The Pro-Ject EVO 9 AS HG is a 9-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 212 mm between arm pivot and platter centre.
EVO 9 AS HG: geometry and adjustments
The EVO 9 AS HG is the shortest size in the series: 230 mm of effective length, with the pivot to be placed 212 mm from the platter centre. That gives an offset angle of 24° and an overhang of 18 mm. With the headshell fitted the effective mass is 24.2 g, falling to 10.6 g without it, and the arm takes cartridges from 6.5 to 16 g, with tracking force adjustable up to 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 303 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: 230 mm (9-inch arm)
- Pivot-to-spindle distance: 212 mm
- Offset: 24°
- Stylus overhang: 18 mm
- Headshell slot spacing: 12.7 mm
- Effective mass: 24.2 g including headshell, 10.6 g bare
- Cartridge weight accepted: 6.5 to 16 g
- Tracking force: adjustable from 0 to 3 g
- Null points (minimum and maximum): 130.6 mm and 243.7 mm
- Arm weight: 303 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
