Some noise issues with my new VPI Prime


Hi everyone,

Was fortunate enough to purchase a dealer demo VPI Prime.  Have been enjoying it for the last week or so - it's a wonderful sounding table.  However, I am having a couple of noise issues with it.  It's still under warranty, but I was hoping to find a home cure if possible.   There are two issues:

1)  Motor noise.  This is from the mechanical operation of the motor - it doesn't change with volume of the system, but it's audible during quiet passages.  The motor makes a slight buzzing/rubbing noise with each rotation.  I am guessing that some lubrication is all that is needed.  I've tried setting the motor on a rubber pad, but that doesn't make any difference. 

2)  Buzzing from the tonearm wire.  I get a buzzing that increases with the volume. By 50% on the volume dial it is quite pronounced (you can hear it from the next room).  It is coming from the wire that runs from the tonearm to the Lemo connector on the junction box.  If I touch the wire, the buzzing changes as I move the wire around.  If I raise the tonearm very slightly off the unipivot spike, the noise becomes extremely loud.   I tried to wrap some tinfoil around it, but that didn't make any difference.  Could this be a defect?  

Any thoughts on some simple fixes that might address these issues?

Thanks,
Scott
smrex13
If the grounding solution doesn't fix the problem, lower the gain from 60db to 45db (if you haven't already done so). Also, have you made any other changes to your system like speakers, cables, etc...? Its hard to troubleshoot without knowing the entire system.
Fairly recently I had buzz that I thought coming from amp. When I brought it to my lab, there was no buzz when connected and hooked up. I literally checked all of my main system components, but it turned out the light bulb that was buzzing very loud. It's one of those crappy energy efficient coiled one. Definitely they're not 'audio grade' ones. Replaced by 60cent regular light bulb and problem was fixed.
I had the same problem with my Prime. After a conversation with a Tech at my local VPI Dealer I discovered the 3D Arm was not grounded, the needle or pin that the arm balances on is painted. So I took some very fine sandpaper and sanded the tip of the spike the arm balances on, and low and behold my hum problem went away. I was a little miffed that I had to sand that point myself, but it only took a little time and I learned a lot about getting loop ground noise out of a system. I really think this Prime is going to be the last TT I buy, dead quite, and that 3D arm really lets the cartridge do it's thing. 
As I think back I remember touching the wires, that come out of the wand, with my finger and thumb and the hum would get louder and softer as I changed pressure, after getting the tip of the spike clean that issue also went away. This is not a  problem with the 3D arm, I had people telling me my connects were bad, or my preamp was to blame, some people even told me certain cartridges were not compatible with the arm. 99 time out of a hundred a hum in a system is related to a bad ground.