Moonstruck Masterpiece Pays Tribute to a Legendary LP
It's been 50 years since Pink Floyd released the legendary Dark Side of the Moon album in 1973. While the music put Dark Side on the charts for over 700 weeks, the iconic artwork is celebrated almost as much as the songs. The cover art shows an enigmatic prism beaming a colorful spectrum of light into space. It’s a magical and mystical theme that illustrates the band‘s complex sound pallet. For the music lovers at Pro-Ject, it was a no-brainer to create a turntable based on this concept and image.
The result of Pro-Ject's creative combination of art and technology is an extraordinary turntable unlike any the audio market has seen. With high-quality materials, Pro-ject was able to implement the core aspects of the artwork, featuring a triangular form factor and an LED backlit rainbow with dimming function for listening sessions in the dark.
Audiophile Platter and Plinth
Not only the artwork is special. Pro-Ject's Dark Side of the Moon Limited Edition Turntable is totally extraordinary inside and out. The plinth is made of MDF, a dense, sturdy, resonance-absorbent material that helps keep room vibrations from getting to the music.
The heavy 0.4"-thick (10mm) glass platter is combined with a solid aluminum sub platter for high performance. The stainless steel axle of the heavy aluminum sub platter rotates almost effortlessly in a bronze bushing. An AC motor drives the sub-platter and platter with a silicon drive belt. Electronic speed control maintains 33-1/3 rpm and 45 rpm speeds with rock solid accuracy. (Or should that be progressive rock?)
One-of-a-Kind 8.6" Acrylic Tonearm
The low-resonance tonearm is a completely new design. Pro-Ject developed a unique 8.6" acrylic tonearm design with spring antiskating. The tonearm is definitely one of the highlights of this turntable. The combination of black aluminum and acrylic parts is an eye-catcher to say the least. Combined with the LED-backlit rainbow, the turntable looks even more impressive in low light.
Special Phono Cartridge, Too
Pro-Ject's great-sounding Pick It moving magnet phono cartridge gets upgraded for the Dark Side table, The supplied Pick it PRO Special Edition MM phono cartridge delivers the rich sonics you would expect from a Dark Side of the Moon turntable, showing off the full spectrum of sound on the LP.
As with all Pro-Ject turntables, The Dark Side of the Moon Turntable is handmade with care in Europe.
About Pro-Ject Audio Systems
Pro-Ject Audio Systems was founded by one of Austria’s leading high-end audio distributors, Heinz Lichtenegger, in early 1991. A genuine music lover and a dyed-in-the-wool audiophile, Heinz challenged the common "cost-no-object" approach to analog audio equipment by manufacturing turntables, tonearms, and accessories at a reasonable price without compromising build quality nor sonic performance.
With his passion for high-end audio fueling a desire to take a familiar industry in a new direction, Heinz proceeded to use Pro-Ject Audio Systems as an engine to bringing high-end gear to the masses. By adhering to that philosophy, while still only using quality components that deliver sound that far exceeds their stature, the engineers at Pro-Ject have redefined what is possible in high-end audio and have proven that great things do indeed come in small packages.
