I own a Pro-ject Signature 12. Before I bought it I managed to audition a number of turntables, including Rega RP10, a top spec Roxan Xerxes, Michele Orb with SME V, and yes, a Pro-Ject Signature 10. All were auditioned with the Cadenza Black, D800 and KEF Blade.
Although I ultimately bought the Pro-ject Signature 12, I could see good points in the alternatives. After all, this was a case of comparing very good turntables with other very good turntables.
The thing I liked about the Signature turntables is that they seamed to have a very coherent presentation, the alternatives were there with detail, but somehow the Signatures managed to provide the detail but keep the whole sense of the music together. Compared to the alternatives , I would say the Signatures were also a little more 'full bodied', a slightly more magnificent presentation, dynamic, digging out those lowest register notes. (I do hope this makes sense!) The Roxan and Rega maybe had a slight edge with those very finest details.
In the context of your question, it is interesting that as I short listed the alternatives, the Pro-ject Signature 10 was my clear second favourite behind only the Signature 12. This makes it a bit of a bargain in my view, as the Roxan was a lot more expensive.
I spent some time comparing the Signature 10 with the Signature 12, all I can say is that they were very close indeed. Compared to the 12, the drop in price to the 10 is substantially greater than the drop in performance. In terms of the coherence and solidity of presentation I mention, I would say the 10 and 12 are more or less identical, the 12 just edges ahead in digging out the finer details. I very nearly bought the 10.
I have not listened to the new RPM 10 Carbon, so I can make no comment here.
As an aside, there was an Ortofon cartridge demonstration event at Oxford Audio last year. The event demonstrated cartridges from the very cheapest up to the new Ortofon Windfeld Ti. This demo used the Signature 10, which was easily good enough to highlight the differences between the Cadenza Black and the Windfeld Ti, which retails for £3100 in the UK.
As a slightly informed hunch, I suspect the Signature 10 would be a good match for the Olympica II's. If you can get the chance to try one it would be well worth the effort I think.
Edit:
This is quite a good review. It is curious that the reviewer spends a lot of time criticising various design details, then ends up saying that the sound quality is excellent. Broadly speaking, I agree with the sound quality observations.
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/projec...ure_e.html
Although I ultimately bought the Pro-ject Signature 12, I could see good points in the alternatives. After all, this was a case of comparing very good turntables with other very good turntables.
The thing I liked about the Signature turntables is that they seamed to have a very coherent presentation, the alternatives were there with detail, but somehow the Signatures managed to provide the detail but keep the whole sense of the music together. Compared to the alternatives , I would say the Signatures were also a little more 'full bodied', a slightly more magnificent presentation, dynamic, digging out those lowest register notes. (I do hope this makes sense!) The Roxan and Rega maybe had a slight edge with those very finest details.
In the context of your question, it is interesting that as I short listed the alternatives, the Pro-ject Signature 10 was my clear second favourite behind only the Signature 12. This makes it a bit of a bargain in my view, as the Roxan was a lot more expensive.
I spent some time comparing the Signature 10 with the Signature 12, all I can say is that they were very close indeed. Compared to the 12, the drop in price to the 10 is substantially greater than the drop in performance. In terms of the coherence and solidity of presentation I mention, I would say the 10 and 12 are more or less identical, the 12 just edges ahead in digging out the finer details. I very nearly bought the 10.
I have not listened to the new RPM 10 Carbon, so I can make no comment here.
As an aside, there was an Ortofon cartridge demonstration event at Oxford Audio last year. The event demonstrated cartridges from the very cheapest up to the new Ortofon Windfeld Ti. This demo used the Signature 10, which was easily good enough to highlight the differences between the Cadenza Black and the Windfeld Ti, which retails for £3100 in the UK.
As a slightly informed hunch, I suspect the Signature 10 would be a good match for the Olympica II's. If you can get the chance to try one it would be well worth the effort I think.
Edit:
This is quite a good review. It is curious that the reviewer spends a lot of time criticising various design details, then ends up saying that the sound quality is excellent. Broadly speaking, I agree with the sound quality observations.
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/projec...ure_e.html
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
