Pro-Ject Primary E review

Pro-Ject’s Primary E turntable is the blueprint for how to make a great-sounding, no-frills starter record player on a budget.

It’s the most affordable traditionally designed Pro-Ject turntable – and has claimed top spot in our best budget record players buying guide for many years now. This E model is also more or less a twin of the older Pro-Ject Primary, another great budget turntable.

Like most twins, there are a few key differences that set the two apart. The Primary E’s power supply is built into the deck rather than the plug; it is only available in black rather than the Primary’s red or white options; and it costs a little less than the original model.

So, how does this budget turntable measure up, even in today's vinyl-obsessed market?

Build and features

The Primary E has a minimal design that admittedly looks a little plain, but it is difficult to have complaints about its functional build quality, especially considering the relatively small cost.

Pro-Ject has made newer, fresher-looking budget turntables, yet the Primary E's elements – from the 22cm lightweight aluminium tonearm and Ortofon OM moving magnet cartridge to the simple particle board plinth – never feel particularly cheap in use.

You don’t have to set aside an hour of your time, nor dust off the toolbox, before you can start spinning records on the Primary E. Its effortless set-up of the near-plug-and-play design is part of its enduring charm.

The cartridge and counterweight are pre-fitted, and the 1.7g tracking force is pre-set. There’s a stylus pressure gauge in the box for checking the latter and an allen key for adjusting the counterweight if needed.

All you’re required to do is attach the belt to one of the two motor pulleys, depending on whether you’re playing a 33.3 or 45 RPM record, and put the felt mat on the platter.

Turn on the power switch underneath the chassis; and connect the attached RCA cable to either an external phono stage, or the phono input of an amplifier with one built in. And you're set to go!

As a starter package, especially for a purist turntable design such as this, it couldn't be easier.

A standard dust lid is supplied for keeping the Primary E’s chassis dust-free when not in use, but as you’d expect at this price, there’s no lavish aesthetic or hipster chic here.

The all-black design is fairly plain – this is no turntable-in-a-suitcase Crosley or bright-coloured Lenco. The manual speed change is easily done, the tonearm is smooth in action, and the armrest feels secure.

We find the chassis’s edges and corners a little on the sharp side when we run our fingers along them, but, given that’s our only grumble, it speaks volumes of Pro-Ject’s budget offering.

Sound

While our sonic expectations are rightfully tempered for a turntable at this price, the Primary E’s priority seems to be entertainment.

Sure, there are elements of dynamic insight and subtlety to its presentation, but it doesn’t try to walk before it can run.

The Primary E confidently nails the basics, from an even tonal balance to a delivery that’s clear and clean and spacious enough to keep things coherent.

Decent body and substance cling reliably to every frequency, and that’s made all the more enjoyable by a spirited sense of drive and momentum.

We lay down The National’s Trouble Will Find Me, and the Pro-Ject wilfully promotes the LP’s warmth and sweetness, communicating Berninger’s vocals as well as the contrasting sense of effort behind the track’s drum beats.

It is sensitive to the sullenness of the band’s instrumentals, demonstrating levels of detail and precision that are more than passable in the company of budget amplification and speakers. And though it’s not capable of huge scale or reach, it sounds far away from being small or confined, too.

By the time we reach the final track, Hard To Find, we’re asking ourselves what more we could want from a budget deck. Realistically, very little.

Verdict

There is a whole cavalcade of budget turntables flooding the market – from Crosley, Lenco, Audio-Technica, Majority and more – with fancy features, electronic speed change, and built-in preamp speakers in snazzy, trendy-looking designs. We can see their appeal, but remain unconvinced when it comes to their sound quality.

We have no such reservations about the musically entertaining Pro-Ject Primary E. For a beginner’s vinyl revival path who has this kind of budget and is more fussed about getting the best sound from your records than about features such as record ripping and automatic operation, the multiple Award-winning Primary E could be just the ticket.

It focuses its attention on delivering the best sound quality possible at this budget level, and remains a firm recommendation.

Review published: 2018. Review updated: November 2024, October 2025.

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