a wide choice of satin, gloss and real-wood walnut finishes.

It’s designed to be effortless to set up and live with, and it plugs straight into an amplifier with a moving-magnet phono stage — like the Arcam A-series covered in our Arcam guide.

Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10 — where it gets serious

The Reference 10 keeps the Debut’s simplicity but upgrades almost everything that matters. The tonearm grows to a 10-inch one-piece carbon-and-aluminium design with adjustable VTA and azimuth. The 300mm platter is acrylic, running on a stainless steel axle in a bronze bushing, with a newly developed motor suspension to keep vibration out. Speed changes from a switch on top, and a 78rpm belt is included.

It comes with the Pick it PRO Balanced cartridge and offers a True Balanced mini-XLR output alongside the usual RCA — so it’s ready for a balanced phono stage if you want to take that step later.

Pro-Ject Signature 10 — the high-end statement

Everything about the Signature 10 is on another scale. The 10.4kg platter is diamond-cut from a single piece of aluminium and damped with TPE, turning on an inverted ceramic bearing that is magnetically decoupled. The 10-inch aluminium unipivot tonearm has stepless VTA adjustment and an SME-style headshell, and the whole 23kg deck stands on magnetically decoupled feet to keep the outside world away from the stylus.

The standard deck comes without a cartridge; in the UK it’s offered as a SuperPack with Ortofon’s Cadenza Black moving-coil. A deck like this deserves a phono stage to match — in our showroom it plays through Pro-Ject’s balanced Phono Box DS3 B, which handles moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges with adjustable loading.

Side by side

So which one?

Choose the Debut EVO 2 if you’re starting a record collection properly, or replacing a deck that has done its time. It’s the easy, rewarding way in, and it leaves room in the budget for good speakers.

Choose the Debut Reference 10 if vinyl is already your main source and you want the bigger arm, the adjustability and the balanced output — the point where a deck starts to feel like an investment rather than a starter.

Choose the Signature 10 if you’re building a system around vinyl and want a turntable you’re unlikely ever to replace — with an amplifier and phono stage chosen to match.

Whichever deck you choose, setup matters as much as the model — our setup checklist and guide to stands and isolation cover the free wins.

Hear all three

All three decks are set up on demonstration in our Shrewsbury listening room — see what’s playing now, then arrange a listen to the Debut EVO 2, the Debut Reference 10 or the Signature 10. Bring a few records you know well; hearing the same side on two decks tells you more than any specification.