OK, I said it...

Pbb: I'd like to second, third and fourth the above comments. Kudo's to you for having the guts to give this a try. I know that it had to be "difficult" for you to do this given some of your past comments, but i'm glad to see that you were up to the task. Not only that, i'm proud of you in the fact that you were honest enough to make some of the statements that you did even though you have previously bashed those that "worship at the temple of analogue". It takes a big person to own up / correct themselves when all the world is watching.

Given that you had a hard time with cartridge set-up, my guess is that you may still have some work to do there based on your comments. This is not to say that you did something wrong but more that you probably can dial things in a little better as you get used to working with the gear a little more.

On top of this, cabling and phono stages can make a world of a difference. You have to remember that you are dealing with microscopic amounts of voltage here, so anything that ever could effect signal transfer in a system will be far more noticeable under these conditions. Finding a good phono stage is almost like a revelation. I am lucky in the fact that the line stages that i like also happen to have phenomenally good phono stages too.

Since my "record cleaning routine" is rather involved and pricy, i'll have to defer to some of the other folks as to what works well i.e. bang for the buck approach. I really do think that thoroughly cleaning a record makes a very noticeable difference in a beneficial way. As such, i would recommend that you investigate this for yourself and do so as soon as possible. Don't forget that your stylus will need cleaning on a regular basis, especially if you aren't "going gonzo" on the records with a VPI, Nitty Gritty, etc... type machine. Obviously, used records are bound to be much worse than brand new ones in terms of contaminants to both the grooves and the stylus.

Other than that, please do keep us posted. I love to hear about people "re-discovering" the joys of vinyl. As you may have seen me say before, you don't need to spend a lot of money to have an enjoyable analogue system. You just need to be willing to put in a little elbow grease and TLC : ) Sean
>

Pbb, with all your previous skepticism about analogue playback, think of getting originally recorded sources of the music you like that was on the very first place released to vinyls after master tapes. It's only and advantage there despite even even clicks and pops.

enjoy!

Pbb- Good show! I don't recall from your previous posts if you have a way to clean records. If not, even an inexpensive tool like the Nitty Gritty will help.

Regards
Jim

Always used a Discwasher brush with the Discwasher fluid. Always put the records back in their dust jacket and album jacket. Always tried to keep the stylus in ok shape by changing it regularly. These are the main reasons why I always assumed that my records were as clean as could be and, hence, as silent as could be. I knew one of the suggestions I would get would be to purchase a record cleaning machine. Right now, I went out last week and bought a carbon brush. The only one I could find locally is a Clearaudio. No complaints, except for the price; nearly $43.00 with taxes; this might give you some indication that how we choose to spend our hard earned cash up here requires a significant amount of deliberation. The new brush works fine. My fear was that it would simply push the dust along and leave it in a straight line across the record. I guess I was really influenced by Discwasher advertising way back when! One good thing about the Rega is the felt mat. Why you may ask. Simply because unlike the foam one of my previous tt it doesn't add a charge of static every time you move the record in it's vicinity. David, strangely enough, I have two Japanese pressings of Beatle's albums: Sgt Pepper's and Rubber Soul. Listened to Rubber Soul late last night and the pressing is remarkably quiet, not SACD or CD quiet, but quiet. Strange that Rega in its efforts to simplify vinyl playback seems to downplay the need for cleaning records by saying that the stylus will merely push the junk aside. Right now I will use what I have on hand to clean records, but I will probably be ordering Gruv'Glide. My one concern over this product is whether it is short term gain for long term pain: does it harm the vinyl? My main reason for not using the cleaning and treatment products way back when was that it was said that once you started using these products or playing them wet you had to keep to the same practice or the records would be even noisier. At any rate, I will find a noisy album to treat first and see what the results are. Good day.

Patrick,

Really, honest, please take the advice of cleaning your records. The Diskwasher system is NOT going to do it. You don't necessarily need to buy a RCM but a Nitty Gritty is so cheap I would recommend going that route. The secret to using the Gruv Glide is applying the smallest amount possible. I believe the can says it will treat 150 records. I get over 300 records out of each can I use. I'm no scientist and don't have any inside information on what is in Gruv Glide but I really don't think it is permanent. I've recleaned a treated record due to a click or pop and it's affects were gone. You probably won't believe the next statement but it is true. I almost NEVER have a click or pop unless the record is obviously scratched and scratched badly. Many visible defects are absolutely silent. Proper VTA will seriously reduce what is called surface noise. That is not an issue with my table at all. Search the threads on this subject: Several folks don't use a vacuum system and wash their records like dishes followed by a distilled water rinse. Also, search Google for a DIY record cleaning machine. These are every bit as good as the commercially available units for a fraction of the price and are easy to make. Trust us. We wouldn't mislead you. Enjoy!!!

Patrick