Swish's vinyl saga continues.

[Swish]

I got my slightly used Pro-Ject Debut III on Saturday, but since I was out all day helping my parents move (can you believe they moved at ages 85 and 82 after living in the same house for 54 years?) and then home to shower and off to that great party with the limo and stuff, so I didn't open the box until Sunday morning.

It appeared to be carefully packaged, but once I got the inner box open and started to remove the bubble wrap, my heart sank. The tonearm locking mechanism was broken and the tonearm was on top of the table deck, meaning the stylus was in contact with the bare material. Not good. Aside from that, there are scuff marks on the shiny black finish, actual rings that appear to be the size of the plastic hub (the piece under the platter) which must have been rubbing against it at some point. I tried cleaning it but the marks won't go away. The tonearm wasn't damaged, or so it would appear, but some pieces need to be installed and the instructions are a bit sketchy.

I e-mailed the guy and told him of my displeasure, and he said he really didn't want to have it returned and would work out a reasonable refund if I could get it to work properly. I told him I was able to install the belt and platter and it does rotate properly, but would need to spend some time with the tonearm before I would agree to anything.

I got this for a decent price IF it had been in 'like new' condition and advertised. Since it was not, I'm figuring I should get at least half my money back if I can get it working to my satisfaction. If the stylus is damaged, perhaps a bit more, but I'm not sure how much he'll move. Part of me says to send it back for a full refund and get a table that will look nice, and part of me says to keep it if I can get it dirt cheap and in good working order.

For those of you following this story, I don't know if I should laugh or cry. All I wanted was to play some vinyl Holy crap.

Swish - cds are still king in my house

[JohnMichael]

I got my slightly used Pro-Ject Debut III on Saturday, but since I was out all day helping my parents move (can you believe they moved at ages 85 and 82 after living in the same house for 54 years?) and then home to shower and off to that great party with the limo and stuff, so I didn't open the box until Sunday morning.

It appeared to be carefully packaged, but once I got the inner box open and started to remove the bubble wrap, my heart sank. The tonearm locking mechanism was broken and the tonearm was on top of the table deck, meaning the stylus was in contact with the bare material. Not good. Aside from that, there are scuff marks on the shiny black finish, actual rings that appear to be the size of the plastic hub (the piece under the platter) which must have been rubbing against it at some point. I tried cleaning it but the marks won't go away. The tonearm wasn't damaged, or so it would appear, but some pieces need to be installed and the instructions are a bit sketchy.

I e-mailed the guy and told him of my displeasure, and he said he really didn't want to have it returned and would work out a reasonable refund if I could get it to work properly. I told him I was able to install the belt and platter and it does rotate properly, but would need to spend some time with the tonearm before I would agree to anything.

I got this for a decent price IF it had been in 'like new' condition and advertised. Since it was not, I'm figuring I should get at least half my money back if I can get it working to my satisfaction. If the stylus is damaged, perhaps a bit more, but I'm not sure how much he'll move. Part of me says to send it back for a full refund and get a table that will look nice, and part of me says to keep it if I can get it dirt cheap and in good working order.

For those of you following this story, I don't know if I should laugh or cry. All I wanted was to play some vinyl Holy crap.

Swish - cds are still king in my house




Swish the tonearm locking mechanism being broken is not too much of a problem if the tonearm rest is still intact. You can always use a twistie to fasten down the tonearm if you need to transposrt it. What bothers me is that if he knew that before hand he misrepresented the condition of the table. If it happened in shipping what else might have been harmed?

Was the platter resting on the center hub or was it packed seperately? It should have been packed seperately. During shipping the jarring of the platter on the center hub can damage the bearing. Another thing I am curious about was the center hub taped down to keep the bearing and the oil in place. Check to see if there is any loss of lubrication on the plinth or in the box. The wear marks are also a concern.

My initial response is to return the table.

[Luvin Da Blues]

Like any great love story, there got to be heartache. I do know if you get it right you'll be smiling.

I don't know if I should to laugh or feel bad for ya either Swish.

