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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

Showing 3 responses by tehchuckelator

tehchuckelator OP
7 posts
 
@tablejockey No, however, I did have a spare IEC cord lying around (who doesn’t) that I had removed the ground prong from previously, tried that and same result, which I assume a ground lift adapter would achieve the same thing.  Tried that on my phono pre (where I'm grounding my turntable, as the turntable uses a switching adapter for power.
tehchuckelator OP
7 posts
 
@sfall, my other gear includes a Vincent PHO-700 phono pre, Jolida JD301-BRC integrated amp in my signal chain.  Other than that, I have an Audioengine DAC/Bluetooth receiver.  Speakers are Infinity (can't remember the model off the top of my head) and my interconnects I'm using are Audioquest Tower all the way through.  
tehchuckelator OP
7 posts
 
So I tried a few more things. Switched carts, same result.  Re soldered the ground, no change.   So...I give up.   I ended up taking the Ortofon 2m Blue from the Project,  mounted it on my old JVC table  (not great, but at least it doesn't have a ground hum) and honestly,  really isn't that bad sounding,  and will suffice until I figure out what I want to do next. 
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