Questions re Pioneer PLX-1000 set-up

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Nubben, Feb 3, 2016.

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  1. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    I bought this Chinese electronic gauge. I set VTF to 1.7g according to the counterbalance. Then I tried the gauge and it said 1.71g.

    So, answering my own question, yes, the marks are very accurate! If you are confident that you didn't mess with the counterweight while setting VTF, you can trust the table: if it's says it's 1.7g, then it's 1.7g

    Another point for the PLX-1000. Everything suggests its arm, despite the "loose bearings controversy" (easily adjustable anyway), allows for a very precise setup.
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2018
    HiFi Guy likes this.
  2. rtrt

    rtrt Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Yes agree that the weight markings on mine also are very accurate.

    As above verified via a digital stylus gauge & again as above - the digital gauge itself was verified using the coin method.
     
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  3. cmcintyre

    cmcintyre Forum Resident

    I've just connected a PLX 1000 purchased ten days ago.
    So far :
    - A new platter - the original was warped and the dealer ended up giving me the demo one as several other new ones were also warped, though not as much as my original.
    - Selected an Audio Technica VM540ML / H cartridge a couple of days ago which, as the body is regularly shaped, quite easy to align.
    - Left the loose tonearm bearings as they are - want to get the right tool to adjust the outer lock ring first, but
    - discovered there's an audible thump and hum when the machine is turned on ( platter going or not makes no difference). Remove the headshell and there's no hum.

    I'm not the first to discover the hum - on the Pioneer DJ support site I found and contributed to a forum post, where, ultimately Pioneer DJ suggest that it's only a DJ deck, and not to expect higher quality. See : Pioneer PLX-1000 Wow and Flutter

    It may have to go back permanently if there's no fix.
     
  4. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    This is disappointing. I've only heard of this hum problem with that guy (he reported the problem here too) so I ended up thinking it was a mismatch with his system. If you look in the back of the turntable you can see the manufacturing date. Is yours old (from 2016 or older)?
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2018
  5. Mrtn77

    Mrtn77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris
    That's not at all what they're saying.
    Read these two quotes from the Pioneer rep and notice the difference :

    "To be perfectly honest, I don't know enough about the manufacturing or quality control tolerances being used on this product - I know it's not targeted as an audiophile turntable, as the main market for it is DJs who are going to beat them up transporting them back and forth to events, having them installed in clubs, or even scratching the heck out of records on them."

    "Re: the turn-on spike, I can't claim that this unit is supposed to be spike-free, as previously mentioned, it's not an audiophile turntable and wouldn't necessarily take those preventative measures into account as typically the turntable would already be turned-on, or the DJ mixer would have the channel levels down if the power is being switched on/off."

    Nowhere does the rep say they've compromised their table's quality because they targeted professional DJ use.
     
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  6. cmcintyre

    cmcintyre Forum Resident

    My turntable is an October 2017 manufacture, purchased new from a Pioneer DJ dealer.


    I chose the turntable after deciding it would meet my needs, not as a compromise ("can't afford some other turntable"), and was just relaying my experience so far. Pioneer DJ have responded to my post - hopefully it gets sorted, and I'll follow up here.

    I stand by my words as a reasonable interpretation of the sequence of posts on that forum so far. Explanation of problem, follow up with PDJ engineer investigation to occur, no word from investigation, final comment (so far),

    "Pioneer DJ's target market is the DJ segment, so any of our products appealing to audiophiles is completely by accident or happy coincidence, not by design. Our focus will continue to be in the performance arena" (by performance arena I assume DJs performing.) In other words there may be aspects (e.g. the previously mentioned hum) that are acceptable in a DJ environment, but may not be in some hi-fi environments.

    I'm wanting the problems to resolved if they can be. All I'm after at the moment is clarity on that point so a good decision forward can be made.
     
  7. Mrtn77

    Mrtn77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris
    While I do sympathize with you (and wouldn't have your patience regarding the issues you've faced) I think you're misrepresenting the answers you've been given (and a DJ's use of his turntable). The rep is not saying humming is to be expected : it would definitely not be acceptable in a DJ environment. A thump on start-up, however, could, as he points out.
    I'll add that I've had no issue with my PLX. I don't think I'd have given it a second chance if I had, but to each his own.
     
  8. cmcintyre

    cmcintyre Forum Resident

    Possibly, though the hum is very low level, not obviously intrusive. On my other two turntables there's no hum. The power switch on sound doesn't bother me so much - as a habit I turn everything on with the volume down anyway.

    Without spending at least three - four times the price, I couldn't find another alternative that provides:

    dead-accurate speed, pitch control, easy VTA adjustment and that respected audiophile reviews commented so positively on.
     
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  9. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    That's it. Worth the try. I had only the infamous loose bearings that I fixed myself in less than one minute. Three months with the table and no more issues so far. It's been really great.
     
