2. analog
  3. 1124430620

battling the pops and clicks

I recently put together an vinyl rig (Nottingham Horizon w/Dynavector 10x5 and Whest phono stage) I am really liking the sound, and I see what all the talk is about for sure. This setup really gives my Ayre D1xe digital setup a run for the money, and if it weren't for the pops and clicks I think I would certainly prefer the sound overall. This is saying a lot considering the price gap between my digital and analog setup.

I have the VPI 16.5 and disc doctor brushes and cleaning fluids and have spent some time and effort to fully clean my records in an effort to eliminate all noise. I bought quite a few new 180 gram records so I would have a good idea of what sound vinyl has to offer. I also have plenty of dusty old records from years back, which is the real reason I wanted a turntable to begin with. As much as I work at cleaning the records, it seems no amount of work will eliminate the pops and clicks. The more I focus on trying to get rid of them the more it bugs me. It seems to happen just as much with the new records as the old ones.

What I'm wondering is, do I need a better table and cartridge if I expect to listen to records with total silence? Or what am I doing wrong with my current setup? I've followed the cleaning instructions very closely and even taken it a step further by adding additional rinsing cycles with distilled water. I've used stylus cleaner and of course always used the carbon fibre dry brush before playing, and clean sleeves too.

The cleaning has reduced the noise, pops and clicks greatly, but in my opinion, more is still there than I would consider acceptable. Is this something that you just learn to tune out from or is there a way to fix it completely?

thanks, -Ryan
ejlif

Showing 4 responses by eldartford

eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Lugnut...Pop and Click eliminators are no longer marketed for the simple reason that those who are annoyed by surface noise, have switched to digital media. Also, they don't work all that well, except for really bad discs, and I quit using mine long ago.

However, several brands of computer software are marketed to "clean up" vinyl-derived programs before transfer to CD.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Surface noise if a fact of life with vinyl, although you can minimize it by various expensive and labor-intensive methods. At some point you must learn to "listen through" the surface noise. Some people have no problem doing this, while others can't. Digital media was invented for these folk. (I admit to being one). I still have LP play capability, but mostly for the sake of nostalgia.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Larkyparka...Without getting into the arguement about whether vinyl surface noise exists, I must correct your statement that before CDs came along no one was bothered by surface noise. Most preamps had "scrach" filters, and many outboard electronic devices, dynamic filters (some like the Carver Autocorrelator were very sophisticated), and pop and click eliminators were marketed. So someone must have been bothered. DBX-processed LPs were the only approach that was really effective. I lived through this period, and tried most everything.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Lugnut...Perhaps you didn't notice or have forgotten that about a year ago, encouraged by postings by you and some others, I made a very deliberate reevaluation of today's vinyl playback equipment. I did this by visiting the high end emporium that I have dealt with for several decades, and challenging them to demonstrate what could be done. I don't recall exactly what hardware was used, but I do recall that the MC preamp was a $20,000 item. Hard to forget that!

As a result of this reevaluation, which also included some experimentation and measurements on my own system I concluded that vinyl could be somewhat better than I had thought. In particular, I was surprised to find that my own lowly Shure V15MR pickup, and certain of my LPs, did have signal higher than 20 KHz. I could see that on my spectrum analyser, but unfortunately my ears don't have comparable frequency response.

In the end, although I concede that a $50,000 vinyl front end is better than a $2,000 one, and that a $50 LP is better than the ones that I own, the difference, at least to my ears is not that great. Also, and perhaps I am overly sensitive to it, surface noise remains a problem. For me, the improvement is not worth the cost. I think we both have the same facts to work with, but have reached different conclusions. You are entitled to yours, and I to mine. Perhaps our priorities and financial situations are different. (I would rather buy an airplane).
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