During Europe’s biggest Hi-Fi trade show on 24 May 2014 in Munich, the founder of Pro-Ject, Heinz Lichtenegger, kindly gave an interview to maPlatine.com.
maPlatine.com: ‘After over 25 years at the helm of Pro-Ject, what are your views on the changes in the analogue market?’
Heinz Lichtenegger: ‘In Pro-Ject’s early days, my plan to venture into the production of turntables was met with quite a lot of scepticism. Bear in mind that this was the early 90’s, at a time when the CD ruled supreme. Time eventually proved me right. In fact, from the onset, the market has continually and consistently grown over time. Also, most people who have vinyl records love anything analogue-related. The revival of vinyl reflects the changes in our society. Everything is faster and digital has become the standard. Therefore, returning to turntables is a way of reconnecting with the object itself. We could even say it reflects a lifestyle. There are two different groups: on the one hand, those who love the object, what it symbolises and, on the other hand, hard-core audiophiles on a quest for the most perfect sound possible. And analogue makes this quest attainable.”
maPlatine.com: ‘Please tell us more about your two Best Buys in 2013 and the key features that have made them so popular.’
Heinz Lichtenegger: ‘First of all, the Debut turntable range, which was marketed over a decade ago, has been a top-selling line from day one. The different versions (including the current Debut Carbon) have been extremely popular with our customers. To date, around half a million units have been sold worldwide. This turntable line has a number of advantages: great build quality (it has 90% of what customers could expect from a Hi-Fi product), a highly elegant packaging with a very modern design (in particular with a wide selection of colours) and above all, a very competitive price, which makes it affordable for most of the population. Next, there is the Xtension 10 that got very positive feedback last year. It is important to stress that most people who buy this product own a Debut and are looking to upgrade. From my point of view, this product has everything an audiophile could want from a turntable: an amazing design, an incredible sound and great ease of use.” 
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maPlatine.com: ‘When did you first notice the warning signs of a real trend and the comeback of the vinyl record?’
Heinz Lichtenegger: ‘From my point of view and as far as Pro-Ject is concerned, things began moving faster in 1999 with the arrival of the Debut. Customers were showing a growing interest in this type of product and we believe that we have contributed to this with our highly competitive offer. What’s more, our strategy was (and still is) to target both the general public and audiophiles alike. This way, our product soon hit the global market, allowing Pro-Ject to become a benchmark in the analogue world.’
maPlatine.com: ‘At Munich’s High End trade show in 2014, we were able to see many new products. Please tell us more about your strategy regarding these products’
Heinz Lichtenegger: ‘Actually, this year we focused on keeping Pro-Ject’s reputation as a pioneer in its market and hence consolidating its leadership by reaching out to the widest audience possible for our latest innovations. I could break this point down into three key items. On the one hand, we have been using carbon a lot, which I consider as one of the materials of the future. We were already ahead of the game in the field with the use of carbon for our tonearms, even on entry-level models (like on the Debut Carbon). However today we have pushed things further by using carbon for the turntable itself! This innovation will feature on the RPM line. Then, we decided to focus more on our mid-level line with the 2-Xperience. First of all, we have a better tonearm and a better power supply. Then the design has been reworked because many clients view their turntable as a work of art that they like to put on display at home. So we worked on the premium matte wood finish, keeping the price attractive. 
Finally, our latest major innovation is the MAIA (My Audiophile Integrated Amplifier) in the Box line, which aims to offer consumers all they need in an amp at an affordable price. Thus, it has an MM phono input, analogue inputs to connect a CD player and digital inputs to play digital music files.’
maPlatine.com: ‘Finally, how do you see the future for Pro-Ject? What is your top priority?’ ‘
Heinz Lichtenegger: ‘We have pursued the same goal from the start: offering high quality Hi-Fi products to the general public at the best price. This way we wish to make high quality sound available to all those who want to buy a good quality system. We believe that Pro-Ject will continue to consolidate its leadership with our will to offer disruptive innovations like in the past. maPlatine.com heartily thanks Heinz Lichtenegger for his time during the Munich trade show.’