Starting a Classical Vinyl Music Collection

Well, it really depends on your budget. My first was a VPI. It layed down the cleaning fluid and vacuumed it up. It does a good job, and is relatively inexpensive, but it sounds like a 747 landing, and is quite large. I now own a German Nelly… elegant, effective, quiet, and small, and cost… two or three times the VPI. But there are many on the market. It will depend on your budget. My VPI lasted for twenty years… so it is a long termed investment, worth choosing wisely. Ultrasonic are a mixed bag, more complex.
 

I would ask Bard (Google AI), given your constraints and then research those on Stereophile and The Absolute Sound. Also, both these mags evaluate lots of classical albums for performance and Sonic’s.. I think they both have done the hundred most important classical albums somewhere. I would research the hundred most important classical recordings online to find the right albums to start with

i assume you know something about classical music and know what you like?

I would start by perusing the catalog like on Music Direct. Identify an audiophile recording that appeals to you, and a couple regular recordings. Buy these. This can help set the bar for a great sounding album (there is variation in audiophile record but this is likely to be great). This will give you some idea of what recordings should sound like. This should also tell you if you should be collecting audiophile recordings or regular.

Ultimately, it is fun to buy used from record stores, but that requires the ability to look at an album and assess its condition. Classical is the hardest to buy used because of the ever present quiet passages and huge dynamic range. If you get into used, then you are probably going to need to buy a record cleaning machine. This is where things get more expensive, complicated, and fun.

I also recommend research with AllMusic. That will help you choose and understand different recordings,  composers, and conductors.

Well, at $4 / album it’ll take a while to amortize the $6,500 for the cleaner.

I think it is a great idea to try their cleaning. Some albums are “cleanable”… as in it makes a huge difference… some not. With experience you can learn to tell by looking at them (well, most of the time).

One of the major variables involved in what used vinyl sounds like is your turntable / cartridge. There is an huge drop in noise with an audiophile table. Part from the table and part from the cartridge… the stylist most older records were played on old record players with big stylists… so a high end cartridge drops down into the groves further and they can sound much better as long as they are clean(ed).

What is your system? There is a place under your ID to put photos. Very helpful for us to understand your system and where you are coming from.

OP,

If you got virtually no improvement with the electrostatic cleaning. Then those disks were trashed. But this does not mean you should give up on used.

I recommend going to a used record store. Each time you find an interesting disk. Carefully pull it out of the sleeve (you know how to handle disks? Right?) and carefully examine it. When the light hits at the right angle you will be able to tell if the grooves are shiny and clean or dull. Buy a couple of the best you find. They are likely to sound great. With a little practice you can pick out only perfect disks. The cleaning can remove surface dust and debris, but not embedded or worn grooves. You will learn to separate the two.

Static can be a problem. Static can cause clicks and pops. I have found static guns completely useless.

I preclean album on the turntable with Last General cleaner with their brush. Then use a dust / static arm (looks like a tonearn: Antistatic Record Cleaning Arm… there are a number of them on the market). the arm cleans and discharges in front of the tone arm. The arm is connected to a ground and discharges the electricity.

I recommend all three Last record cleaning products.