When you consider the audio cogwheel you need to make a decent setup forplaying vinyl records , we ’re typically talking about component systems that comprise ofa lazy Susan , anamplifier , and a solidification of speakers . The excellent variety of powered speakers and Bluetooth / Wi - Fi connectivity nowadays is also giving us more option than ever to spin records , too , but that ’s a topic for another day .
We can ( and do ) discuss the minutia these hi - fi components till we ’re blue in the cheek . But if you ’re just stick into vinyl group and are like , “ Nuts to that that , just give it to me in an all - in - one bang-up package , and ensure it does n’t blow , ” then the brains at Pro - Ject Audio Systems might have your number with its Juke Box E1 Record Player with Receiver .
The Austria - based troupe kindly send me the Juke Box E1 to test out . The turntable is an $ 800 deck with stereo receiver andphono preampbuilt in that ’s ready to be connected directly to your favorite wired speaker unit . Or you’re able to choose for Pro - Ject ’s bundle kit that was send to me , which comes with a Seth of the company ’s Speaker Box 5 bookshelf speakers that run $ 350 on their own , but $ 1,200 as part of the set ( if you’re able to find out it ) — everything you need is included ; just contribute vinyl .
Everything you need for setupDerek Malcolm / Digital Trends
Pro - Ject ’s jazz group record player is a solid all - rounder system with an above mid - level turntable and feature of speech - rich amplifier gear toward those who desire constituent - like well-grounded timber in a smaller software package without the hassle of sourcing and conflate disjoined components . It ’s also a reasonably good value when you consider that building that disjoined organization would cost the same or more .
I ’ve drop dozens of 60 minutes playing records and pullulate music on the Juke Box E1 , and while it does have its plusses and subtraction , here are my thoughts .
Setup
apart from a bit of apparatus , the Juke Box E1 is quick to go in proceedings , and I was pleased to discover that it did not , in fact , suck . All - in - one disc participant do n’t have the greatest reputation . They ’re unremarkably cheap , direct kids and introduction - storey users , they sometimes follow disguised as a suitcase or old - timey wireless , and usually fathom like spicy drivel . The Juke Box E1 is not one of those .
Having reviewed the Juke Box E1 ’s sibling , the Pro - Ject E1 lazy Susan , I knew what to await from the Juke Box ’s apparatus . It ’s a manual swath - drive lazy Susan that needs to have its belt instal on the platter ( which is easy ) . Otherwise , the cartridge is line up and balanced at the factory , so you should n’t have to do anything alfresco of connecting it all up .
But just in case , everything you ’d take to make any of these adjustments is include in the box ( I ’d still recommend grabbing adigital tracking force gauge , though ) . The bundled Speaker Box 5 bookshelfs that came with my revaluation whole also came with their own speaker cables with banana plugs preinstalled , which connect easily to verbaliser posts at the back of the turntable and to the speakers . If you fall out to be add your own bent of loudspeaker system , we ’ve got a handy tutorial onhow to instal banana plugsto raw speaker wire you should delay out .
The platter installedDerek Malcolm / Digital Trends
After installing the Bluetooth feeler and secure the Juke Box into mogul , the system is quick to go .
Design and features
The Pro - Ject Juke Box E1 is clearly based off the clean and bare excogitation of thePro - Ject E1 , with a few key differences . For starting motor , it ’s a bit thicker because it has an amplifier built in that doles out a goodly 50 watts per channel into 4 - Georg Simon Ohm utterer , which is nothing to sneeze at and will easy satiate a modest - to - culture medium sized room .
Its speaker posts on the back hold a unmarried set of speaker unit , and there ’s a small multi - function digital display on the top - right of the pedestal that you use to toggle between the Turntable , Line - in , and Bluetooth rootage . The volume / selection knob on the front of the plinth is absolutely operative , and the turntable also comes with a canonical remote which , once I start using it , made me bid all lazy Susan had one . With it you may line up book , select sources , turn on / off the amp ’s loudness button ( more on that afterward ) , and ( excellently ) tweak two-fold and basso from the hearing position . Lastly , underneath the front left wing of the footstall are two discreet switch : the 33 and 45 RPM speed selector and the main world power substitution .
In summation to the Juke Box E1 housing an amplifier , it also includes a decent built - in Pro - Ject phono preamp and phono - out RCA porthole should you prefer to go around its elaboration and operate it through your own external system , like a curing of powered speakers . to boot , if you have an externalphono preampand / orintegrated amplifieryou wish to use , you’re able to connect to it through the deck of cards ’s line - level RCA production . Oryou can do the exact opponent and in reality use the Juke Box as an amplifier and connect an external audio frequency source like a CD participant or ( gasp ! ) another turntable to it via its line - in port .
Speaker Box 5sDerek Malcolm / Digital Trends
Oryou can even plug in a Bluetooth root , like your phone or computer , to the system to rain buckets music from astreaming servicelike Spotify ( sorry , no lossless or hi - res codecs , unluckily ) . These mariner - of - all - trades characteristics make the Juke Box E1 system attractive for longevity and compatibility with a lot of other component you either have or might get .
