Must have turntable accessories
Looking to upgrade your turntable? We've put together a list of our must-have accessories for every turntable owner. Read-on to find out what you can grab to take your turnable and vinyl experience to the next level.
Like any physical media, vinyl LPs can get dirty, and it doesn't take too much muck and grime before your records start to click and pop. Leave them too long and you risk virtually destroying them altogether.
Enter our cleaning kit. Simple, but extremely effective at battling the evils of dust, dirt, and whatever other nasties find their way on to your precious records. A record brush for light cleaning each time you spin, a stylus brush for any dust that accumulates on that all important diamond tip of your turntable cartridge, and a tub of Vinyl Clean to sponge off any deeper-set muck. For the cost of a new LP (less!) you've got a kit that'll keep your collection sounding its best for years to come.
If you’ve spent a bit of time in record stores, you may have noticed that some albums are pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl. The idea here is that a thicker record will do a better job of damping the surface on which the music resides, thus reducing resonances.
An acrylic platter takes that concept a step further and effectively thickens your record by a measure of five or six times! People that invest in an acrylic platter notice tighter bass and a more enthusiastic sound. Whatever improvements you hear, it’s a worthy upgrade.
Here at Pro-Ject we have a terrific relationship with Ortofon, who are a Danish turntable cartridge manufacturer who have been around for over a century. Every Pro-Ject turntable comes pre-fitted with an Ortofon cartridge of some sort, and all of those Ortofon cartridges have an awesome upgrade path when it comes time to replace your stylus!
As to when you should replace your stylus, it depends upon the frequency at which you listen. We’d suggest that unless you’re only listening once or twice a month, then a new stylus every 18 months or so is a good bet.
More importantly, when the time to replace your stylus comes, give some serious consideration to an upgrade. Say you’ve bought a Primary E; that comes fitted with an OM 5S Stylus, so a jump to an OM 10 Stylus or OM 20 Stylus will see a decent jump in clarity and detail. If it’s a Debut Carbon you’re rocking, then you’d likely have a 2M Red Stylus mounted on it. Time to buy a 2M Blue Stylus and marvel at the difference. For a bit more detail, check out our full range of styli.
This cork mat is an upgrade of the felt mat that your turntable would’ve come boxed up with. It does a better job of stopping pesky resonances during playback, ensuring an upgrade on your sound.
The Spin Clean requires a little bit more to set up, but it’s a very handy tool to have in your arsenal, especially if you’re buying second hand records on a semi-regular basis. It involves running your records through a pair of felt brushes that have been treated with a cleaning solution. A few rotations through and hey presto, the pesky pops and clicks that had previously plagued your purchase are gone and what’s old is new again!