Brand New Vinyl Static and Pops

I’m going to second dogberry’s 1st post.  
Lots of stuff to consider here.  
Unfortunately, lots of brand new vinyl has a dismayingly many tick-and-pop.  
Cleaning vinyl is very important.  
I don’t wish to make it all seem so tedious, but another thing to consider is that improperly cleaning a vinyl record will make it sound muffled.  
If a lesser solution is used and/or not allowed enough time to properly suspend the gunk in the grooves and then “applied” manually with some type of cloth, that process just mashes the gunk into the grooves even deeper.  
The best way is a vacuum cleaning machine with good cleaning fluid (I recommend Audio Intelligent solutions). Unfortunately this can be necessary (if not always necessary depending on how diligent one wants to be) with brand new vinyl.  
Apologies if you already knew this and were already cleaning vinyl with good solution and a good vacuum cleaning machine.
Ortofon Blue is a good cartridge. You’re on the right track by reinstalling the Red to see if such problems persist there as well.  
Undertaking the imperative processes of cartridge/tonearm/turntable alignment - VTF (that’s real easy), overhang, azimuth, SRA (aka VTA - one adjusts the height of the tonearm base to optimize the angle at which the stylus contacts the vinyl in the vertical plane) and anti-skate, as well as making sure the turntable platter is perfectly level on 3 different “points of an invisible triangle” on the platter with a bubble level and making sure the turntable rack is as protected from undesirable resonances as possible (a rack mounted to wall studs is ideal) - is, again, imperative when assessing the fidelity of a vinyl setup in every case.  
Also, trying a good standalone phono stage/preamp in lieu of what you referred to as “an old Denon receiver” (assuming you are using the phono input on said receiver) is a good idea.
 
 

Get the Zerostat gun. About 100 bucks. 

Check out the current zerostat discussion. It is like a gun. One depresses then releases a trigger slowly and it dispells static charge. Basically lasts forever. I think it’s good to keep the humidity in your house above 40%.

Since the problem started when you changed the cartridge, I doubt that it’s about a static charge since that has not changed. I think it’s more likely caused by the way the new cartridge was installed. Less likely but still possible is that there’s something wrong with the new cartridge. Another possibility is that you’re listening more carefully to the music since you added a new cartridge. Pops and clicks that were always there now bother you. Also, some cartridges reveal pops and clicks more readily than others. I would definitely reinstall the ortofon red and see what’s what. Good luck!

Am I missing something? It looks like the OP is not actually cleaning records, and is not subsequently cleaning a very dirty stylus. 

It sounds like this is a combination of two things- a cartridge problem and perhaps also setup.

The cartridge could have been dropped and the magnet knocked out of alignment. This can cause all kinds of weird stuff while the cartridge looks fine. Since the muffled quality is in both channels this is a possibility.

I'm not sure how setup would cause the cartridge to sound muffled, but certainly it can cause mistracking, which manifests as ticks and pops in loud passages as the cartridge loses contact.

I have never seen a cartridge that came with a written spec for anti-skate. And I doubt AS has anything to do with the JJ problem of ticks and pops. Of course if he’s applying way too much AS, that’s a problem per se.

Try a cartridge with a microline or Shibata stylus. Superior tracking IMHO.

I would double-check that the stylus connection wires are properly seated and the stylus alignment is correct. The cartridge should have specs indicating what to set the anti-skate to. The blue might require a higher anti-skate setting. If everything checks out correctly and you’re discharging any static electric buildup before playback, I suggest swapping the cartridges to see if the problem goes away. If so, then the cartridge itself could be a bad cartridge.

If your brother just swapped out the cartridges, then I would double check what your turntable's settings are against the specs for the Blue.

Zerostat is not a record cleaner. The trick is to clean an LP before play without charging it up or to disperse the charge after cleaning.Zerostat helps in the latter case.

A Kilavolt No. 103 from Nagaoka.....

...good luck finding one....

Mine still works.....carbon brush may need replacing.....only...*eh* 40ish yrs. old....

If one purchases from Amazon (not a plug - a convenience) returning LP's is easy a exchange or two has enabled an improved album, to my perceptions, to be acquired in the past.

I've also suggested before buy a batch, opening and trying one at a time, when one is discovered  that is most satisfactory, return the unwanted and unused.

@dogberry +1

We do seem to attract some visitors whose answer to any vinyl issue is that we should stream our music. I confess I find this irritating, but there again, that is probably the purpose of their trolling.

audio_is_subjective64 what do your 1st 2 answers have to do with the posters question?

I use the Zerostat gun. Newer version available on Amazon. 

How are you cleaning the records? Something is not right, or you're doing something wrong.

