Pro-Ject Metallica Limited Edition Turntable Review: A Limited-Edition Statement Piece

Introduction

Some turntables are bought for the spec sheet. This one is bought for a reason that has nothing to do with numbers. The Pro-Ject Metallica Limited Edition turntable is a $1,600 belt-drive deck built around a plinth shaped from four offset M forms, a motif Metallica has used across apparel and artwork for years. It is a limited edition, it is unmistakably a Metallica object, and it is not trying to be the best value in hi-fi.

That framing matters. Judged purely as performance per dollar, there are stronger options. Judged as a piece of design tied to a band with a four-decade catalogue, it becomes a different proposition entirely.

Who This Turntable Is For

This deck is for the listener who already knows they want it. If Metallica has been part of your listening life for years, the appeal is not really about the tonearm or the platter. It is about owning a limited-edition object that puts the band at the centre of your system.

It also suits anyone building a rack where the turntable is meant to be seen. The design is aggressive, industrial and angular, and it reads as a statement piece rather than a neutral box.

It is less suited to someone shopping for the best possible sound per dollar, or to a household where the deck needs to disappear into the furniture.

Design and Build Quality

From above, the plinth resolves into four offset M shapes that form a star-like motif. It is genuinely difficult to photograph, and at first glance many people cannot immediately tell what they are looking at, which is part of the point. The design has been executed with real conviction rather than a logo applied to a standard plinth.

The plinth itself is heavy MDF, roughly an inch and a half deep at the edge, topped by a metal plate polished to a mirror finish that runs across the whole deck. The platter is glass, sitting on a solid aluminium subplatter whose bearing tolerances are tight enough that the subplatter displaces air as it settles into place rather than dropping straight down.

That mirror finish comes with a caveat. It is a serious fingerprint magnet, and with no dust cover in the box, keeping it clean takes some discipline. Pro-Ject includes a pair of white gloves for handling, which tells you what you are dealing with.

Key Specs and Setup

The deck ships with a pre-adjusted Pick it S2C cartridge mounted in an SME headshell on an 8.6-inch S-shaped aluminium tonearm. Tracking force and anti-skating are fully adjustable, and there is a vertical tracking angle adjustment plus adjustable feet for levelling.

Drive is a precision belt system with electronic speed control, selected by a rocker switch: one direction for 33, the other for 45. A metal drive pulley sits under the platter, and the deck comes with both a flat belt and a round belt. The flat belt is the one to install.

Cabling is a premium semi-symmetrical phono cable with metal connectors and gold-plated RCAs. The turntable is handmade in Europe, and the counterweight at the rear of the tonearm follows a familiar screw-on, float-then-set approach.

In practice, setup takes minutes rather than hours. The pre-adjusted cartridge means you can be playing records very soon after unboxing, and the adjustable feet make it easy to get the deck sitting level on a normal rack.

How It Sounds

Over an extended listening session running through the phono stage of an Emotiva PT2 preamp, the deck sounded clean and balanced. Nothing about the presentation called attention to itself. Tonally it sits in the same general territory as common Ortofon moving magnet cartridges, with a balanced character rather than a pronounced one.

That is a reasonable outcome for the cartridge fitted, and it is worth saying plainly: the sound is good, but the sound is not the reason to buy this turntable. It was not compared directly against another deck in the same session, so treat any tonal description as an impression rather than a measured result.

Cartridge and Upgrade Notes

Here is the one part of the package that is genuinely hard to overlook. The Pick it S2C is a $130 cartridge on a $1,600 turntable. Decks costing a fraction of that price often ship with cartridges that cost considerably more, so the value math on paper is uncomfortable.

The headshell is removable, which opens the door to a cartridge swap, though it is worth checking compatibility with your existing headshells before assuming a straight fit. There is also a cosmetic argument for leaving it alone: the supplied cartridge looks right on this tonearm in a way that a generic replacement will not.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The mirror-finish top plate and the exposed glass platter mean dust and fingerprints are a constant consideration, and there is no dust cover included.

Availability is the other variable. This is a limited edition, and it has appeared in stock at larger retailers while supplies last. It is not possible to say how long that will remain true, or how the used market will price it later. It should not be treated as a guaranteed appreciating asset.

Finally, be honest about what you are buying. This is not a purchase justified by performance per dollar, and treating it as one will lead to disappointment.

Buying Advice

If the design speaks to you and you have the budget, the sensible move is to buy while you can find one rather than waiting for a discount that may never come. The price is defensible as a collectible limited edition tied to a specific band, not as a high-value hi-fi purchase.

If what you actually want is maximum sound quality per dollar, spend the same money elsewhere and you will get further. If what you want is a Metallica turntable that looks like nothing else on the market, this is the one, and it will not be around forever.

Conclusion

The Pro-Ject Metallica Limited Edition turntable is a beautifully executed piece of design. The star-shaped plinth, the mirror-finish top plate, the glass platter and the aluminium subplatter all feel considered, and the deck sounds clean and balanced in use. The cartridge choice is the weak point at this price, and the lack of a dust cover plus the fingerprint-prone finish are real day-to-day trade-offs.

Buy it for what it is: a limited-edition statement piece for people who care about the band. On those terms, it delivers.