2. analog
  3. 151958-112009

Vinyl “Pops & Clicks” eliminators

I’m betting a polarizing topic, but I ask the question as a truly curious audiophile who has just not honestly had the opportunity to do any real research on this category of products....so, am not asking as either a proponent nor opponent of this technology.   So, a few obvious items: (1) it’s best to work with clean, unblemished LP’s (for multiple reasons) and (2) obviously a product designed to “remove” an audible defect is also going to affect the audible spectrum; but in what ways, exactly, both desirable and undesirable do these devices affect the music?

I’m talking specifically about devices like the Sweetvinyl Sugarcube SC-1, but I’ve literally done zero research so far on how many devices like this even exist.   The “Sweetvinyl” box comes to mind only because I see their ad in TAS mag, but I don’t know if there are other companies with similar products.   
Question is....we all have LPs in our collection that we acquired and for whatever reason were not kept “clean” and have scratches resulting in audible pops/clicks.   Are these devices — essentially selective filters — selective enough to do their job on imperfect records without destroying the surrounding harmonics?    Or do we just discard & reacquire any scratched records we own?   Or is this a “better” solution?

I’m gonna guess that literally 10% maximum of the Agon’ers who reply here have ever owned/heard these products used, so maybe let’s all just mention whether our opinion, our response, is based on real-life observations, or just theoretical replies.    Both have value, but for different reasons.

Best,
Jim
jhajeski
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
I forgot to mention Jim that you want to keep the back end high. I would have designed it with the bristles perpendicular to the record. I also stuck a square of felt down next to the turntables to wipe the brush off on between sides. I clean the felt once in a while with a record brush which I ceremoniously wipe off on my shirt to my wife's chagrin. 
Do let us know how you like it particularly it's effect on the static charge of your record collection. Also let us know how brand new records fair and whether or not you ever feel the need to clean them.

Thanx,
Mike
lewm
13,138 posts
 
The trick of the math is that the units are "pounds per square inch". Mijo is correct about how to calculate it, but the lie therein is that the pressure of the stylus tip on your finger in psi must then be re-divided by the actual area of the contact patch, to give a quantity equal to "pounds per area of the contact patch" which brings us back to the typical VTF or about 2 grams. That’s why your finger is not hurting, squashed, or perforated. The math is not wrong. The science is not wrong. The facts are just being misapplied. Similarly, that's why the groove does not catch fire.

Mijostyn, Thanks for the tip on the brush, but how do you then clean the brush so it does not itself become a source of particulate matter being dragged across the LP?  As for a dust cover, ..... feh.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Lewm as I explained before the pressure is right and the contact area is in square inches. The reason the stylus does not go through your finger is because your skin is very pliable. As the stylus bears into your skin the skin "tents" allowing other structures to bear like the cantilever rapidly increasing the surface area involved by a factor of thousands and the psi drops dramatically.
I clean the brush between sides on a felt pad I keep near by. I clean both the brush and the felt pad occasionally with alcohol. The brush catches everything on the record and tracks along with the tonearm perfectly. 
16f4's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
16f4
1,062 posts
 
well, just got home from Capital Audiofest.  I checked out the Sugar Cube systems.  Personally, I thought the bass was a bit more pronounced after the signal passed through.  Not so much that it affected my enjoyment of the music.  Would I spend the money for either models?  Probably not.  The system does in real time what I can do with my WaveRepair software.  My guess is if you have enough money to buy this equipment you probably have enough to buy a new pristine copy of whatever record you want to clean. 
wolf_garcia
6,711 posts
 
The crackling of a vinyl adds an authentic sound when using the gas fireplace in my listening room...it sounds more like a wood fireplace, and when listening to digital sources I have to use a wood fireplace crackle sound generator which, unfortunately, doesn't exist.
More to discover