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A successor to Pro-Ject’s Signature 12 turntable, the Signature 12.2 is the Austrian outfit’s new flagship design, and said to be ready to inform trickle-down models in the future. Selling for £10,599 (excluding cartridge choice), it boasts a black/silver colourway dominated by hand-polished CNC-machined metal components, including a 10.5kg magnetically decoupled aluminium platter topped by a layer of recycled vinyl. TPE damping is used inside the platter, and again on the sub-chassis that supports both the main platter and the Signature 12.2’s new 12in S-shaped aluminium tonearm with SME headshell. Pro-ject here claims improvements to adaptive anti-skating and counterweight adjustments, and switches from a uni-pivot bearing to a three-point pivot system, thereby facilitating use with ‘heavier high-end MC pickups’. Further upgrades to the original Signature 12 design include a new flywheel belt-drive motor system housed in an aluminium block and conically tipped and adjustable spring-loaded feet to support the deck’s redesigned (and now larger) MDF chassis. Also, the previous model’s electronic display has been removed here in favour of ‘analogue’ buttons for its 33.3rpm and 45rpm speed selection.

Pro-Ject Audio Systems, Austria, 01235 511166; www.project-audio.com