Turntable motor noise

[lauda]

I recently bought a Rega System One, which includes their Planar 1 deck. I'm generally very happy with it, but I've noticed a reasonable amount of noise coming from the motor. It's loud enough that I can hear it between tracks and during quieter pieces of music, even when I'm sat across the other side of the room, probably about five metres away from it.

I've taken the platter off and removed the belt to check the noise isn't in some other part of the assembly and it's definitely just the motor. It makes a soft sort of chugging noise. I contacted the dealer I'd bought it from and they've said some motor noise is normal and that it would likely reduce as the motor beds in. But it hasn't.

I don't know very much about turntables and haven't had one since I used my dad's back in the 80s. I'm interested to know from those with a bit more knowledge and experience whether this is normal or if mine might have a problem? Unfortunately I'm not local to the dealer I bought it from so can't just pop back in with it.

Thanks for any help.

[S600BSB]

lauda said:

I recently bought a Rega System One, which includes their Planar 1 deck. I'm generally very happy with it, but I've noticed a reasonable amount of noise coming from the motor. It's loud enough that I can hear it between tracks and during quieter pieces of music, even when I'm sat across the other side of the room, probably about five metres away from it.

I've taken the platter off and removed the belt to check the noise isn't in some other part of the assembly and it's definitely just the motor. It makes a soft sort of chugging noise. I contacted the dealer I'd bought it from and they've said some motor noise is normal and that it would likely reduce as the motor beds in. But it hasn't.

I don't know very much about turntables and haven't had one since I used my dad's back in the 80s. I'm interested to know from those with a bit more knowledge and experience whether this is normal or if mine might have a problem? Unfortunately I'm not local to the dealer I bought it from so can't just pop back in with it.

Thanks for any help.

I don’t think that’s normal. I have a Planar 1 at my house in France and a couple of my children have them too. They are pretty much silent in operation.

[mac96]

That is not right, you should not be able to hear the motor over the music. I have a Rega tt from around 1979, and it has always been silent. Surely a new one should be at least as good.

[lauda]

Thanks for the replies. To be honest, it was my expectation that the motor would be more or less silent, so I was a bit surprised to be told by the dealer that it was normal.

I’ll be going back to them in slightly stronger terms now.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Definitely not right. I have a £250 direct drive turntable and it's virtually silent. I thought belt drive were even better at reducing motor noise.

[Deranged Rover]

Motor noise on a turntable is never normal.

Christ, even BSR’s cheapest and nastiest autochangers had silent motors back in the 1960s!

[WyrleyD]

I have a 1990's vintage Rega Planar 3 that sat unused for many years because I could never get it to run at the correct speed even after upgrading/changing the belt. Last year I finally decided to do something about it so took it to Deco Audio in Aylesbury, had an upgraded (24v) motor installed and new top end cartridge and belt and it now runs perfectly and is completely silent, you should never be able to hear the motor, even my old 12v one although not running correctly was silent.

[jfis89]

lauda said:

I recently bought a Rega System One, which includes their Planar 1 deck. I'm generally very happy with it, but I've noticed a reasonable amount of noise coming from the motor. It's loud enough that I can hear it between tracks and during quieter pieces of music, even when I'm sat across the other side of the room, probably about five metres away from it.

I've taken the platter off and removed the belt to check the noise isn't in some other part of the assembly and it's definitely just the motor. It makes a soft sort of chugging noise. I contacted the dealer I'd bought it from and they've said some motor noise is normal and that it would likely reduce as the motor beds in. But it hasn't.

I don't know very much about turntables and haven't had one since I used my dad's back in the 80s. I'm interested to know from those with a bit more knowledge and experience whether this is normal or if mine might have a problem? Unfortunately I'm not local to the dealer I bought it from so can't just pop back in with it.

Thanks for any help.

Is it definitely the motor - what exactly does the noise sound like? If it’s a low hum it could be something else

[dundarach]

My project turntable get noisy when it get too hot, which I've since sorted.

Is it noisy from the off?

Where is it sat?

[lauda]

Quick update on this. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with the dealer (I bought online, which doesn't make things like this easier to resolve) they've agreed to open up a new deck their end and check it to make sure they're happy it's performing as expected, and then send to me to replace my existing one.

I'm really hoping that there's a noticeable difference with the replacement one. The noise is like a soft 'chugging' and it's doing it all the time, not just when the motor gets hot. I'm no expert, but it definitely doesn't sound right to me.

[Glosphil]

I have a Technics belt-driven turntable that is, at least, 35 years old & had been fitted with 2 replacement belts (they stretch & fall off the drive spindle). It is absolutely silent. In a quiet room, with no music playing, it can't be heard from a metre away. Surely all decent turntables should be like this.

[mac96]

lauda said:

Quick update on this. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with the dealer (I bought online, which doesn't make things like this easier to resolve) they've agreed to open up a new deck their end and check it to make sure they're happy it's performing as expected, and then send to me to replace my existing one.

I'm really hoping that there's a noticeable difference with the replacement one. The noise is like a soft 'chugging' and it's doing it all the time, not just when the motor gets hot. I'm no expert, but it definitely doesn't sound right to me.

Sounds like a good result, fingers crossed that the next one is silent!

[lauda]

Replacement unit received this morning and I'm happy to say that it's totally silent! Night and day different to the original one.

Slightly annoying that I had to make a bit of a nuisance of myself with the dealer to get it sorted but I'm glad I did and very happy with the end result.

Thanks for the helpful input and convincing me that I wasn't being unreasonable.

[WyrleyD]

Happy listening!!