The Pro-Ject EVO 10 AS HG is a 10-inch S-shaped aluminium tonearm with an SME-fit headshell, a gimbal pivot on ABEC 7 bearings and copper wiring, in the HG version with hand-polished aluminium parts. It fits turntables with 238 mm between arm pivot and platter centre.
EVO 10 AS HG: pivot, tube and wiring
Within the series the EVO 10 AS HG takes the middle position. Effective length is 254 mm and the mounting point has to be marked 238 mm from the platter centre; the offset angle comes to 21.4° and the overhang to 16 mm. Effective mass is 25 g with the headshell and 11.7 g without. The counterweight covers cartridges from 6.5 to 18 g, and tracking force is set anywhere between 0 and 3 g. The HG suffix marks the version whose visible aluminium parts are polished by hand.
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 305 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: 254 mm (10-inch arm)
- Pivot-to-spindle distance: 238 mm
- Offset: 21.4°
- Stylus overhang: 16 mm
- Headshell slot spacing: 12.7 mm
- Effective mass: 25 g including headshell, 11.7 g bare
- Cartridge weight accepted: 6.5 to 18 g
- Tracking force: adjustable from 0 to 3 g
- Null points (minimum and maximum): 126.8 mm and 248.2 mm
- Arm weight: 305 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: HG, hand-polished aluminium parts
- Manufactured: in Europe