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Static on turntable

Hello all!

I see there are some very smart people here who can probably give me some advice.

I've been getting into listening to vinyl.  Have a Fluance RT84 with Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge.  I've upgraded to the acrylic platter.  I have also been using one of the Fluance record weights.  My receiver is a Denon AVR X2800h.  

Everything has been sounding quite great until recently.  Recently I listened to the Getz/Gilberto Acoustic Sounds reissue and it was wonderful.  As was the Dave Brubeck Time Out recording.

I had gotten a Rachmaninoff album from Warner Classics.  It was sealed.  I did notice that the record seemed extremely staticky.  I put it on the turntable and played it (after using the Fluance carbon fiber brush on it to remove static).  Very quickly I started noticing some very loud pops (almost electric sounding).  They continued throughout fairly regularly.  When I took the record off the turntable, it seemed the entire platter and turntable were now more statically charged.

Then I tried playing a brand new copy of the Miles Davis Kind of Blue UHQR from Analogue Productions.  Even this record was experiencing these loud pops.

I found that things seemed to improve when I took off the acrylic platter and washed it with a damp microfiber and then cotton cloth.

I then washed this Rachmaninoff album in my Spin Clean and it did sound better initially but soon seemed to recollect static and start popping.

Has anyone experienced such a thing?  Any solutions?  Kind of frustrating!

chille1525
elliottbnewcombjr
5,469 posts
 

OP said:

"sounding quite great until recently.  Recently ... wonderful."

everything was fine, in his environment that did not change, thus it isn't the carpet or the way OP yanked his LPs out of the sleeves.

the platter mat was fine, was in play when it sounded great.

"Very quickly I started noticing some very loud pops (almost electric sounding)."

minor even consistent static does not make loud pops.

the new LP was a mess, but it was properly cleaned, , and subsequently cleaned.

If previously great sounding LP's now have problems, something changed, WHAT?

stylus AND cantilever full of gunk from the new problematic LP?

considering nothing changed until the new 'slimy' lp was played: what else could have changed?

lastly: always ask: misled by inadvertent coincidental timing of a different source of the problem?

 

lewm
13,107 posts
 

Elliott, those are all worthwhile thoughts. But the haphazard occurrence of the problems doesn’t rule out static charge, in my opinion. That’s the nature of the beast.

javaruke
5 posts
 

I live in Colorado where the winter months include often dry air, leading to a noticeable increase in static on my vinyl.  I simply run a humidifier in my listening room, and am able to eliminate virtually all of the static pops.  Might be worth a try.

boxcarman
422 posts
 

Dry air will do it.  Checking the humidity is your first step. Second question is when you pull the record out of the sleeve, does it snap electricity?

oldaudiophile
315 posts
 

@chille1525 Afraid I don't have any "ah hah!" diagnostics and/or solutions for you.  However, a couple or three questions:

How old or, more importantly, how much mileage do you have on your stylus & cartridge?  In other words, do you have a method or tool (e.g.  Stylus Tracker) to track the hours of use of your stylus/cartridge?

Do clean your stylus regularly (e.g.  before each side of an album)?  If so, how so and with what (e.g.  stylus cleaning gadget; liquid stylus cleaner)?

Do you store your albums in good quality anti-static poly sleeves?

Have you checked, cleaned, secured, etc. your TT and pre-amp phono contacts?

There are other possibilities.  However, my advice would be to check the basics, first.

Good Luck!

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