New Record Sounds Like Crap - How???


So, having recently dove back into vinyl plaback, I'm replacing some CDs I've liked with the LP version. I just bought a new (sealed) LP: The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album on the Fantasy label. I don't know where or when it was pressed but, there's so much background noice (not hum, but crackling and hissing) that I thought something was wrong with my stylus. I did clean it - RRL - I think twice even.

I put on another used album I got at the same time (Record Jazz Mart in Chicago): Pat Metheny Group on ECM and after first two tracks, only one noticeable pop. It too has been cleaned well.

My question is, how can a used record sound better than a brand spankin' new record which has even been cleaned?????

If I want something new, do I have to by the $40 180gm 45rpm records?? On a side note, will they sound better? Why?

thanx
pawlowski6132

Showing 1 response by r_f_sayles

Is anyone looking (listening) at the fact that one might have a incorrectly set up TT? The reason why I introduce this idea into the thread is most all my Analogue Productions Fantasy series prove to be some of the best, if not the best records I've ever heard. And pardon me but, that's saying a lot as I've been collecting records for forty years.

I concede that in the analog (vinyl) world, it's all about getting the right pressing, in good shape and that takes a lot of hard learned knowledge and some luck. Mold release is an issue but, I feel it is somewhat over blown as the boogy man of all surface noise.

New pressings are not necessarily the problem though many old original/first pressings better represent true high fidelity but, it gets complicated. Record collecting (for the music) is not an instant gratification, always. I could give you a list a mile long of great current pressings or reissues that are superb to my ear and quiet. This is the whole thing IMHO that got early digital an undeserved start in the first place. Most folks didn't want, or didn’t know how, or couldn't afford (priorities?!) a well set up deck to play on so they kept blaming the (poor) vinyl quality.

Please, with all due respect I say these things because most everything I play on my TT or my friends TT's sound remarkable with one caveat and that is more or less vinyl will never be, on the whole, as quiet as a digital format but, close. So maybe you need to assess your personal tolerance to surface noise. That said, If you have a real nice TT, IMHO there is not a digital format available that holds a candle to analog for real sounding musical reproduction. SACD is on the right track but, still falls short. It is worth mentioning that I use a live acoustic event as my point of reference to what music should sound like at home on my HiFi. It’s also noteworthy to mention that I have owned a Linn Sondek Lp12 since 1982 and had some real nice decks before that.

I don’t know your background with TT’s Pawowski6132. I could only suggest making sure that your deck is set up right and that it is enough deck for your ears to be satisfied. I don’t believe the vinyl, by the most part, is the problem.

Best of luck. Happy Listening!