The Beatles SGT. Pepper Essential III, Special Edition Turntable with 8.6” Aluminium tonearm and pre-Mounted Ortofon OM10 Cartridge

I purchased this Pro-ject Beatles Edition Essential III turntable because the price was so reasonable. I had looked at some other Pro-ject turntables and the Rega RP1 and Planer 2. One drawback to the Rega and many of the modestly priced Pro-ject turntables is that you need to remove the platter to adjust the turntable speed from 33RPM to 45RPM and vise versa. It had the acrylic platter upgrade out of the box which is a $149 adder if purchased separately and raises the performance of this substantially over the Essential III with the standard MDF platter or any of the Pro-ject turntables with metal platters.I have had many Turntables over the years from the likes of VPI, Clearaudio, Rega, Music Hall, Marantz and Technics. I still have my Marantz TT 15 S1 made by Clearaudio for reference. This Pro-ject gives you 85-90% of the performance of the Marantz with the same caliber of electronics. W

This is really nice but I don’t understand why it would be less expensive just because of the Beatles album cover art.Sonically quiet and the speed is pretty spot on.Would definitely buy again except I really don’t need too.

I bought this for my daughter as a wedding day sentimental gift, a tradition for the father. I set it up a few weeks ago, and was quick to notice the tone arm was missing the lever needed to lift the tone arm. I figured Pro-Ject based on recommendations would provide excellent customer service. I have not heard back from them. Very disappointed in knowing this since this isn't the first Pro-Ject turntable I have bought. It will be the last.

A couple things to know if you're a record player newbie.- This needs a preamp to get the sound this deserves.- Not an automatic turntable so all changes need to be done manually- Not the most simple thing to put together and the anti-skid weight install can be a pain.- Some testing is needed to balance the arm correctly.That out of the way, this is a beautiful turntable and even better if you're a Beatles fan. Pro-Ject has nice aesthetics and this is no different.I paired mine with a tube preamp and it sounds incredible.This is a perfect entry into a higher level of a record setup.

Turntable belt arrived broken had to buy another one

All my adult life I had cheap turntables - BSR, Teac, second hand decks. When I purchased a Rega Fono Mini A2D MM phono preamp and heard the difference it made, I started looking for a TT upgrade. I setteled on the Pro-Ject Essential iii and found the Beatles edition at a great price. Set-up was easy (find one of the many You Tube videos) everything works (and looks) great! It may sound cliche, but, yes, I'm running through all my old vinyl with a new appreciation! I only regret waiting so long to upgrade!

Solid build, GREAT sound. With the acrylic platter this makes this a GREAT deal! I took away 1 star for the lid. I'm comparing it to my Uturn Orbit. That lid is very easy to remove and upright it sits a little bit back enough where gravity would keep it from accidentally falling forward. The lid on this turntable takes more time to put on, and upright you have to depend on the hinges to keep the lid from falling back down. Over time those hinges will loosen up and then it will be a bit of a problem. They should have at least made the lid open at a 90 degree angle to the plinth. Right now it sits at an approx 75-80 degree angle. But, the look of the lid itself is better than on my Uturn Orbit. Overall very impressive turntable. Easy to setup. I had it from box to playing an album within 30 minutes.

This is the first high quality turntable I've had and re-visiting older LP's (mostly classical) has revealed that surface noise and scratches are minimized along with absolutely quiet play. No more of the fiddling around with touchy grounding wires like the old Technics I had. The first record I tried out was the DG recording of Mahler's Ninth with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Giulini. The Ortofon cartridge reproduced great bass and string sound.The Pro-ject deserves a 5-star rating, but be careful removing a record from the platter; lift it carefully by the very top of the record or the belt can easily slip off. Easy enough to get used to.R.E.