Due to manufacturing tolerance, it might have little play between main brass gear and pinion gear when spinning the handle.
When you are open it, it will be easy to check. Applying some Shimano DG04 grease could temporarily resolved the problem for a while.
Then the feeling might come back...
LowRange wrote:It was smooth and silent with the drag locked down. After playing with it the handle began to spin more freely, a vibration devloped and i began to hear the gearing. The grease must have thinned out bit is all. My SS SV did the same thing. A bit disappointing but expected given the price point. Still nicer than a Ballistic.