Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsIF PRO-JECT CANNOT GET THE AC MOTOR RIGHT, WHAT ELSE REALLY MATTERS??
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2014
It has been rewarding to have so many people thank me for my review of the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Turntable. I'm adding this addendum on the front of my review for those of you would decide to purchase this turntable as I did, "disregarding" the warnings everyone seems to be giving in regard to the terrible motor hum. IF YOU DECIDE TO PURCHASE THIS TURNTABLE, DO THIS TEST BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE. YOU WILL NOT HEAR THE HUM UNTIL THE STYLUS IS PLACED ON THE RECORD! THE SECOND THE STYLUS IS PLACED ON THE RECORD (THE LEAD IN GROOVE) YOU WILL HEAR THE HUM. YOU WILL ALSO HEAR IT DURING VERY QUIET, SOFT MUSIC PASSAGES, YOU WILL HEAR IT BETWEEN TRACKS, AND YOU WILL HEAR IT AS THE STYLUS TRACKS OUT AT THE VERY END OF THE RECORD. LOUDER MUSIC MASKS THE MOTOR HUM, WHICH IS WHY PROBABLY SOME BUYERS HAVE NOT NOTICED IT. REMEMBER, LISTEN FOR THE HUM FROM YOUR SPEAKERS THE SECOND THE STYLUS IS PLACED ON THE LEAD IN GROOVES ON YOUR RECORD, AS THE MOTOR HUM IS TRANSFERRED FROM THE PLINTH AND THE PLATTER RIGHT INTO THE HEAD SHELL AND CARTRIDGE, RIGHT OUT YOUR SPEAKERS! BE SURE AND TEST BETWEEN TRACKS AND AS THE STYLUS TRACKS OUT AT THE END OF THE RECORD, IT'S HARD TO MISS THIS HUM!
I purchased this turntable in the piano black on September 3rd, 2014, and was certainly looking forward to enjoying the next few years with my new turntable and record collection. Let me share what I encountered when the new table arrived.
1. The box is very small, and it is obvious this company took every shortcut possible in packing it, with the platter on the very bottom of the box where any dropping would totally damage the platter. The box and packing are minimal to say the very least, and it is certainly not double boxed.
2. The turntable paint is the product's best feature, beautifully painted, whatever color you purchase.
3. The instructions are not very well written and the part about the tiny screw and resolving the arm needs to be written a different way when discussing vertical tracking angle.
4. The platter mat is absolutely terrible, it is literally not worth 2 cents. The mat is so thin it's problematic just keeping it in place and any static on your record, and the mat sticks to the record. I have never seen such a pathetic, worthless mat furnished on any turntable at any price.
5. The cartridge furnished with the table is fine, no problems there, probably a good fit for this level of turntable. I would warn everyone, be VERY careful when removing the stylus cover, and especiallly putting it back on, if you need to put it back on for any reason. It clicks in the back and it's just so very easy to damage that stylus, so be warned, watch your step.
6. The armrest on the player locks the arm in with a slight click, which is fine, but the armrest gets in the way, when you move the arm towards the record. The up and down movement is just not comfortable and it will cause you to drop the arm, something you will have to get used to.
7. The pickup bar on the headshell is far too small, and you WILL drop the arm at some point in time, it's just too small and you have to grab it with two fingers to hold it. Unlike most turntables, you can't just reach under the pickup and lift the arm, it will jump right off your finger. This is a pretty serious shortcoming as you will see if you order this product.
8. The anti-skate weight and the 1" piece of fishing line is just not that great and usually the line is placed on the second notch and there is an angle when placed on the second notch, where the line can easily slip off, it's just not the best design to say the least.
9. The clear dust cover is very nice, with the Pro-ject logo on the top, it's always nice to get a nice dust cover with your turntable without paying $300.00 for it.
10. Unfortunately this is where things get very bad for the Pro-ject Carbon Turntable, the motor. The motor is held in place by two screws and a rubber band and cushioned by two small Sorbothane absorbers, designed to absorb AC motor vibrations, and unfortunately the entire configuration does not work, period. That motor transfers a very noticable hum/buzz that is clearly heard through the speakers the second the stylus touches the record. This hum/buzz can be heard on any quiet music passages, between tracks, on the lead in on every record, as well as at the end of the record. This design flaw is written about all over the Internet and Pro-ject has been completely redesigning the Debut Carbon with a new DC motor to control this terrible hum the AC motor introduces. Hemley Designs Ltd has worked on a kit and is supplying that kit at a cost of about $40.00, however there is NO kit for the Debut Carbon. Henley Designs Ltd is the UK Distributor for Pro-ject and they are located in Oxfordshire. I have spoken to Mr. Bill Rudolph, the Analog Manager for Sumiko Audio as well as Paul Greene, the Service Depart Manager for Sumiko. I suggested doing a swap, my humming AC turntable for one of their new and improved DC versions of the Debut Carborn, and they would not assist me and said just return the table to the vendor. THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE THIS IS AN ISOLATED SITUATION WITH THE HUMMING AC MOTORS IN SEVERAL OF THE PRO-JECT TURNTABLES, BUT IF YOU WILL TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK ON THE INTERNET AND SEE ALL THE THOUSANDS OF CUSTOMERS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO STOP THEIR PRO-JECT DEBUT CARBON AND OTHER PRO-JECT TURNTABLES FROM HUMMING, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY PUT ON THE PURCHASING BRAKES. Do a Google search on (Pro-ject Debut Carbon Humming Problems) and be informed. This is a neat, flashy little turntable, but someone did not do their homework on the motor, and produced a turntable with significant motor hum and buzzing, that NEVER stops, and you continually hear it, so don't do what I did, buy the turntable and hope for the best, because when it arrived, I GOT THE WORST, IT WAS TERRIBLE, and nothing I did helped at all, that hum is there and it will not go away. After speaking to both of the men referenced above, they made it clear they were not willing to swap my one day old AC turntable for the newer DC model which is just coming to the United States. I have no idea if the terrible hum problem has be lessened or solved, but I was told to simply send the table back to the Vendor, which gladly took it back, but I just expected so much more from Sumiko and Pro-ject. I fully understand the rationale behind keeping this humming problem very quiet, it would cost millions of dollars to make this right with so many Pro-ject turntables out there in the field humming. It's just simpler to make a new DC version, hope you get that hum out and stay as quiet as you can about the thousands or millions of Debut Carbons and other Pro-ject turntables with AC motors in the field humming away!
Happy listening!