Agree with Audiofeil, my system is dead quiet with phono and I'm not surprised Bill has achieved the same result.
I'm confused as to why so many people find this hard to accept. There are half a dozen guys in my local audio group that have dead quite phono playback.
Granted all these systems are different and perform to widely varying qualities, but with each there is no noticeable difference in playback noise between CD and LP, unless it's a bad record with pops or surface noise.
That being said, the number of times in a four or five hour music session where a pop or click can be heard in my system would amount to about one or two per hour average.
A few milliseconds of noise for hours of superior playback is a fair trade. Some people obsess and strain, just waiting to hear the tiniest flaw. I had a visitor about three years ago that was like that.
At first he refused to believe that what he was hearing was my LP, because the CD was playing too. I sometime switch between the two during music sessions.
After repeatedly lifting the tonearm and proving the music was the turntable, he spent the remainder of the night leaning forward, trying to find a flaw. After and two and a half hours, while playing an older Jazz LP, there was a click.
The visitor jumped from his seat and exclaimed "I hear a pop."
I hope his Porsche never gets a bug hit on the windshield. No doubt he would exclaim "Porsche no good, ruined view of road," and sell the car.