Tim,
You are such a NERL! ;-)
Fully agree that a very pure water rinse is an essential final step. Of course it's no surprise that a second cleaning sounded better than the first, as you said. Here's how we A/B final rinse waters:
Get both sides of an LP as clean as you know how. Then rinse side 1 with water A and side 2 with water B. Play and compare. (If you have a second set of ears available, as I do, don't tell him/her that it's a test until after they've heard both sides... double blind).
Now re-rinse each side with the opposite water. Play and compare again.
If you hear a difference, re-rinse the quieter side with the OTHER water (the water NOT used for when it was quieter). Play and listen to hear if the sound goes backwards. If it does, and re-rinsing with the quieter water makes it better again, you've identified the purer/better performing water.
Doug
You are such a NERL! ;-)
Fully agree that a very pure water rinse is an essential final step. Of course it's no surprise that a second cleaning sounded better than the first, as you said. Here's how we A/B final rinse waters:
Get both sides of an LP as clean as you know how. Then rinse side 1 with water A and side 2 with water B. Play and compare. (If you have a second set of ears available, as I do, don't tell him/her that it's a test until after they've heard both sides... double blind).
Now re-rinse each side with the opposite water. Play and compare again.
If you hear a difference, re-rinse the quieter side with the OTHER water (the water NOT used for when it was quieter). Play and listen to hear if the sound goes backwards. If it does, and re-rinsing with the quieter water makes it better again, you've identified the purer/better performing water.
Doug