How do you know that a record is really worn?


Hello All,

As the title says, how do you know when a particular disc is worn? Does the fidelity fall off and the sound becomes muddy? Does surface noise increase to the point where it becomes louder than the content?

I have acquired a quantity of vinyl that even after substantial cleaning just doesn't have the presence that I think it should. There are no visable scuffs and the grooves after cleaning look fine.

Thanks for your input.

Regards,

Jan
jsmoller
Depends to some extent on the vinyl used. I remember Supraphon and Hungaraton LPs that started showing audible wear (clicks, pops) after a very few plays, while other labels stayed silent. Unfortunately the more rigorous (aka, anal) I became in my record cleaning, the better the result. "Unfortunately," because it takes at least twice as long as it used to take. Dave
On a serious note, if you use a well adusted TT, clean your records well and maintain the system you should be able to get several hundred plays out of a vinyl record before any significant loss of signal. Clean and a properly set up TT is the key.
See my explanation on this thread.

How to clean Stubborn Records

There are other reasons for noise of course, but this is obvious once it's seen.