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Can You Live With Crackling & Popping Noise?

I just got my first turntable, a Rega P5 and not sure whether I'm supposed to be delighted or otherwise. When I put on my first record, there was intermittent popping, hissing and crackling noise at low to moderate volume levels. Having lived with digital for half of my life, I find this to be somewhat annoying. For a while I was feeling disappointed and pondering whether I would end up selling this thing. After a while I thought what the heck, since I had got this thing home I might as well turn up the volume and enjoy the music. I started to crank it up to reasonably high levels and all the hissing, crackling and popping noise began to drown and disappear into the background music. Somehow the annoyance turned to musical bliss, well almost.

My question, especially for those who own high-end turntables, can you live with all the crackling and popping noise? I reckon all these noises will be quite noticeable especially when playing some clean vocals with minimum background music? What actually cause all these noises? Is the noise caused by dust sticking on the surface of the record assuming the record is in good condition? Is there any way these crackling and popping noises can be reduced or eliminated completely by cleaning the records?

The manual states as follows:-

"Don't worry about visible dust on the record surface, this is brushed aside by the stylus and any that collects on the stylus can be easily blown away. In general, record cleaning is overdone and one should not believe all the claims made by record cleaner manufacturers."

Does this mean that cleaning records is pointless? If that is the case how do we get rid of the crackling noise in the event the dust and fine particles are the ones that are causing these noises? Is there any easy solution to clean the records by ourselves?

For any newbie who wants to take the turntable route, I would urge you to reconsider your options particularly if you have minimal tolerance towards popping and crackling noises. Even all my good old cassette collection that ended up in the rubbish bin years ago didn't exhibit all these popping and crackling noises.

If all these noises do not exist in records then analog is really the one to beat.

Thank you for your patience.
ryder
chayro
3,016 posts
 
Clicks and pops are usually due to damaged or poorly-pressed vinyl, but it may also be due to static. I have seen static so bad that it renders the record unplayable.

You might consider trying Gruv-Glide, which claims to clean and definitely removes static. Many vinyl enthusiasts don't like the product, but I have found it to work very well.

I also highly recommend a record-cleaning machine. You don't have to get crazy with it. Basically, I clean a record once when I buy it at that's about it. It's like anything else in this hobby, you can get nuts or you can be sensible. I think an RCM is a must if you're serious about vinyl and especially if you're sensitive to pops and stuff.
davidsss
43 posts
 
I have found that most of the "scratches" on my records could be removed with a very good clean. I do steam, then clean then rinse my records once, then just use a carbon fibre brush each time I play them. The vast majority of my records have very few pops and crackles. However, there are always a few that are irretrievable. I have an old copy of Led Zep 4 which crackles like mad, I'd love to solve this as it is a great hunk of old vinyl, but I think it may just be past it.

The advice above is very good, you need to clean records and keep your stylus clean too.

With a clean record and a decent TT records just blow CDs out of the water. Furthermore, a scratched record sounds a lot better than a scratched CD!

DS
ryder OP
1,733 posts
 
It turned out that one of the record was dirtier(or more ruined) than I thought as it exhibited more pops and crackles than the rest. Everytime I got up and changed side the stylus had dust on it in the form of tiny strands of wool of some sort, and I had to brush it off using a tiny brush that came with the cartridge.

Anyway the quality of one record was in exceptionally good clean condition as it showed minimal anomalies. I was listening to Pat Metheny Group Travels ECM and for the first time the sound filled the entire room with a lot of feeling and emotion as I continued to crank up the volume on the amp. Bliss. Sheer musical bliss. The sound of strumming of guitar was so organic and lifelike that I completely immersed into the music. It's so unlike digital, the sound is just "un-digital".

I will be getting some record cleaner to clean my dirtier LP's. Analog is here to stay.
hesson11
237 posts
 
For a very affordable record-cleaning alternative, you might look into the Spin Clean device sold at garage-a-records.com. I can't vouch for it because I've never used it, but it's just $65 and looks like it might do a good job.

Has anyone else ever tried the Spin Clean?

-Bob
timztunz's avatar
timztunz
78 posts
 
Congratulations Ryder and welcome to a wonderful analog world. I'm not in only one camp, digital or vinyl, but for really enjoying the music there is no substitute for me than vinyl. Kind regards.
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