Crackle and hiss on some albums

I believe that @mahler123 hit the nail on the head. Vinyl as a medium is prone to physical imperfections. Be it foreign matter like dust or fingerprints (gasp!) or actual damage to the record itself such as scratches or just plain wear. 

As a long time vinyl enthusiast, I think I've learned to just listen 'past the noise' to the good stuff we're after which is, ostensibly, the music. I found a great LP at a used shop the other day, Brubeck's "Time In". 

A quick examination at the store showed it to be in not too bad in condition, When I got home I ran it through my Project RCM and was pleased that although not perfect, it was quite passable listening. And having learned something new, I'll now have to search for the rest of the "Time" series of LPs. After listening a thought occurred to me and sure enough, searching Amazon Prime, "Time In" appeared in the catalog and I can listen to the music w/o the surface noise of the LP... But somehow the LP sounds more vivid, more "real" to my ears in comparison. 

Sorry for the ramble! Too much coffee this morning I expect. 😇

Happy listening.

"Time Out" made the Brubeck Quartet practically a household name in the US at a time when jazz was popular music. That's the one you want.  Joe Morello's drum work on that album is unique and spectacular, as indeed it had to be because of the weird time signatures chosen by the group. Paul Desmond was recognized for the great alto sax player that he already was, as a result of that album. You can get good pressings of that album easily.

Start streaming Qobuz, better quality sound than vinyl!

@fuzztone ...+1 on the Sugarcube by Sweet Vinyl.  I have been happily turning sows asses into silk purses with my SC-2 since I got a beta unit when it was crowd funded in 2016. Of course, I still use my vacuum record cleaning machine, the cheep and cheerful KAB record cleaner, as well as an In The Groove cleaner as a finishing tool, and an anti-static gun, but with it's transparent click removal and background noise reduction (a form of digital noise masking), the results I get from beat up garage sale LPs is gobsmackingly good!

A seemingly increasing proportion of vinyl since initial decline in production (1990’s)  has QC issues. Much of the original production machinery is long gone, and much of what’s in use today is purportedly not new. Add to that what’s likely considerably higher cost for ingredients (PVC sourced from overseas) and perhaps integrity of said ingredients (no info available on the chemical or environmental standards of major producers of the precursor pellets), and “180g” isn’t a spec that will save performance of the final new product.

A strong stream of water into grooves is probably the second most effective way to remove noise from troubled vinyl (whether it’s been accrued through time via dust or is a result of poor QC from the get-go) that you can do in-house. There are sandwich-handled-discs that can be screwed onto the center of each LP (over the label) that allow water-blasting under a strong faucet (silicon inner discs protect the album labels from water).

The most effective solution I’ve seen is to apply WD40 to the troubled disc via microfiber cloth (preferably after washing said disc). However, white spirits x vinyl over the years… well, chemically, who knows. Also, a semi-liquid in the grooves x hollow cantilever for me was always a “no.” Amazing solution in performance, but not one I use on my equipment.

I had no idea there was a mail-in disc cleaning service. In a world advocating people consider food miles etc., the concept of re-shipping vinyl that’s already shipped at least twice got a chuckle from me.