Pro-Ject Audio Systems, world number one undisputed in turntable sales, has just expanded its proposal aimed at lovers of high-quality music reproduction with the addition of three new models to its range of pickup capsules: the Pick it MC9 and Pick it MC3, both from moving coil (MC), and the Pick it PRO Balanced, in this case of moving magnet (MM). All of them have been created to combine perfectly with the tonearms of the renowned Austrian brand, in order to offer a vision of sound in which the musicality has absolute priority. Regarding the moving coil models, each one has a different sound character despite seeking the same objective: preserving precise and natural reproduction of vinyl records.
Thus, the Pick it MC9 It is characterized by a very detailed sound scene while highly dynamic and rhythmic, being specifically optimized for classical music and jazz. For its part, the more affordable Pick it MC3 is intended for more general use, its powerful and dynamic sound being ideal for pop and rock, but also in classical compositions performed by large orchestral formations. As far as engineering is concerned, the Pick it MC9 stands out first of all for mounting a Exclusive “Special-Elliptical” needle of Pro-Ject to which is added a treated cantilever cryogenically, in order to realign its crystalline structure and allow a signal transmission more fluid. For its part, the moving coil combines a pure iron core Loom 57 with very high purity copper windings (6N), while the body is made of black anodized aluminum to maximize the robustness and longevity. Installation on the tone arm is carried out using a standard 0.5 inch gauge, with the output being 0.35 mV and the recommended support force being 1.8 g/mN.
Moving on to the Pick it MC3its first key element is a “Hyper-Spherical” reading needle developed by the brand and which, like its older sister, includes a cantilever with cryogenic treatment with the aim of “smoothing” the transmission of the audio signal. As for the fundamental moving coil, it is built in ARMCO pure iron and its windings are made of extremely pure crystalline copper (6N), the main body being made of finished aluminum in a blue anodized steel. With an output of 0.4 mV and a recommended support force of 2 grams, this versatile moving coil transducer is fits comfortably to a wide spectrum of phono stages and preamplifiers. Let us finally highlight that both the Pick it MC9 and the Pick it MC3 include exclusive components originating in Japan, with assembly and quality control carried out in Europe with the aim of ensuring the highest possible sound quality.
The third pickup capsule presented by Pro-Ject is a moving magnet (MM) model that responds to the name Pick it PRO Balanced and which, as its name suggests, is a revised version of the Pick it PRO that allows the user to fully exploit the Innovative “True Balanced” phono transmission of the central European firm. A revision extremely careful, as well as essential, since conventional moving magnet capsules cannot be used in a symmetrical connection (balanced), since in that case there would be a perceptible difference between the signal corresponding to each channel. Let us remember that the main quality provided by said connection is its ability to eliminate potential noise and interference captured by the reading tip, with what this entails in terms of ammonia resolution and spatial presentation. The Pick it PRO Balanced has an elliptical needle, its output is 4 mV and the recommended support force is 2 grams, while it is entirely developed and built in Europe.
