Pro-Ject Signature 12.2 Reference Turntable

The flagship: The ultimate craftsmanship
The Signature 12.2 represents turntable technology at the highest level with exclusive materials and luxurious workmanship. The turntable is hand-crafted exclusively by our highly trained staff! All metal parts are hand-polished and around 100 different CNC parts are used - all made in-house. Note that it takes around 2 days to hand-polish and precisely assemble all components and that all components are manufactured in-house. The heavy MDF chassis is hand-painted in 10 layers and carefully hand-polished to achieve the classic, timeless and luxurious finish. The main chassis is larger and more solid than before and the new rounded edges reduce standing waves. Through precise CNC machining, we avoid voids wherever possible to avoid unwanted resonances.


Bearings and platter
To ensure stable speeds, a suitable platter bearing is required. The Signature 12.2 uses special technology. The heavy platter rotates on an inverted ceramic ball bearing with magnetic support to reduce bearing noise and resonance to an absolute minimum. The main platter is precision CNC machined from aluminum and weighs a considerable 10.5 kg. On this base we glued recycled vinyl records (which serve as the perfect base) and baked this "sandwich" before precisely balancing it. With this solution, the final product benefits from a wonderfully resonance-free, heavy platter and with the magnetic decoupling we can relieve the load on the main bearing and ensure that the platter runs extremely quietly.


Tonearm design and adaptive anti-skating
The new 12-inch S-shaped aluminum tonearm has received several new innovations. for example, improvements to the counterweight and anti-skating. The counterweight now has a fine thread for smoother adjustment of the track spring force, allowing for smaller changes. The adaptive anti-skating mechanism adjusts the anti-skating to accurately reflect the required force between the inner and outer grooves of the vinyl record. We have fine-tuned the position of the mechanism on the tonearm.


Sub-chassis
Traditional sub-chassis designs are mostly only found on lightweight turntables. They effectively isolate the turntable, especially when placed in close proximity to the speakers. However, there are certain elements of the sub-chassis design that are particularly well suited for use in high-mass turntables. On the Signature 12, the tonearm and platter are mounted on a decoupled, resonance-optimized aluminum alloy TPE sub-chassis, a further step towards separating the tonearm and platter from the massive and spring-loaded main chassis and motor block. The tonearm is equipped with an easily accessible 5P DIN connector on the back of the base and remains fully VTA adjustable at all times by simply turning a set screw. Finding the right VTA couldn't be more intuitive.

3-point pivot tonearm bearing
We have redesigned the tonearm bearing, moving from a single-point bearing to a three-point bearing. The Uni-Pivot system is an excellent solution that is widely used on high-quality tonearms. However, there are some disadvantages. It is very expensive to manufacture and is often difficult to set up. The entire weight of the tonearm is supported by a single pin, which puts a significant amount of stress on it. Therefore, material selection, design and manufacturing must be carefully considered to ensure the functionality of this system. The precise arrangement and alignment of three pivot points results in a further reduction in friction and improved stability, outperforming gimbals or our previous Unipivot bearings. The ability to track even the smallest changes in the grooves of your records and pick out the smallest detail has been improved once again. The new bearing design will also accommodate heavier, high-end cartridges more efficiently than before.


Motor block and flywheel
The flywheel belt drive system ensures vibration-free operation, resulting in the most accurate and stable speeds. The motors are now mounted in an all-aluminum motor block, which further dampens vibrations. Aesthetically, the new motor block adds additional accents of highly polished aluminum, which enhances the overall look of the Signature 12.2 package.


Electronic speed control
The motor is driven by a precise, DC-powered alternator for playback speeds of 33 and 45 rpm with the utmost precision. The elegant control panel made of hand-polished aluminum has no display that could generate unwanted (and unnecessary) electromagnetic radiation. Removing the display is not only a commitment to the analog and haptic controls that bring joy, but also a commitment to focusing exclusively on audio quality.