Muffled again after cleaning a record.

New records do not have the same quality control as those we purchased in the 70s,80s, and 90s. As a starting point, I'd clean every new record if you have a cleaner. If not an anti-static brush is a minimum. Lot's of ways to clean stylus. My preferred method to clean my stylus is to use drummers 'Moon Gel' dampening pads. There is a product marketed to turntable owners but is 10x the price for effectively the same goo [I've tried both]

Why are you bothering with vinyl in the first place? Even hipsters have dumped their turntables. If you want 'Cool Retro' gear just get a Reel to Reel and end your aggravation. 

Assuming you've got the weight at 1.8g as Ortofon recommends. 

Otherwise if the red is fine, then it sounds like an internal problem with the blue. Happens sometimes. 

What record cleaner are you using?

Muffled again after cleaning a record.

Does anyone think that cleaning the record introduces debris that collects on the needle?

Also, how do you control static?

It's not severe, but still there from time to time.

Thanks guys.

That is my plan.

Get a new cartridge and have it installed by a knowledgeable person on the subject of setup. 

Find yourself another Cart. 

Still No muffling, but pops and static are still prevalent.

:unsure:

Also, it stopped "flubbing/muffling"

👍

I used a magnifying glass and I didn't see anything like that.

Thanks lew.

The answer to that question is no.

The question was not whether the stylus was intact but whether the body of the cartridge is contacting the surface of the LP. If you can see debris on the tip of the stylus (probably shouldn't call it a needle), then your LP is grossly dirty OR you've got a very dusty environment maybe augmented by static charge. But first, does the body of the cartridge contact the LP at any time in the course of play?

Just checked it and the stylus look to be intact.

Needle seems to be picking up debris from somewhere. When I cleaned the stylus without the cleaning solution the vinyl sounds 95% better.  Still some pops on Sketches in Spain, but other than that much better.  

Not perfect, but much better.

Still want to try the red ortofon.

I'm pretty sure the phono is on the Technics.

Dirt on stylus. Drop gently up and down onto isopropyl alcohol soaked spot on Mr. Muscle Magic Eraser a few times.

Are you using the phono output switch on the Technics or the phono input on the Denon?

I'll check it.

Thanks!

Is the cartridge body touching the LP when you hear "flubbing"?  Which is what I asked earlier. If yes, then yes there may be a problem with your new blue stylus. Its suspension may have collapsed.  This could be because it was defective from new or because you have set VTF much too high or even because of a big error in setting VTA.  But the first thing is to observe whether the cartridge body is intermittently touching the LP surface.

If it is better then the likely culprit is the blue stylus.

Am I correct?

I don't think it's the vinyl.

I think I need to dig up the red stylus and demo it. 

If the results are the same what could be the likely problem?

TIA

Yeah, I cleaned the stylus before each spin. 

No improvement.  Maybe worse. Not sure.

Hey thanks guys!

Flubbing is better described as muffled.  the only change I made to the TT was upgrading the ortofon stylus from red to blue.

Nothing else changed. 

@jjbeason14 I think we need to know what 'flubbing' means in this case.

One thing that can cause ticks and pops is the input of the phono section overloading at ultrasonic frequencies. This is actually pretty common and is caused by the inductance of the cartridge being in parallel with the capacitance of the tonearm cable- the two in parallel set up an electrical resonance.

In this case the resonance is likely barely above the audio band. It can be as much as 20dB so tracking noise can be boosted quite a lot above the audio signal so the phono section can overload.

Your old cartridge had the same inductance though. So this may not be the reason you're experiencing this. Do you make any other changes- different tonearm cable or the like?

Have you cleaned the stylus in-between plays?

DeKay

"Flubbing" does sound like something other than static electricity problem. Look very carefully for things that may be touching each other that normally should not be touching.  Best to get a knowledgeable friend to visit your home and take a look. These sorts of oddball problems are sometimes impossible to solve from afar. Is the cartridge bottoming out against the surface of the LP?  In that case, yes, you need either a new cartridge or a new stylus assembly if your cartridge has replaceable stylus.  But check your VTF else you will ruin even a new cartridge or stylus assembly, if VTF is too high.

I hope you did not forget to connect the ground wire from Tt to the receiver? If you did not connect it, You will get all those problem you describe.

yes sort of a rumbling sound with the sound muffled. muffled is a better description.

I have a Technics 1500C TT connected to an old Denon receiver.

Nothing has changed.  Not sure what is happening. Odd.

Is there a subsonic filter on your Phono pre/section?

What is a flubbing noise? Rumble?

What is yout TT and Phono Section. 

The static is minor compared to the flubbing noise which is sever.  Not playable.