Is that record dead yet?

Dont worry about looks. When choosing a wife you want someone that will please on many levels...looks evaporate. As long as the record plays through and pleases you it should be a match

Well, I'm using a Shure M97xe that only cost about $50, so replacement wouldn't break the bank. Even so, I haven't encountered a scratch on either of these two discs that actually registers anything violent sounding, and no skips. The resiliancy of this old vinyl really is pretty amazing.

Grimace, do you have a record cleaner? No help for wear, but a lot of your "pops" might be dirt and grundge in the groove which could be washed out. I believe every vinyl enthusiast should have a record cleaning machine. Even an inexpensive manual model will work. One friend has over 8K LPs and still uses a manual RCM.

If you dont have a cleaner you should ignore any other investment until you get a unit for deep cleaning and suction removal of dirt.

For 30 dollars or so you can get a steamer which is better than a RCM

Whoa. I suggest forgetting the record cleaning machine and getting a steamer for the really dirty ones followed with the Disc Doctor cleaning system. (Bottles of fluid and a set of brushes).

I've got way more invested in my cartridge than you and get incredible results without a RCM. You'll get a higher return on investment by imrpoving your cartridge instead of saving for a RCM, IMHO.

BTW, a scratch significant enough to rip the styllus off a MC cartridge is going to be very obvious. If you have no horrendous looking scratches and you clean the records, you should listen with no fear for your cartridge. Scratches that cause pops within the dynamic range of the music or even slightly higher pose no risk to any cartridges.

Dave

I have heard good things about the Disc Dr. system. An RCM is not in the cards for while so that might be a good alternative for the time being. Currently I'm using a very fine automotive dust cloth for lint,dog hair, etc., especially for new records that really don't need to be cleaned. For actual cleaning I'm using D4 and the old fashioned courdoroy brush, which I know a lot of folks frown on, but its better than nothing.

I have also been thinking about building an rcm, but I'm wondering if it won't be as expensive an just buying one.

01-20-08: Grimace said:
"I have heard good things about the Disc Dr. system. An RCM is not in the cards for while so that might be a good alternative for the time being. Currently I'm using a very fine automotive dust cloth for lint,dog hair, etc., especially for new records that really don't need to be cleaned. For actual cleaning I'm using D4 and the old fashioned courdoroy brush, which I know a lot of folks frown on, but its better than nothing."

Actually a micro-fiber cloth is very near the best that you can do. Given that you can buy a bag of them at Sam's Club or Wal-Mart makes it a very cost effective and high quality solution.

I combine that with a Carbon Fiber brush and a ZeroStat remove static. I get the "big chunks" off, then the micro-fiber cloth and then a zap with the Z-Stat.

I don't clean new LPs with Disc Doctor unless I get some noise on the first play. Most used records get a cleaning with D-Dr before they go on the TT. Some people say that you need to clean all records, but I say, "let your ears guide you."

Dave

I just got the Disc Dr. in the mail along with a carbon fiber brush. These records aren't as dead as I thought. On that old DG Prestige I was surprized at how much gloss came back after a good cleaning and how reduced the pop and ticks were. On the other hand, I have what looks like a really really clean looking six-eye that is still pretty noisey, which I'm kind of at a loss to explain. Maybe I need to do it more than once. I'll play around and see.

Some used records will have groove damage due to poor maintenance. Unfortunately there's little that you can do for those and it's not easy to know the cause until you try cleaning.

Dave

try steam cleaning (different thread with lots of ideas) on those really noisy lp after cleaning. I have found it can work wonders