@elliottbnewcombjr nice post, great information.
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There are certain types of styluses that are quieter if set up correctly, these include the Ortofon Replicant 100, The Soundsmith OCL, and the Gyger S. With only one exception these styluses are found only on cartridges over $2000, that is the Goldring 1042, a cartridge I highly recommend for people on a budget. Phono stages that overload easily, overload with pops and tics, the effect is to make them louder. Using a lower output cartridge might help. Lastly is just bad plastic. Old records that were abuse when we were kids and trash produced by the record industry. If you love that music get a digital copy. Washing records is fraught with danger. A machine is in order, one that uses fresh fluid for each cleaning and vacuums the record dry. After that it is all about convenience which cost more. The Nessie is a great unit for the money. The Audiodesk is a reliability nightmare. Not a month goes by without hearing of an other Audiodesk that bit the dust. The Clearaudio Matrix is a step up and the best IMHO is the Clearaudio Double Matrix which does both sides at the same time and is handily the fastest record cleaning method available and it aint cheap. Things to stay away from are repeated use of the same fluid and evaporative drying by any method. |
jacobsdad2000 of course I agree with you, thanks boxcarman, others OP has a MM cartridge, messing with loading is all about MC cartridges. OP, just to clarify the basics: what specific Phono Stage do you have? and, what Preamp model, input are you plugging into? you need to set that phono stage on either PASS, or 47K (not using the MC settings). Same for any MM cartridge. Then, Phono Stage, IF it has RIAA Equalization built in for MM, goes to any LINE level input. IF it is simply a MM PASS thru, then it needs to go to/thru a true MM Phono Input, which performs RIAA Equalization AND boosts the MM signal to Line Level. SOME Preamp’s PHONO input are simply an input for labeling, those require RIAA already performed elsewhere, they are simply a Line Level Input labeled phono for convenience, corresponding with a front input selector labeled Phono. Usually, those do NOT have a ground nearby; while true Phono inputs have ground connections.
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Any people as frugal as me, I found this old post with details Being frugal, non-scientific, I wash mine by hand in batches 10 at a time while listening to music. See 11th photo here https://www.audiogon.com/systems/9511 Cover the table with a plastic sheet (picnic table cover) The Kit: I mix other stuff with the cleaning fluid that comes with the kit
I get my Distilled Water at drug stores like CVS or Walgreens. I find that the staff often do not know where it is in the store, but it is there https://www.cvs.com/shop/gold-emblem-distilled-water-128-oz-prodid-1190732 Then 91% alcohol (not available in Covid times) https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-91-isopropyl-alcohol-prodid-1011920 Next, I use a bit of Jet Dry ’Finish’ Scrub vigorously with Baby Scalp Brushes Protect Paper Label with the Lid from a saved Chinese Soup container, looks like this Scrub by hand, the spinner is only distilled water rinse, remove excess water with lint free cloth, final dry in the rack. Amazing how good nasty LPs left over from the 60’s can sound, especially when playing deeper in the grooves with advanced stylus shape |
I don’t know about styli being major determinants of the level of ticks and pops, but if Mijo is correct, the SoundSmith OCL can be added to a wide variety of good but inexpensive cartridges for the price of a retip. Using a low output cartridge per se ought not to be a panacea, because you need to add a commensurate amount of phono stage gain to hear the music, and that would likewise make LP noise as audible as with a higher output cartridge. |
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