Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies) | usagoldmines.com

• Pro-Ject has released a new vinyl flattener ahead of Record Store day 2025
• ‘Flatten it’ uses temperature-controlled plates to maintain consistency
• It’s every vinyl enthusiasts dream, but you’ll need deep pockets…

The day where vinyl collectors and music fans queue outside record stores for new, limited releases is near, and I’m one of the courageous warriors preparing for battle. That’s right, it’s almost time for Record Store Day 2025, which lands on April 12, and while the thrill of adding new additions to your vinyl collection is a top-tier feeling, some bask in the pleasure of crate-digging for rare pre-loved presses.

Getting your hands on that great LP you’ve been searching for can feel like you’ve hit the jackpot, but warped vinyl is nigh-on inevitable at some point in your collecting career. Enter Pro-Ject, and its rather impressive new solution to restoring warped vinyl records to their original shape, so you no longer have to worry about the needle on your deck not tracking through those concentric circles as well as it might.

‘Flatten It’ (for that is its name) is the latest piece of vinyl care tech from Pro-Ject, a ‘high-quality, durable cabinet’ designed to give your warped vinyl records the TLC they need and resuscitate their sonic abilities from drab, back to fab. And yes, it is as expensive as it sounds (£749 to be precise, which is around $966 or AU$1,529 as a rough guide), but compared to similar products it’s a mid-price point (the Orb DF-01iA+ disc flattener retails for around double that). There’s no doubt that serious vinyl record collectors will fork out for something that promises to keep their vinyl flat using a hysteresis temperature of just 2 degrees Celcius.

Already a trusted hi-fi specialist and maker of some of the best turntables we’ve had the pleasure of testing, Pro-Ject is unafraid to take its already highly-respected status as an audio company and crank up the dial – and I like it! Even if it does look like a massive compact CD player.

No longer stuck in a (time) warp

So how does it work? Well, instead of abiding to common vinyl-flattening home hacks which could easily go wrong (we wouldn’t advise leaving LPs in a cooling oven), Pro-Ject’s ‘Flatten it’ offers a solution that’s suitable for all vinyl sizes and thicknesses for both casual and serious vinyl collectors.

Using just two settings (heating and cooling), temperature-controlled plates are used to sandwich the vinyl record together while a lower setting of just 2°C maintains consistency in the flattening process. Though there are plenty of alternative vinyl restoration products out there, you have to admit, this is literally pretty cool, landing just in time for Record Store Day 2025.

Record Store Day doesn’t just have to be about snagging the most exclusive presses, but can be the perfect opportunity to scout out albums that aren’t kicking about much these days. It’s the perfect opportunity, especially when everyone else will have their undivided attention on the upcoming 7” Taylor Swift single… 

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