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HELP: Noise from new Pro-Ject Debut III

Hi all... first time poster.

I bought a Project Debut III about five weeks ago new from Magnolia Audio (inside Best Buy). I've been using it with a vintage Yamaha CR-400 receiver that has a phono input. It came stock with the Ortofon OM5-E cartridge, and I'm running it through Klipsch Synergy B3 bookshelf speakers

The first 3 weeks were magical. But then suddenly I started hearing noise, almost like a radio station half tuned in. Sometimes it will play OK, then in dynamic parts, the static returns.

A stereo technician at a local audiophile store was a little puzzled, but speculated that maybe the cartridge is too "hot" for the vintage amp.

What is mysterious to me is that it worked perfectly for a few weeks.

On a slightly separate note, I'm getting a Jolida 102B in the next couple days. So, this may only be a temporary problem. But it's been a source of anxiety not having my vinyl set up working when it's become my main obsession in recent years.

The CD player works great, so it seems isolated to what is going through the phono input.

Any help is much appreciated.

Jason
128x128jdk1970
jdk1970's avatar
jdk1970 OP
4 posts
 
Thanks everyone for the ideas... Sidssp - I set it up and didn't change the VTF until after I noticed the problem.

I forgot to mention that I brought it back to Magnolia to test it there, and had the same problem, going through, I believe, a Denon that had a phono in.

So this seems to narrow it down to two possibilities: I set it up wrong, which seems unlikely since it worked well for a couple weeks. Plus it was in a secure place and not jostled at all. The other is maybe some sort of internal problem not of my doing.

I'm going to have to buy a preamp anyway, as I'm pretty sure that the Jolda 102B that I'm getting soon will need it.

My other option that I'm going to try is to dig out a cheap USB table I have in the closet to possibly eliminate the amp as the problem.

Thanks again for the suggestions.
bumboola
17 posts
 
It sounds like it could be debris on the stylus. Have you brushed/cleaned the stylus since you got the player? It should be cleaned every 5-10 albums at a minimum, more often if the records are dirty.
jdk1970's avatar
jdk1970 OP
4 posts
 
Bumboola, you know, I have not yet cleaned the stylus. Visually, I don't see anything on it, but I'd really like that to be the issue - a simpler and cheaper remedy. I need to buy a cleaning kit.
vinylvin
146 posts
 
Touch the wires going into the cartridge see if
you hear the sound. This happened to me, I just
moved them a little until the noise went away.
BE Careful!
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
Could it indeed be a radio station? Are you using shielded interconnects out of the Project?
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