![]() ![]() Initially I wrote about the T1 Phono SB ($399, all prices in USD except where stated), followed by the Debut Pro with Pick it Pro cartridge ($1099 CDN, $999 in the US with Sumiko Rainier cartridge). Since each deck has belonged to a different series, model overlap hasn’t been an issue. The X2 B is the third turntable I’ve reviewed from Pro-Ject. When one of the largest and most successful turntable manufacturers in the world sent me yet another new model for review, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between Pro-Ject and General Motors, the planet’s biggest vehicle manufacturer before the crash of 2008. Admittedly, unlike many of the GM trucks I mentioned, these turntables aren’t simply rebadged versions of each other, but I would argue there still is some overlap in their design. Furthermore, most of them have multiple finish options. Some of these turntables are slight variations on a base model, adding a phono stage here and/or Bluetooth connectivity there. At the time of writing, I counted a whopping 36 turntables in the Pro-Ject catalog, not including special editions and models from its artist collection. What does any of this have to do with high-end audio? Well, the subject of this review is a relatively new turntable introduced by the Austrian analog giant, Pro-Ject Audio Systems. ![]() There are other examples (and some remain to this day). Same goes for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, as well as the Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon XL. For example, the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe were essentially identical, save for the branding inside and out. What was unusual was the number of models GM built, and how redundant many appeared to be. Not surprisingly, a lot of people there drove GM vehicles. I was living in Whitby, Ontario, during the 1990s a city adjacent to Oshawa, the biggest General Motors manufacturing hub in Canada. In hindsight, this seems like an obvious move. GM immediately set about restructuring by eliminating models from their lineup and dropping their Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn brands altogether. So much for the laissez-faire economics of capitalism. Taxpayers were told the failure of these automotive behemoths would have meant further economic hardship for the rest of us. With SUVs sitting on dealer lots across the continent and few buyers to be found, governments in both Canada and the US intervened to bail out GM and Chrysler with massive loans. In North America, the big-three car manufacturers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) suddenly found themselves in trouble as increasing fuel costs meant that consumers could no longer justify their love affair with the gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks these companies had focused their marketing and manufacturing on. The Great Recession of 2008 was the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression of the early 20th century. ![]()
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