Henley Audio Blog

01 September 2020

Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO Available Now!

After our announcement two weeks ago that the Debut Carbon EVO was coming to UK shores imminently, we're excited to say stocks are now shipping as planned, and dealers across the UK and Ireland will soon be ready to send them out!

Visit our Product Catalogue to find out more about what makes Debut Carbon EVO so special, and find your local retailer using our Where To Buy tool. But we thought we'd take this opportunity to elaborate a little on the long and prestigious history of Debut, to help explain why this model has become such an audiophile icon...

Debut Carbon EVO a history

From the very beginning, Pro-Ject Audio Systems has always believed in the power of analogue music. Launched to the market at a time when CD’s were dominant, Pro-Ject’s original 1, 2 and 6 model turntables were able to gain recognition around the world for their phenomenal sound quality, premium build, and affordable price. But the company still felt there was a gap in the market they needed to fill.

During a trip to Austria by UK distributor, Laurence Armstrong, in 1998, Heinz Lichtenegger, CEO of Pro-Ject Audio Systems, agreed that the company needed a new record player to bring the analogue sound experience to even more people. The new model needed to deliver as close to high-end sound as was possible, but at a price that a new younger generation could afford. They also agreed that it must not only sound great, but it must be simple to use, it must have a high-end feeling and it must be affordable. It should also come in a range colours, so it could serve as a centrepiece in any home.

Thanks to Pro-Ject’s then-product manager, Jiri Kroutil, within only a few hours of this discussion a sample had been mocked up at the factory, and Debut was born.

View Product

Debut Carbon EVO

Turntables

£499.00

Today, after more than 20 years, Debut is one of the best-selling products in the history of hi-fi with close to one million units sold. As Debut made listening to vinyl an affordable option for music lovers, thanks to its minimalist aesthetic and premium finish options it also made analogue fashionable again.

Through the years Pro-Ject have constantly been improving the Debut formula, moving with technologies and fashion trends to ensure it was always the best option for any vinyl fan under £500. In the early 2010s, the Debut Carbon gave new life to our icon with its true high-end materials – like a carbon fibre tonearm and a 100€ cartridge – defying belief and outshining all others in the market.

But with Debut Carbon, Pro-Ject and the Debut name also went truly global. Where the first Debut caused an analogue wave in Europe, the Debut Carbon exploded into the US market, where the vinyl boom of the mid-2010s was really born. Since that time, analogue has once again appeared at the centre of the hi-fi market as an essential source for any serious hi-fi system, and Debut is a key part of that story.

The Debut Carbon EVO enters the market as the latest step in the Debut journey, with evolutionary upgrades over the Debut Carbon elevating the performance and the overall aesthetic to never-before-seen levels.