[Swish]

Swish the tonearm locking mechanism being broken is not too much of a problem if the tonearm rest is still intact. You can always use a twistie to fasten down the tonearm if you need to transposrt it. What bothers me is that if he knew that before hand he misrepresented the condition of the table. If it happened in shipping what else might have been harmed?

Was the platter resting on the center hub or was it packed seperately? It should have been packed seperately. During shipping the jarring of the platter on the center hub can damage the bearing. Another thing I am curious about was the center hub taped down to keep the bearing and the oil in place. Check to see if there is any loss of lubrication on the plinth or in the box. The wear marks are also a concern.

My initial response is to return the table.

...and there are two screws that lock the motor in place. I wasn't concerned about the locking mechanism in and of itself, but the fact that the tonearm was hanging loose. After messing with it for about an hour tonight, I found that one small piece, the anti-skating gauge, a small stub actually, is missing. I suspect the first owner broke the sucker and tried to hide that fact. I'm not certain I'll be able to find a replacement for it. I was able to set the counterweight properly, but with that little part missing, I can't operate the table. I notified the seller and will await his response. All in all it's not in bad shape.

Thanks for the input.

Swish

[jonnyhambone]

that's a bummer man. I know the trials and tribulations of going the vinyl route and feeling like blind leading naked (don't always know what that means but I Love the phrase). I haven't ever needed to adjust the anti-skating guage on my table but I set it when first setting things up and I assume it's doing something of importance...if your tonearm isn't skating, due to luck or some rigging you can figure out, this seems like one of the aspects of a vinyl rig that doesn't need very frequent fine-tuning once it's set. the up-side.
Good luck with this and maybe you'll get a cheap but sweet rig out of this. I've been extremely pleased with my Goldring after swapping out cartridges. I can't imagine life w/o vinyl since I got my table.

[ForeverAutumn]

I have a question for you vinyl dudes. Do you buy albums on both vinyl and CD or do you just pick one?

If you pick just one, how do you decide which format you want to purchase? And, what if you buy vinyl but then decide that you want to listen to something in the car?

[Stone]

I have a question for you vinyl dudes. Do you buy albums on both vinyl and CD or do you just pick one?

If you pick just one, how do you decide which format you want to purchase? And, what if you buy vinyl but then decide that you want to listen to something in the car?

I buy both. Here's how I buy: I buy most new stuff on CD, and most vinyl I buy is used, which feeds my need for discoveries of older stuff. However, occasionally I will buy a new piece of vinyl because it's something I really like or the price is right (or it includes a CD or digital download).

[Swish]

I have a question for you vinyl dudes. Do you buy albums on both vinyl and CD or do you just pick one?

If you pick just one, how do you decide which format you want to purchase? And, what if you buy vinyl but then decide that you want to listen to something in the car?

Two of the new albums I was given as gifts include free downloads, and I checked out a few that also included the CD, so you may not have to make that decision.

I haven't really shopped for used vinyl, but probably will when I finally get a fukking turntable that works!

Swish

[Slosh]

I buy vinyl and burn 'em to CD-R. Sometimes I'm too impatient to wait until I come across an LP version and just snag the CD instead. Or pretty often I'll d/l a copy and then buy the LP whenever I happen to stumble upon it.

NP:

[Ex Lion Tamer]

I have a question for you vinyl dudes. Do you buy albums on both vinyl and CD or do you just pick one?

If you pick just one, how do you decide which format you want to purchase? And, what if you buy vinyl but then decide that you want to listen to something in the car?

I always prefer to buy vinyl and do whenever practical/possible. As for the CD convenience factor - I have a component burner that allows me to burn from vinyl to CD in the analog domain, plus, these days many albums come with a code that allows for a free digital download from the label; a very nice feature.

My vinyl fetish does have its drawbacks though; last week I went to see British Sea Power and bought the new album on vinyl while at the show - I only had an mp3 copy up until then. Well its noisy enough and warped enough to be nearly unplayable - and I have no way to replace it with a hopefully better quality edition. So it can definitely be frustrating at times, but for me at least - worth it in the end.