As a lazy Susan , the Juke Box E1 benefit from Pro - Ject ’s experience and ancestry as a top - shelf pack of cards Creator . It features an excellent Ortofon OM 5E cartridge , anti - resonant ABS polymer phonograph record ( the same as on the E1 ) , and aluminum tonearm with a obliterable ( and upgradable ) headshell and cartridge .
Its speech sound - dampening adjustable foot aid keep reverberance at bay laurel , and it comes with a dust cover charge that ’s a second stiff and pushes into the Bluetooth feeler when you open it , but that ’s not a prominent plenty . The slick - attend turntable weighs just over 11 pounds and comes in piano fatal , white , and red close .
Speaker Box 5 wire postsDerek Malcolm / Digital Trends
If you do happen to get your hands on the bundle kit with the bookshelf verbalizer , they ’re not forged for their $ 350 value , although you’re able to probably do better for not much more , like perhaps a set ofWharfedale Diamond 12.1 bookshelfs for $ 450 . Compact and lightweight , the Speaker Box 5s tuck in nicely on a media unit or shelf , and they come in finish to match the Juke Box E1 ( as well as in a satin walnut ) . The two - way utterer sport a 1 - inch silk - dome tweeter , a 6 - inch fibreglass cone woofer , and a rearward bass port wine .
Sound and performance
Before I begin , I have to first disclose that my initial round of examination was done using the Speaker Box 5 bookshelf speakers that fare with the Juke Box E1 bundle that Pro - Ject offers . As you ’ll understand from the review below , the Juke Box E1 ( as with theE1 turntable I have also reviewed ) take a scrap of cajole to get it to talk . But after spending a fair amount of time unsatisfactorily tweaking with the Speaker Box 5s , I found the speakers lacking in kinetics and clarity , and unforgiving when add together any book , and I can not recommend them . They fathom good with quieter medicine , such as folk or malarky , but for anything with a lot of ill-shapen guitar , things fall apart in my experience . I switched to my own duad of familiar Wharfedale standmounts that I have used to screen countless lazy Susan , and things immediately improved . The followup below was done with those speakers .
My hearing experience with the Juke Box E1 was , unsurprisingly , not dissimilar to the E1 turntable . I did n’t roll in the hay its sound from initial setup . With the bass and treble stage set to flat and the Loudness clit disengaged , the overall sound was a bit flat and underwhelming . But on the hopeful side , the arrangement sound well - balanced and clear , and has some surprises in store .
With a little coaxing of the sea bass and three-fold allowance , and a just second off comparing the phone with and without the Loudness option engage , the good news is that depend on your preference , you could perfectly find a sweet dapple , and I apprize that you have the alternative to play around like you would with a receiver . I like a picayune more shimmer in the highs and a scrap more low-pitched end , so my sweet spot ended up being a combination of Loudness deform on , which need the bass layer to be turn down to just one nick below one-half , and the treble just a bit above half .
In this configuration , favourite such as Radiohead’sOK Computerand The Beta Band’sThe Three E.P.’ssounded dynamic , spacious , and spot - on . I even threw on my girl ’s transcript of Chappell Roan’sRise and Fall of a Midwest Princessand whoop it up in its hang glide outspoken and playful pop glory .
Alternately , you may go without the Loudness feature and boost the bass voice and triple up to your liking , but just remember that engross the Loudness from this point , peculiarly when mind to fast-growing guitar - drive music like Black Sabbath and affair can get pretty muddy , boomy , and broadly speaking mussy ( the Speaker Box 5s in reality snip ) , even with a solid set of speakers . Either configuration is six - of - one and a half - 12 of the other , though , but the good news is that you’re able to choose which you care and lock it in .
The Bluetooth input pair to my electronic computer bear its own , too , when mind to tracks from Spotify ( not that I require it not to ) . And even if a second lacking in definition when compared to vinyl group , I did n’t have to tweak the EQ to compensate . It was also nice to not have to switch to a dissimilar system orBluetooth speakerto current music — have it all - in - one was indeed handy , but it would be nice if the Juke Box E1 supportedbetter Bluetooth codecslike aptX Adaptive or aptX HD .
Should you buy it?
The welfare of an all - in - one result like the Juke Box E1 are : for $ 800 you get an first-class receiver and turntable combination from one of the best trade name in the business organization ; you ’d be hard - press finding a separate liquidator and turntable jazz band of this timbre for the same terms or less ; and this frame-up will take up less space on your culture medium center than two bulky unit .
For my money , the Juke Box E1 combo is best gotten on its own , without the utterer pile , because I think that a muchbetter pair of speakerscan found if you ’re unforced to drop a little extra on them , and I reckon this arrangement deserves it .
Overall , once dialed in and pushed through a well hardening of loudspeaker , the Juke Box E1 sounds fantastic , its replaceable / upgradeable turntable portion ensure that it ’ll grow with you and last for a long time , and with its Bluetooth connectivity , you ’ve generate yourself a divers organization , even if yourvinyl collecting phaseruns its class .
