Turntable issue

Hoping that I can pull from the collective knowledge here… I bought a ProJect RPM 9.1x and the platter seems to drag on the bottom almost like it’s bottoming out. Where do I start troubleshooting this?

Not a ProJect owner, but if the platter can be lifted off the bearing that’s where I’d start. Hard to troubleshoot unless you can see what’s going on underneath the platter.

If it was shipped I’d look for any packing material that may have been used to protect the platter being under it

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Good suggestion! And raised another possibility. Anyone know whether ProJect ships with the platter locked down? My SOTA shipped with platter locking screws that have to be backed off before use. It’s a measure intended to protect the platter and bearing from shipping shock.

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I think I’ve figured it out. ProJect does have a magnetic lift under the platter to create a space without putting full load on the bearing. This seems to be demagnetized

I dropped it off at my local store yesterday and they will take it apart and look at it during the week. At first glance, they think that the bearing spindle might’ve been pushed in, which of course would account for the lack of clearance under the platter and hence the drag.

As soon as I hear back (probably towards the end of the week) from the technician, I’ll post a follow up.

Mystery solved! By removing the bearing spindle assembly, you can access two set screws which allows you to adjust the spindle height. One of the set screws was missing, so more than likely, the vibrations during shipping lowered the spindle, causing the drag. Replacing the set screw and raising the spindle solved the problem

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Sorry to bump an older thread, but . . .

@audiojan - Did you buy this new?

No, it was used, but it worked before shipping (got a video from the seller before being boxed up).

Whew - that would not have been indicative of good QC from Project if it were new!

Glad you got it sorted out. What do you listen to?

Pretty much everything except rap and country.