Pioneer PLX-1000 Wow and Flutter

Dear DJ,

May I say that I got my first HiFi sales job in about 1973.  I was in the biz full time until my wife and I chose to leap oof of the clif and finally become full time musicians in 2008 (July 2008 right before the economic fi hit the shan). I still fill in 15 -20 days a year for Halsten Entertainment in Golden Valley MN, where we still sell Pioneer products.  I personally have sold thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Pioneer Product in those years.  From Pioneer Belt Drive PL-12Ds to perhaps the best Plasma's ever, the Kuros.  My first turner in the 1970s was a Pioneer.  I have a heart & respect for Pioneer and a history of relying on your product for both my customers, myself, and may family and friends.  This is in part whay I really wanted the PLX-1000 to work for me.

@Mark > Thanks for the post about your experience with Pioneer & Pioneer DJ products, it's always great to hear when people have a life-long connection with a brand. I hope we're able to get to the bottom of the issue at hand here, even if you decide to move on to another product.

Dear Pulse,

Now that Technics is back in the High End turntable ball game, perhaps Pioneer should cash in it's recent audiophile cachet and seriously consider a PLX-1000-AP (as in AudioPhile version).  More weight, better shielding, lower wow & flutter & signal to noise, upgraded silicone dampened tonearm with higher grade headshell and wiring, every unit quality control.  I'd be happy to permanently audition prototypes or final products free of charge.  Mark

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 while Pioneer Electronics covers the home / end-user audio device appeal, but thanks for your offer. ;)

I've just plugged in my PLX 1000 purchased just on ten days ago.  Decided on it after hi fi reviews and talking to the local distributor here in Australia explaining  that it was for home hi-fi use, not DJ purposes.

A few concerns, including the hum as described above.   Turn the PLX on and both the spike and hum are heard.   Remove the headshell (an Audio Technica with VM540ML/H) and the hum disappears.

Also the platter was replaced because the first one was warped.  Several new machines had to be opened to try and find a flat platter.   Eventually the demo platter was chosen - it was the flattest.

The tonearm bearings are loose - though that's an easy fix if the hum can be solved first.

Pioneer DJ - what's the current standing with the hum? - if there's a fix, then I'm happy, if not, I'm inclined to return it and choose something else.  (Though the PLX 1000 ticked all my boxes).

My machine was manufactured in October 2017.

@Picture This > Does the hum return when you use a different headshell? It could simply be the wiring of that headshell causing the problems.

Hi Pioneer DJ,

Thanks for responding.

I've only two headshells that have a bayonet mount - the other one is the Pioneer , which is still in the sealed bag.  My other two turntables don't use a bayonet headshell - one is fixed, the other is a different style.   I bought the AT headshell with fitted cartridge at the same time I replaced the platter.

Later in the week I'll move the turntable into another set up ( main listening area) and see how it goes there.  I'll post again when that occurs.

Last July, on this thread topic, you mentioned that the engineers would be looking into the hum issue - have you heard back, and if so, what are their thoughts?

I should mention the hum's fairly low level, it would be easy to miss I think.

I've reached out for a follow-up, but here's a comment that had been noted previously:

There is a frame transformer on the main control board that puts out a magnetic field that interacts with MCs [moving coils]. No problem if you use a MM [moving magnet] cartridge. This is a problem with all but the best DD [direct drive] turntables.

I'll look forward to the follow up.  

Re MC cartridges - I  read something about them being problematic with direct drives, so the chose the MM VM540ML to ensure that's not a problem.

The output on the VM540 is 4.0 mV, which is in the standard range for hi-fi cartridges.