Hello -

I recently purchased my first turntable and have been quickly buying up all sorts of records. Unfortunately, the sound is pretty spotty...hoping someone can give me some advice.

First, some background:

-The turntable is a Pro-jects Debut III, which according to all the reviews is a very good starter turntable.

-I set up the counterweight (17.5mN) and anti-skate weight per the instructions and have it on a very level, stable surface.

-The turntable is playing through a pretty crappy speaker...its just a iPod tower that Sharper Image made....no amplifier or anything.

-Most of the records I have been playing are used and not in the best shape.

The problem is that the sound tends to oscillate between quiet and loud at the record turns and the crackling is pretty overwhelming.

Any idea if this signifies a problem with my turntable...maybe set up wrong....

Or is the turntable too good...maybe it just accentuates any warping/dustiness of the used records?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thanks!