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Question about background noise

’Sup?
So, I’ve been lazily progressing along on my phono pre journey, with a Simaudio Moon LP110 now in the system that comprises a VPI HW-19 MK4 with a SAMA, an aging Sumiko FT-3 arm, and a brand new (~ 55 hours or so) Hana SL cartridge. Listening to some acoustic recordings of classical guitar or some Julie London LP’s, I notice that the background is more gray than black. Like, there’s a discernible hollow sound between and during tracks (though not noticeable once the instrument/vocal dynamics ramp up).

Is this an artifact of the new cartridge, the new cartridge, the actual pressing, or something else entirely? I’m not particularly bothered by it, but I know it could be more silent.
simao

Showing 3 responses by mijostyn

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Simao excuse me for not answering your question. Any sound you hear is coming from the vinyl. There are varying qualities of vinyl. Many record companies recycle the vinyl and it always picks up impurities along the way but Virgin vinyl is more expensive. If you want to hear virgin vinyl pick up any Analog Productions record. Another source of noise in the vinyl besides contaminated vinyl is the lathe used to cut the master. I have several Rhino 180 gm audiophile quality discs that have rumble on them. I thought my turntable was going bad. Not. The lathe was bad. Stay away from Rhino records. I have several records with hum on them from the lathe's electronics.  I think I know the noise you are talking about and it is just bad vinyl. For fun check the maker on the records you hear the noise on and see if they are coming from one source like the rumbley Rhino records. Let us know so we can avoid them.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Lewm6 to me a black background is No Noise. I have some discs that are extremely quiet but not black. Good digital systems run the digital at max gain then adjust the volume on the analog side so that you always have full resolution. My system does that so that CDs copied to the hard drive are always run full tilt. The computer usually sounds better than a CD player. As to whether or not high res sounds better depends greatly on the master. If the dynamic compression used is the same as on the CD then it is hard to hear a difference. But, with out much compression....WOW. Drums in particular. Stuff like Stravinsky's Firebird jump out of the speakers. It is not that expensive to get into either. If you have a USB input on your DAC you are in business. Apple Mini, Hard drive and Pure Music. Done
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
There is no such thing as an entirely silent background with vinyl only variations in not so quiet. This is mostly due to the quality of the vinyl with contributions from stylus shape and frequency response. If you want black back grounds stick with digital. High Res preferred. Some vinyl will sound better in spite of the noise. Since when have you ever been to a silent concert?
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