Pro-Ject launches HMV anniversary turntable featuring its famous dog

Pro-Ject launches HMV anniversary turntable featuring its famous dog
(Image credit: Pro-Ject)

Any Brits lucky enough to live to see their 100th birthday get a telegram from the Queen. But if you're a high street retailer you get your own special edition turntable. We know which we'd prefer.

This is a limited edition version of the Pro-Ject T1 record player, made to celebrate high street music shop HMV's centenary. It features the famous Nipper the dog logo that has adorned the retailer's stores for decades.

It's limited to a run of 300 turntables, while each deck comes with a certificate of authenticity and costs £399.99 (about $485, AU$700).

Nipper is taken from an 1898 painting by Francis Barraud titled His Master's Voice (which HMV stands for). Nipper was Barraud's brother's dog, and he was depicted in the painting listening to a phonograph.

Barraud sold his painting to the Gramophone Company (which since became EMI) for £100. In 1910, the Gramophone Company copyrighted the name 'His Master's Voice' and in 1921 opened its first store at 363 Oxford Street.

The chain has been through some rocky periods with the fall in sales of physical music formats like LPs and CDs. But the vinyl revival caused it to launch in-store turntable displays with Henley Audio (Pro-Ject's distributor) in 2016. 

HMV is keen to position itself as the home of high street vinyl.

"Over the past five years, our turntable range has grown substantially, offering every collector – from the casual listener to audiophile – a listening experience that works for them," said Phil Halliday, Managing Director of HMV and Fopp.

"With our year-long 100th Anniversary celebrations coming to a close, we wanted to end with a nod to our heritage, and there was no better partner than Pro-Ject, whose stunning attention to detail results in incredible products for music fans."

The T1 doesn't use any plastic in its plinth, platter or tonearm. It's an affordable deck that earned four stars in our review. And now it comes with a picture of an iconic dog printed on it – what's not to like?

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Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.