Welcome to Vinyl Week on What Hi-Fi?, in association with Technics. You can find out more about how Technics has been defining turntable culture for half a century and the company's SL-1200M7L Limited Edition turntable.
The Pro-Ject Juke Box E is something of a rarity, an all-in-one system that demands very few compromises. It's a record player – based on Pro-Ject’s well-regarded Primary turntable – that’s also tricked out with an Ortofon OM 5E cartridge, amplification (25W per channel), and a Bluetooth receiver that allows you to wirelessly send music streams to the player.
Its warm, entertaining sound garnered a What Hi-Fi? Award at its launch price of £499, and now it's reduced to £419 at Sevenoaks. Talk about a five-star bargain just in time for Record Store Day...
- Got a bigger budget? Save £100 on this Award-winning Technics turntable
- See the 6 best turntable deals ahead of Record Store Day
You’ll find stereo RCA outputs at line level and pre-amp/phono level at the back of the deck, meaning you can plug the deck straight into an amplifier, or take advantage of either an external phono stage or one built into an amplifier. There's also a corresponding stereo RCA line-level input, left/right speaker outputs and a socket for the Bluetooth receiver.
The Pro-Ject Juke Box E carries the brand’s sonic signature of easy-going fidelity, establishing a decently spacious soundstage, sitting on the warm side of neutral.
Despite its ease of use, it’s worth noting the Juke Box E isn’t the out-and-out loudest system we’ve ever heard, so proper consideration should be given to speaker sensitivity.
Given its excellent deals price, this is an all-in-one system that offers a level of functionality that would be difficult to replicate using individual components for this sort of money.
If space is at a premium and funds are (relatively) tight, or both, this is a deal that's definitely worth taking advantage of.
MORE:
The 6 best turntable deals for Record Store Day
15 of the best-produced recordings to test your speakers
Our pick of the best record players 2022