MoFi enzyme based cleaner and pure rinse

Thank you for your input Doug.

Yes, I let the enzyme sit for at least 4 minutes. However the later case you stated might be the issue. I am not dealing with truly trashed LPs, as they appear to the eye to be mint. However they might have been played dirty many many times, as you stated.

I have also cleaned some sealed LPs which, when opened, sounded dirty and maybe always will. This is the case with a sealed copy of Paul Jacobs playing the Schoenberg solo piano pieces (which I payed far far too much for). As you might know, these pieces have a lot of silence in them, and thus LP quietude is really needed. The LP is a Nonesuch, and I have noticed that many Nonesuch pressings sound a bit dirty. However I have goten decent results with the VPI fluid on them, but I have a few that are just stubborn.

Chashmal - Glad to run into anybody that appreciates Paul Jacobs' work. Great pianist. Yes, Nonesuch pressings can be problematic. I have multiple copies of the Paul Jacobs Lps that I could get hold of (mainly the Debussy titles), and those seemed to benefit from the Mo-Fi cleaning I gave them...but they're not perfect. Frankly, I'm getting to a point with some labels that I may just stick with the CD versions--IF they exist. (And I think the Jacobs Schoenberg was out on CD at one time.)

Also, and I guess this is obvious, but the amount of surface noise one has to deal with is substantially affected by cartridge choice, phono pre-amp, etc. Since I think most everything sounds too bright anyway, my system is "tuned" so that "average" surface noise is not a big deal. But on a buddy's system, I hear a fair bit more surface noise than I do on mine...not infrequently on records of mine that I didn't think had a surface noise issue.

I'm using a Koetsu Black on a Linn LP12 with an EAR 834 with a couple of Mullards and a Telefunken...none of which comes as much of a surprise, I suspect.

Paul Jacobs is my favorite for Schoenberg solo piano by far. I agree (as of now) I prefer the CD because of the noise. It is actually a great sounding CD beyond just the absence of noise. Even with Glenn Gould I am finding I would rather listen to the CD over the LP, and I think I have every LP Gould even recorded. Those '70's pressings sure are terrible sometimes.

Sometimes there is so much quiet space you can fly an airplane through it on 20th century solo piano, like with Cage, Berio, or Morton Feldman. It seems that the CD excells in all these cases.

Chashmal - I appreciate your comments about Gould, and, in fact, Columbia is the first record label I was thinking of when I mentioned there were some labels from which I would just as soon listen to the CDs. I think Sony did a very nice job with its efforts to upgrade CD quality with the original 20-bit sampling remasters back in the 90's, and the Masterworks Heritage series was very good. I've been trying German and UK Lp pressings of various of the good ol' stuff: Szell, Ormandy, Walter, Bernstein...and I strike out more often than not. But, then, sometimes some of the late US or NL pressings are pretty good, and, if you can find them, some of the Japanese pressings are good. (And the Odyssey Budapest quartet pressings are not bad.) But it's so hit and miss. On your advice, with Gould, I'll stick to the CDs.

Not to mention Eweedhome, all the extra stuff!

I don't know if you are a Cage fan, but one of the benefits of Cage on CD is ACTUAL silence where it is supposed to be silent. (Keep in mind, like many on this thread, I almost never defend digital). Feldman too.