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Disappointment with Pro-Ject...

It seems I'm late to the party on this one,  but my Project Debut Carbon Espirit SB has that dreaded ground hum issue, that I wasn't aware of when I purchased it.  I figured oh...maybe it's my surge protector...nope.  possibly my interconnects?  Nope.   New ground wire? Nope.  Different phono preamp? Nope.  And what sealed the deal was hooking up my old JVC hunk of junk deck I had lying around, and while it doesnt sound very good, it did not hum.   

I'm already a few months out, so can't return it.  Wouldn't feel right selling it with this issue  to fund something different like a Rega (which I should have just spent the extra money in hindsight for a P3) and it's a shame...it sounds lovely...it really does. but I'm at a loss and don't know where to go from here...I've tried every trick I've seen on every forum and nothing has remedied the issue.  Hate the feeling that I've wasted over 500 dollars on a defective product.  (Well, closer to 700, but the Ortofon 2m Blue I feel was worth the extra money!)

Any ideas or solutions?  I feel like I've tried everything!
tehchuckelator
stereosanctity's avatar
stereosanctity
72 posts
 
I have a Debut Carbon.  A couple years ago I moved and was messing with different placements for components in my new setup.  First I tried wi-fi streamer, to the right of that was the Debut Carbon, and to the right of that my integrated amp.  I had a terrible hum coming from my speakers when playing a record.  Then I swapped the amp and DC so had streamer, amp, turntable.  Viola!  No more hum. 
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
Good point. I get a hum from my rega P3. I noticed it is directly related to the proximity of the TT to the transformers of my preamp. So I moved it as far away as my stand and aesthetics would allow and now the hum is barely audible at listening levels..

I discovered this by turning the volume up high enough to hear the hum, then I picked up my turntable and carefully moved it around in space. That’s when I noticed proximity to the pre caused the hum.. just be careful. I had to have the needle down on a non turning record to hear the hum. With the high volume, I did not want to bump the table too suddenly!
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
I also had a strange experience with a project debut table relating to hum.
In my system it was very noticeable even at low volume, in exactly the same setup both a Teac tn200 and funk firm vector v gave absolute ink black silence so not just the setup.
But here is where it gets even odder.
My daughter wanted a vinyl setup so as I had not sold the project (like the OP I did not want to pass along a possibly faulty unit to somebody else), i thought I would give it another try.
All she had was a wall mounted soundbar connected to her multipurpose PS3 (BLURAY, CD. YOUTUBE, PANDORA ETC). the soundbar had rca inputs as well as the dig in she was using.
so bought an el cheapo phono pre from ebay and gave it a try.
in this setup there was just a very faint trace of hum at high volume but at sane levels there was nothing discernible at all.
so one happy daughter and now not $350 wasted after all.
one reason could be there is no other major electronic equipment anywhere near the table in her setup at all?
tak1's avatar
tak1
24 posts
 
Just one question: Is your table/cartridge near a dimmer switch? If it is, then your cart is picking up the mag field of the dimmer when it is on. Either replace the dimmer switch with a standard on/off or move the switch elsewhere.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
I'll tell ya even more.
Dose DIY ProJects will never be better than old skool Pioneers, Yamaha, Sansui Technics and JVC included 
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