Vinyl's Noise Floor

Yes, Patrick , this is once again seeming to get into a tussle between Digital Heads and Vinyl Junkies while poor old Formulaone doesn't get the answers he's looking for. (BTW- In case my previous post wasn't clear, yes, Formula, there may be a barely perceptable surface noise while playing an LP under the best conditions.)

I find a use for both LPs and CDs. For serious listening, my personal preference is LPs. Sure, sometimes even a new LP can be unlistenable but, on the whole, the medium is alot more sonically satisfying for me. For those who are passionate about CDs, it's good for you that you found something that you can be passionate about.

And, while high-end CDP manufacturers love to claim that their CDP "sounds more like analog", I'm still waiting on a turntable manufacturer to claim that their product sounds more like digital......

(Hey, at least I didn't post that last comment on the DIGITAL forum!! Hoo-eee!! That'd make the Hatfield's and McCoy's relationship look like kissin' cousins in comparison!!)

Regards

Jim

I thank you all for your responses.

I was 12 the last time I heard vinyl, which was played on a mass-market Pioneer table in conjunction with similar quality ancillaries. Juxtaposing my aural memory with the sound of the Clearaudio Master Reference table/Insider Gold cartridge/Walker phono stage ought to be a real revelation!

consider how science and industry deals with isolation and "noise". at a laboratory or precision machine shop much effort and expense is expended on these issues. nothing is left to chance.

reading the groove of a vinyl record is just another technical challenge that requires first isolation; and then precise reading. in a cost-no-object situation you would first have considerable mass, then some sort of cushion of isolation, then another cushion of isolation for every moving part. then the item to be examined would need to be firmly held for maximum resolution. the reading probe would need to be very compliant and yet controlled for proper measurement at the desired resolution.

whether you are cutting something, useing an electron microscope, or any other precision operation, any deviation from uncompromised solutions to these issues would compromise the result.

turntable designs exist that meet these standards. in these designs the so-called noise-floor of the vinyl format is revealed to be mostly an issue of compromised designs, not an inherent characteristic of the format.

when hitting price targets, turntable designers balance various compromises to offer the best performance results for their priorities. with any compromises there is noise introduced.

this is not voodo, it is science. there are certainly software noise issues that exist, but they are very minor compared to the turntable design contributions to noise. this assumes a comprehensive approach to vinyl care (handling, cleaning, etc.).

if you want quiet vinyl playback, you can have it.

i would also add that once the noise-floor is lowered, there is way more information that is revealed to exist in those grooves.

Viridian, well said. I have been wanting to say just that, but, I didn't because I thought that I would be too confrontational. I am really glad you said it, though, because it needed to be said.