battling the pops and clicks

If you're getting pops and clicks on your new vinyl as well, I think it might be static, not dirt. Do you live in a dry environment or have air conditioning? An inexpensive carbon fiber record brush like the Audioquest, Recotron, or Decca (they all look the same) is available from Music Direct, AA, Acoustic Sounds, etc.

They're very effective, but here's a little tip to improve their performance: with the record spinning on the TT, lick the tip of both index fingers. Touch one finger to the preamp cabinet or some other ground potential (like a metal TT shelf bolted into a masonry wall!) and the other touching the metal handle of the brush as you swipe the record. This will provide enough ground "drain" to get rid of the static. If you don't feel comfortable licking your fingers before each record (curious guests want to know!) then actually ground the brush to the ground lug on the back of the phono preamp or preamp, with a length of flexible wire or keychain.

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And don't forget, both old and new records (especially old) which have popitis (not the ones that don't) can benefit from an application of Last Record Preservative. You'll have to play the record a couple of times to get rid of the excess Last (no amount of buffing will get it all out, and remember to clean your stylus) but after that you should notice a significant improvement.

I still think it's static though.

I know it's true, but I've never heard anyone explain WHY some cartridges seem to transmit (or reproduce?) "pops and clicks" while other don't. Or could it be static discharge from the record surface that some cartridges add to the signal while other don't?

I know my Transfiguration W is way less poppy-clicky than my vdH Frog, yet more revealing, signalwise. And we've all read similar attributions about their cartridges from the ZYX evangelists.

So what's the deal? Anybody really know?

I have sat and listened through so many LP sides in my time with nary a pop or a click, and this goes way back to when my hearing was better than my equipment :~) So I just cannot accept the "we just have to live with it" suggestion; I'll admit there are records, even new pressings, that make noises that nothing will remove. The flip side (n.p.i.) is that I have managed to clean and condition some rather dirty and un-promising looking vinyl back to a state of silence! And I think we've all seen LPs with surface or other scratches, that can't be heard (whew!) when they're played.

Except in the case of wear due to (usually a combination of) bad stylus and/or excessive VTF, or simply played-to-death, I've concluded that the majority of the time, the pops and clicks are due to static. And if you want to prove this to yourself, listen for a bad one and then make a quick mental note of where (in the music) it occurs, then repeat. If it happens again exactly as before, it's a groove artifact. If not, it's static.

Having come to this conclusion (some will say "assumption") I'm again looking at the matter of why certain cartridges allow/transmit/pick up/produce(?) static discharge and introduce it to the music signal, while others don't.

Looking at the ZYX (three top models), Lyra Helikon and Titan, and the Transfiguration Temper, Temper V and W, they all have well-known reputations for quiet groove tracing. So let's examine their similarities/differences. They have, for all practical purposes, similar stylus shape (i.e. microridge with small profile.) The ZYXs have an acrylic body, while the other two have conductive (titanium or aluminum) bodies. The ZYX has a conventional motor design, while the other two have unconventional motor designs. The ZYX has an unconventional coil topology while the other two have conventional coil winding layouts.

I can't find a single common physical characteristic amongst all three that I could point out (maybe) and say, "That's why they're so quiet."

Well. . . . . there is one thing. The diamonds. I've looked at the Lyra (in a photo under a scope) and my own Tranny under high power. They're gorgeous! And I'll bet the same is true of the ZYX (Doug?) These stylii are not the dull rough chip that van den Hul uses, and glues onto the end of the cantilever with (a rather large blob of) epoxy. These are truly gemstones. Fully polished, large, and in the case of the Tranny, inserted right through the cantilever like a dagger (I don't know how the other two attach the stylus.) And I'm beginning to think (no proof yet) that certain cartridges may actually produce static buildup as they play, while others don't?

Anyway, no more of this "you'll just have to get used to it." It's not true.

Doug, you wanna go to Japan and watch them make one? C'mon, it'll be fun!

Neil