2. analog
  3. 1124430620

battling the pops and clicks

I recently put together an vinyl rig (Nottingham Horizon w/Dynavector 10x5 and Whest phono stage) I am really liking the sound, and I see what all the talk is about for sure. This setup really gives my Ayre D1xe digital setup a run for the money, and if it weren't for the pops and clicks I think I would certainly prefer the sound overall. This is saying a lot considering the price gap between my digital and analog setup.

I have the VPI 16.5 and disc doctor brushes and cleaning fluids and have spent some time and effort to fully clean my records in an effort to eliminate all noise. I bought quite a few new 180 gram records so I would have a good idea of what sound vinyl has to offer. I also have plenty of dusty old records from years back, which is the real reason I wanted a turntable to begin with. As much as I work at cleaning the records, it seems no amount of work will eliminate the pops and clicks. The more I focus on trying to get rid of them the more it bugs me. It seems to happen just as much with the new records as the old ones.

What I'm wondering is, do I need a better table and cartridge if I expect to listen to records with total silence? Or what am I doing wrong with my current setup? I've followed the cleaning instructions very closely and even taken it a step further by adding additional rinsing cycles with distilled water. I've used stylus cleaner and of course always used the carbon fibre dry brush before playing, and clean sleeves too.

The cleaning has reduced the noise, pops and clicks greatly, but in my opinion, more is still there than I would consider acceptable. Is this something that you just learn to tune out from or is there a way to fix it completely?

thanks, -Ryan
ejlif
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Nsgarch,

I've not seen a VdH stylus magnified. I'd expect better for the kind of prices they command.

The photo of the ZYX showed a clear gemstone, perfectly sculpted and cleanly affixed to the cantilever. No visible blobs of glue! It truly looked like a finely made instrument, even @ 200x. The micro-ridge edges were clearly visible.

The cantilever's top side wasn't shown, but eyeballing mine with a loupe reveals a slight projection above the top of the cantilever. Presumably the top end of the diamond(?). Interestingly, the stylus end of the cantilever has something like a tiny, cylindrical cap slip-fitted over it, extending a mm or so past the stylus. Something to secure the stylus I presume.

Damn, that stylus and cantilever cap are tiny! How DO they make these things? I'll bet it's the same micro-elves that assembled 921,600 pivoting mirrors on the postage-stamp-sized DLP chip that runs my TV. Amazing stuff.
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Doug, you wanna go to Japan and watch them make one? C'mon, it'll be fun!

Neil
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Impepinnovations,

If the dynamic range, clicks, pops and general surface noise are so prevalent with current analog devices then why in the world isn't audiophiledom filled with opportunities to purchase these electronic correction products in today's market, now only new and improved? It seems every high end manufacturer must being missing a golden opportunity here. Never has an audiophile been in the sweet spot in my room and ever offered any criticism about dynamic range while listening to vinyl. In a scientific sense, yes there is some surface noise. But just like having to put my head close to a speaker to hear circuit noise, one would have to go to similiar extremes to hear surface noise from a seated listening postion. Yes, there are exceptions with some badly recycled vinyl or the occassional record that suffered some sort of permanent damage. Those are the exception however. You might also note that I was not attacking digital and have no problem with digital master tapes except records mastered from a digital source early on, say 1982-1989. If that recording sampling rate was put on a disk then the debate as to the superior format would be over.
nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,125 posts
 
As hard as the men who master LPs for us try, they will never be able to match the dynamic compression of CDs!

Ticks and pops in my system are rare. I still do not like them when they appear, but when I take into consideration the give and take between digital and vinyl, I will settle for vinyl anyday over the flat lifeless sound typically found on CD.
ejlif's avatar
ejlif OP
1,377 posts
 
thanks for all the info, I am finding that I am learning how to clean my records in a way that is improving the noises I was getting before. I would be interested to hear what methods Nrchy and Lugnut are using to clean their records. I have a strong feeling much of what I hear is static, and it seems that since the AC has been running less it has improved, a quick rinse with distilled water seems to improve things a lot too.

I fully agree with the amazing superiority of vinyl. I am comparing a rather entry level vinyl system to a top notch digital source, and it is just a huge letdown when I go back to CD after playing some vinyl. I can warm back up to it and have to since I can't get everything I want on vinyl, but I've been making a point of playing CDs first and then listening to vinyl, or just skipping the CDs altogether.

I am looking into upgrading my table/arm/cart to a Nottingham Spacedeck/Spacearm and a Shelter 90x.

thanks, -Ryan
More to discover