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New vinyl's noisy little secret

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the current crop of vinyl formulations just have higher noise levels than LPs made years ago. A case in point--I stumbled upon an old, original copy of Henry Mancini's 1962 soundtrack to the movie "Hatari" in my collection a few days ago (I had never even played it), and was astonished at its deathly quiet playback. Simply no surface noise. What gives? OK, you may make fun of this black-label RCA pressing (LSP-2559) for its content musically (though it's actually pretty fun), but it sure reminded me what we are missing with new releases--super high quality vinyl with very low surface noise. Even the occasional mechanical clicks from scratches seemed subdued. Most of my (expensive!) new vinyl comes replete with very onerous surface noise. Is it just impossible to make this old-generation type of vinyl currently?
kipdent
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
apologies johnnyb...yes, the technics is an exception.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Larry,

My experiences and memories (those still with me) tell me that I spent a good amount of time taking LPs back to swap for a non-defective copy. That was pretty normal for the shops I remember, and I think it also targeted me as a potential future customer from those that also sold nice gear. I guess it just seems about the same on average to me. If anything, I'm more worried that I am getting less picky. :-)
My cleaning techniques are much better now.
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
I have the 45rpm pressing of Adderly's "Somthin Else" on Clarity Vinyl. It is silent with excellent sound. Expensive, though.
kipdent OP
65 posts
 
Thank you everyone for some great responses. And yes, the "Hatari" album I cited is a hoot. It was very used and looked terrible, which makes it even more amazing that it is so quiet.

The early posts reminded me I should have made it clear that I scrupulously clean LPs, both old and brand new pressings, before I play them. I use a VPI 16.5 and a multi-step process ending in a distilled water rinse. I've also dabbled with steam cleaning, including on the newer "noisy" records I alluded to. Nothing seems to help these duds. In fact, an unscientific test at home has lead me to believe perhaps the best way to handle new releases, contrary to the mold-release compound theorists, is NOT to clean them. In my small test cases they seem quieter if you just leave them alone. This lends some credence to the suspicion that new vinyl seems overly delicate, as one contributor suggested.

As far as quiet new vinyl examples go, I have to disagree with some saying Speakers Corner being a good source. I recently tried two copies of Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over" and they were intolerably noisy. On Classic, two copies of Sarah McClachlan's "Solace" were miserable. And in response to Timztunz, the Clarity vinyl releases I've tried were hit and miss: The Armstrong/Ellington "First Time Together" was spectacular; "The Great Reunion" was like a popcorn popper was in the studio during the recording. (Most of my Music Matters releases have been good, by the way, but not all of them.)

I just don't get it--why do we have to suffer so with new releases when the technology, whatever it was, existed to make quiet pressings in days gone by? Some have provided some reasonable explanations (run rates, the rarity of truly virgin vinyl, etc.), but I continue to be astonished that after dishing out $50 a pop for some of these releases, that's all we get--pops.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I'd guess during the preponderance of my new vinyl purchases (1959-1988 approx 5,000 pieces) less than a half dozen were returned for noise or warpage or other defects.

Over the past 20 years most of my buying (1,500-2,000 albums) has been to fill in my collection along with a handful (less than 50) of reissues/remasters.

Today's product, outside of the inordinate price, is much more problematic.

IMO
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