2. analog
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more help with vinyl..

I posted on 11/02 and maybe one step closer to understaanding the complexity of tt's and music it produces. I have an old pioneer PL-516 with new belt & cartridge & 50 mostly used lp's. New Yamaha ax-596 amp with Paradigm speakers. 90% of my albums have much surface noise---pops etc.....newer stuff(mid-80's?) pop...that looks unplayed is ok. I bought the diskwasher system...no help. 2 weeks ago bought a great Ellington album.'59...looked great ..did the dw system again & again...only got worse.! I bought 2 new albums...played on my Kenwood system (new-2 years old and Pioneer PL_516) great! The Ellington record sounds bad on both systems...took the record to dealer in Spokane...auditioned Pro-ject 1.2....had seen reviews ..it sounded better but still bad. I bought the pro-ject 1.2 and will add a new cartridge (grado red) in about 6 months after I get this tt thing and vinyl figured out. I don't want to spend the $450 for machine but had hoped to save the 40 plus albums and restore them. It looks like I have to buy virgin or near mint records but most in second hand record stores look ok but still may sound poor (on my system)..am I right on this..? If this is right then I can only buy on internet or pay big $ for new records but at that cost maybe I should go for the convience of SACD, HDCD, etc. the cost differnce is not much over perfect LP"s. But once you hear great vinyl all your cd's sound so limited. Maybe the problem is I'm trying to do this on the cheap...? How do you get good vinyl sound for only $5-$10 per record...can you do this on my tt's...? HELP! What can I use on my records to restore sound..? anything..or give them to goodwill..? It doesn't seem to be a tt problem..a condition of my vinyl..? How do I keep my new ones from going bad...? I'm starting to get anal about this like you other guys...save me before it's too late...!
dla405j
shersta
140 posts
 
It sounds like you're looking to get the most out of your current set up and are not looking for upgrade advice. With that in mind:
1) I'll second Viridian's suggestion to experiment w/ cheap/free tweaking and Phild's suggestion to get the disk doctor kit (which runs about 70 bucks). After cleaning, you should place the lps in new sleeves (AudioAdvisor sells pretty good sleeves--20$ for 50. Keep your stylus clean with the strike-strip on a book of matches--free! This is a hundred dollar investment that will get your lps _nearly_ as clean as an expensive VPI machine for a fraction of the cost.
2) Consider building some kind of isolation platform for your table. There are plenty of good ideas on the web.
3) Vinyl is a pain. Will your current tt be as quiet as your cdp after you've done the above? No. Will it sound different? Yes. Is the difference important and significant enought to justify the time, energy, and money you're sinking into analog playback? Have fun.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I was in that kitchen swallowing clicks and pops and the surface noise since I couldn't afford a good turntable. In that time I knew nothing about gruv-glide or discwasher. What I knew is to sweep the dust with anti-static brush, not to touch the playback surface(and even lead-in/out areas) with the fingers, keep the records in their sleeves(later-on i always changed them for the plastic ones). My first hello to the CD player was in 1992 and there was my first dissapointment when I said to myself I'd better hear a bunch of clicks and pops than listen the music so limited that even regular audio cassette sounded much better.
Nowdays I have an analogue setup that allowes to play records of early 60's or 50's found somewhere from garage sales or just simply thrown on the street with so minimal surface noise... Clicks are simply not to be heard since the needle digs the groove so deep that it kind-of bypasses scratches.
johncan
23 posts
 
Call around to any used CD and LP store in your area and ask them if they have a record cleaning machine and if they can clean your record. They may charge a minimal fee. A local shop here in Atlanta cleans LPs for $2. If it still sounds bad, you have groove wear (deterioration) which is not visible to the naked eye.

Good luck and don't give up yet. Vinyl is really a lot of fun.

Johncan
john_tracy
341 posts
 
If you are using a MM cart. loading is critical for reducing surface noise. Capacitance in parallel with the inductance of the cart. results in a high freq. resonance around 19K for typical cart. and 200pf cap. Ultra-sonic noise will excite this resonance and produce ringing decays in the audible band. I removed the shunt capacitance from my Clearaudio Wood cart. and the surface noise was less bothersome. Cleared up the highs too.
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