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  10. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    While I no longer have a PLX-1000, I can say that mine was flawless other than loose arm bearings, where I also posted the fix. No thumps, no humming, and I tried both MM and MC cartridges.
     
  11. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Didn't have the loose arm bearings but have experienced some hum with MC cartridges but not MM. This machine is not ever going to be dead silent in operation as a high end belt drive or new Technics DD models.
     
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  12. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    I never tried MC.

    The very fist thing I noticed when I swapped my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon for my PLX-1000 was the absence of hum. The Debut had an electric hum, not audible in low to normal volumes, that bothered me. PLX is very silent in comparison. I don't hear any hum.
     
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  13. Drewan77

    Drewan77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK/USA
    I heard one of these in a UK system - no hum, even with volume high.

    Same with an older Rega & a ProJect but when I shipped both these off to my Daughters' home in the USA (both with corrected voltage & appropriate pulleys), each developed a hum. Maybe its something to do with 50hz vs 60hz?
     
  14. findog3103

    findog3103 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    I also had the plx-1000 and I had the same experience.
     
  15. Slimwhit33

    Slimwhit33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    N America
    Unfortunate.. Mine was purchased a few weeks ago (manufacture date of January 2018) and had zero issues. No loose bearings, no hum, no wow and flutter... nothing. Sorry about your issues.
     
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  16. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    Today I took a little bubble level and checked azimuth (2M Black in Jelco HS25). According to the bubble, the headshell was slightly twisted so the right side (looking from the front of the turntable) was a bit down.

    I rotated it until bubble got leveled.

    I'm definitely hearing more detail now, from both channels but specially from the right channel. Also, it seems that the soundstage is now more centered, before that the left channel was a bit louder. Left was also a bit more aggressive and now it's as smooth as the right.

    Sound had obviously improved.

    Yes, this cartridge is sensitive to set up. I'm glad I have a turntable that allows me to use an azimuth adjustable headshell to fine set it by slowly rotating it instead of having to use spacers. I thought I had set it up easily in the first time but I was wrong, I'm still adjusting it.

    As long as I know, the inner grooves correspond to the left channel and the outer grooves to the right. If the headshell was twisted to the left, than the diamond was pointing to the outer grooves, so to the right channel, the one I felt was weaker. I centered it and now that it's not pointing to the outer grooves (right channel), the right channel improved in detail and the left is less prominent. I believe that if the diamond was pointing to the right, the stylus was not correctly touching the outer grooves and this is why now right channel is better. The stylus should also be "resting" in the inner grooves and this is why it was more prominent.

    Does it make any sense?

    The aggressiveness of the left channel and the lack of detail in the right is something I hadn't noticed with the previous elliptical stylii I was using, but I did notice that the soundstage was more to the left. Does this suggest that with both the stock headshell and the Ortofon SH-4 I had azimuth wrong? Since the table is leveled, maybe the arm or the headshell grab is a bit twisted?
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2018
  17. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Azimuth was off on mine as well, and I've heard enough people comment on the issue that I'm starting to think they are all off. That's why I like the Jelco headshell. With the Jelco, it's easily corrected.

    I believe your azimuth is off with any other headshell.
     
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  18. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    The azimuth is slightly off unless you twist the connection a bit before tightening. Enough play to get the bubble level central with stock headshell or Ortofon (but finer adjustment might be beneficial for micro line profiles).
     
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  19. Slimwhit33

    Slimwhit33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    N America
    Mine was off as well.. but easily corrected...
     
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  20. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Mine was off farther than that.
     
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  21. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    I also couldn't achieve centralized soundstage only by switching the connection while tightening the headshell. It's interesting to notice that some people use this "game" also in the higher end SL1200G, there are reports in the Technics thread here in SHF.
     
  22. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Never heard of this. Could you provide a link
     
  23. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Should have exchanged it if that bad. Does sound like QC is not as good as it should be. I know a headshell with Azimuth adjustment will get round the problem but that is rather limiting and an extra expense. If not happy people should just return items and not let the manufacturers and dealers get away with foisting shoddy product on customers. I think hi-fi buyers appear to be more gullible than the average consumer in this respect judging from some of the sagas on this forum. If it isn't 100% when you buy it it is never going to satisfy you and you should enforce your consumer rights.
     
  24. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
  25. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Thanks, I thought it was some sort of "trick" but really it seems someone got a headshell with their Technics that had reversed wiring. for the record I have no problem with the Azimuth on my PLX-1000. For my Zupreme headshells, I set mine using a test record and soundfield software (izoTope Insight). Even if a cartridge/headshell seems level with a bubble level (not of all such levels are accurate anyway), it really depends on how well the stylus is mounted to the cantilever. If QC is good, the stylus should be mounted vertically but not all are.
     
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