The Pro-Ject EVO 12 AS Black is a 12-inch S-shaped aluminium tonearm with an SME-fit headshell, a gimbal pivot on ABEC 7 bearings and copper wiring, in the all-matt-black Black version. It fits turntables with 291.6 mm between arm pivot and platter centre.
EVO 12 AS Black: the mechanics
At 304.8 mm of effective length the EVO 12 AS Black is the longest arm in the series, and it needs a plinth able to place the pivot 291.6 mm from the platter centre. In return the offset angle drops to 18° and the overhang to 13.2 mm. It also has the most inertia: 28.1 g of effective mass with the headshell, 14.5 g without. It works with cartridges from 7 to 22 g and a tracking force from 0 to 3 g. The Black suffix marks the version finished in matt black throughout.
The pivot is an inverted gimbal: four stainless-steel points run in ABEC 7 grade bearings, an arrangement that is stable and low in friction and leaves the stylus free to follow the groove. The assembly is housed in a block made entirely of aluminium, and the outer ring is left open so that it cannot ring like a bell. For the same reason the counterweight is damped with TPE. Inside, the signal travels along flexible conductors of high-purity copper to a gold-plated five-pin DIN socket; without its flange the arm weighs 311 g.
The S-shaped tube is aluminium with high internal damping and ends in a detachable SME-type headshell, so moving from one cartridge to another takes moments; Pro-Ject also sells headshells in other materials. According to the maker, the S geometry lowers the distortion linked to groove-angle error and helps tracking. A single screw clamps the tube: slacken it and the tube rotates, which is how azimuth is set. Arm height, and therefore VTA, varies continuously once the two grub screws at the base are released, and the silicone-damped lift can be reset to the new level.
Specifications
- Effective length: 304.8 mm (12-inch arm)
- Pivot-to-spindle distance: 291.6 mm
- Offset: 18°
- Stylus overhang: 13.2 mm
- Headshell slot spacing: 12.7 mm
- Effective mass: 28.1 g including headshell, 14.5 g bare
- Cartridge weight accepted: 7 to 22 g
- Tracking force: adjustable from 0 to 3 g
- Null points (minimum and maximum): 125 mm and 251.7 mm
- Arm weight: 311 g, flange excluded
- Arm tube: S-shaped aluminium, detachable SME headshell
- Pivot: inverted gimbal, 4 stainless points, ABEC 7 bearings
- Bearing housing: aluminium, open outer ring
- Wiring: flexible high-purity copper
- Adjustments: azimuth, VTA, lift height
- Output: gold-plated 5-pin DIN socket
- Finish: Black, matt black throughout
- Manufactured: in Europe
