The Pro-Ject Pergola - Questions, Answers, Advice & Chat

A little help here...my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Esprit SB all of a sudden started spinning WAY slow (hopefully the videos will help) I took the platter off to look at the belt and it seems pretty loose, could it be something as simple as needing a new belt? Fingers crossed it's not something major.





I've had the table 4.5 years but don't listen to it daily.
 
tvham said:
A little help here...my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Esprit SB all of a sudden started spinning WAY slow (hopefully the videos will help) I took the platter off to look at the belt and it seems pretty loose, could it be something as simple as needing a new belt? Fingers crossed it's not something major.





I've had the table 4.5 years but don't listen to it daily.
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I’d try a new belt and a drop of lubricant on the bearings. I’ve been looking at their proprietary lubes but I think you can just use white lithium grease from the auto parts store.
 
I’d agree with kris and try some lubricant. Changing the band isn’t a bad idea though and it’s really a yearly job (along with a couple of drops of lube in the bearing and the stylus swap) if you are racking up approx 1000 hours a year. The good news is I got the project replacement band and lube for very little money, it was max €20 for both.
 
Kris said:
I’d try a new belt and a drop of lubricant on the bearings. I’ve been looking at their proprietary lubes but I think you can just use white lithium grease from the auto parts store.
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Joe Mac said:
I’d agree with kris and try some lubricant. Changing the band isn’t a bad idea though and it’s really a yearly job (along with a couple of drops of lube in the bearing and the stylus swap) if you are racking up approx 1000 hours a year. The good news is I got the project replacement band and lube for very little money, it was max €20 for both.
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Thanks, I have a new belt and oil on the way. Silly question but where to I put the oil - in the spindle hole?
 
tvham said:
Thanks, I have a new belt and oil on the way. Silly question but where to I put the oil - in the spindle hole?
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Yeah lift out the sub platter that had the spindle attached to it and just put 2 or 3 drops in there. Put another drop or two on the bottom half of the spindle itself and rub it over it to grease it up too.
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah lift out the sub platter that had the spindle attached to it and just put 2 or 3 drops in there. Put another drop or two on the bottom half of the spindle itself and rub it over it to grease it up too.
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perfect, thanks!
 
So I swapped out the belt for a new one and it didn't fix the problem. Any other ideas? When I push the switch from 33 to 45 it speeds up but the belt doesn't change position on the pulley. Does that indicate an issue with the speedbox? Or the motor??
 
tvham said:
So I swapped out the belt for a new one and it didn't fix the problem. Any other ideas? When I push the switch from 33 to 45 it speeds up but the belt doesn't change position on the pulley. Does that indicate an issue with the speedbox? Or the motor??
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no the belt shouldn’t change position. The whole point of the speed box is that it stays in the same place the motor just alters the amount of current it is supplying to speed up or slow down the motor. With the non speesbox one it only supplies one amount of current so you have to change the position to change the speed.

it sounds like it could be an issue with the motor. Do you have a hifi repair shop nearby who could have a look at it for you?
 
Joe Mac said:
no the belt shouldn’t change position. The whole point of the speed box is that it stays in the same place the motor just alters the amount of current it is supplying to speed up or slow down the motor. With the non speesbox one it only supplies one amount of current so you have to change the position to change the speed.

it sounds like it could be an issue with the motor. Do you have a hifi repair shop nearby who could have a look at it for you?
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Ah, that makes sense. Yeah, I'm researching some shops in SF to take it to. I think I'm past the point of fixing it on my own!
 
Ito said:
Did you solve this?
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I couldn’t find anyone locally to fix it, and since it was over 2 years old it wasn’t covered under warranty so I’d have to ship it to the distributor on my dime to see if they could fix it.
The thought of being without a TT for weeks/months combined with the fact that it might cost me the price of the table for shipping plus repairs lead me to buy a Fluance RT85 in the interim.
 
tvham said:
I couldn’t find anyone locally to fix it, and since it was over 2 years old it wasn’t covered under warranty so I’d have to ship it to the distributor on my dime to see if they could fix it.
The thought of being without a TT for weeks/months combined with the fact that it might cost me the price of the table for shipping plus repairs lead me to buy a Fluance RT85 in the interim.
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Did you happen to check to see if the pulley on top of the motor is on tight? There’s a set screw on the side, down low.
 
tvham said:
I couldn’t find anyone locally to fix it, and since it was over 2 years old it wasn’t covered under warranty so I’d have to ship it to the distributor on my dime to see if they could fix it.
The thought of being without a TT for weeks/months combined with the fact that it might cost me the price of the table for shipping plus repairs lead me to buy a Fluance RT85 in the interim.
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Sorry I'm way late to this conversation.

Belts should be replaced annually. A mildly bad belt will show itself by something sounding odd, but you won't necessarily understand what it is. It's speed variations due to the belt going bad.

A totally shot belt will be gummy or sticky. It also won't return to its normal size when stretched.

Your issue is either the motor or the speed control electronics.

How do you like the Fluance?
 
HiFi Guy said:
You shouldn't have to oil the motor at all. Platter bearing yes- motor no. What's up?
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HA!! Yes, I meant the platter bearing! *MAJOR FACEPALM*
Noticed it's not as well lubricated anymore and crackles during startup and on the 45 setting
 
Memo said:
HA!! Yes, I meant the platter bearing! *MAJOR FACEPALM*
Noticed it's not as well lubricated anymore and crackles during startup and on the 45 setting
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Just google pro-ject lube-it bearing oil. I’ve bought it a few time’s to do my bearing.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Sorry I'm way late to this conversation.

Belts should be replaced annually. A mildly bad belt will show itself by something sounding odd, but you won't necessarily understand what it is. It's speed variations due to the belt going bad.

A totally shot belt will be gummy or sticky. It also won't return to its normal size when stretched.

Your issue is either the motor or the speed control electronics.

How do you like the Fluance?
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yeah, assuming it's the speed box controller. I have an open ticket to send it back for repair but not sure if I want to sink more money into it now that I have the Fluance.

Speaking of, I really like the Fluance! A couple definite upgrades off the top of my head - nicer dust cover that stays up, turntable function where the platter doesn't start spinning until the tone arm is over the record, auto shut off once the needle hits the end of the dead wax (comes in handy when I'm cooking and can't get to the record in time) Plus it sounds great.
 
Hello - Pro-Ject Debut Carbon here. Acrylic platter and Ortofon 2M Blue cart upgrades. I've had the turntable for about five years now and it's been running like a champ. Only issue is that little screw that holds the cue lever fell out, so the lever falls all the way down now. Haven't bothered to mess with it since it doesn't seem to affect anything.

Nothing else fancy about my system - Pioneer "Elite" A-20 amp, and Pioneer SP-FS52 speakers. Very much a "mid-fi" hi-fi setup.
 
Joe Mac said:
Whatever you do don’t get another red. The blue is a huge step up from it and the stylus swap is so easy.

I think the Grado is better, but it’s not night and day, I think they’re similar levels of quality I just prefer the warmer Grado sound it seems!

Here is a video I found really helpful if you do decide to swap cartridges



But get some plastic tweezers for the reason I said earlier and only grab the actual gold coloured pin to pull it off, don’t grab the black bit or the wire, they’re really fragile!
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@joemac So I just ripped the green wire... How badly did I just fuck up?
 
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