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What's wrong with classical music on vinyl?

As I go through my collection of classical music on vinyl, and get new ones from record stores and eBay, I notice that I am not impressed with the sound quality. Most of my pop music albums sound fine. The classical (even sealed), on the other hand, sounds full of static, noise, and pops that completely drown out the music. The rubber surrounds on my woofers ripple visibly, and the more intense passages become distorted (particulary the brass instruments). (And yes, I've tried it with minimal volume, to test the feedback theory, and with the same results.) I've tried extensive record cleaning with some of the most recommended products. On the other hand, my non-classical music sounds fine. Madonna, Yes, and Simon and Garfunkel play fine. So do Crosby Stills + Nash, REM, and Nickelback.

The only thing I can think of is that the classical music tends to be recorded at a much lower volume, thereby causing a low signal to noise ratio, whereas the pop music is inherently recorded at a higher volume, and this helps to drown out the noise.

I'm beginning to think that I should stick to CD's or brand-new 200g LP's for classical music from here on.

Any comments/suggestions?
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tlh28
90 posts
 
Hi,

A number of people who are more qualified than me have offered some excellent suggestions. Setup/compatability of the cartridge in particular. I too have experienced the noise problems you mention with classical music, even with my former excellent vinyl setup. Believe it or not, the biggest improvement I made in terms of noise reduction was getting a better phono preamp, in my case the phono stage of my VAC Avatar. It made a huge difference in reduction of noise compared w/ the phono stages of some mid-priced tube preamps I had before (CJ, Anthem, Counterpoint). Not that you have to go to tubes, but I suspect that a higher quality phono stage would make a significant improvement, assuming it is worth the $$ to you.

TLH
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Gregm...A quick check of specs shows...

Ortofons run 25dB at 1 KHz and 15dB at 15KHz.
One model, Jubilee, is 27 and 20.

Clearaudio claims 30 dB for the Virtuoso MM and 35dB for the Sigma gold.

I believe that almost all cartridges are in this range, which I think is really no problem.

The Allaert MC1b claims 60 dB, and some other Allaert models claim 70dB. This is more than I thought to be possible. The spec comes with a warning that this performance depends on the arm. In other words, you might not actually achieve it.
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
What a mess!
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Instead of looking at that cartridges channel separation specifications, that time would be better spent listening and determining if it works in your system.

Second best option is ask someone who's ears you trust, how does it sound? Specifications have almost no value in determining whether a product sounds good or not.

Example:
Amplifier A has distortion specifications of .002% THD and produces 1000 watts of power per channel.

Amplifier B has distortion specifications of <3% THD and produces 750 watts of power per channel.

Which sounds better?

Product are:
Amp A is Kenwood automotive amp.
Amp B is VTL 750 mono blocks.

This could go on for pages, there are countless products that have great specifications and sound bad and products that have lesser specifications that sound excellent.

I don't know if it's flaws in the measuring process, people measuring are inept, the wrong things are being measured or the data is falsified. Regardless, specifications are not something on which I would base my decision to buy.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Albertporter...Of course not all sonic characteristics can be measured, but some can. I have heard it said, as a general statement, that vinyl playback has separation as good as digital. For your particular cartridge, to my surprise, that appears to be almost true, but it would be quite unwise (IMHO) to tell newcomers to vinyl that they can expect separation equal to digital. Or background noise. To obtain your cartridge you need to get on a six month waiting list, as well as having several grand to spend. Few guys will do this.

As I have said a number of times, I think that 25dB separation is good enough for music anyway, so what are we arguing about? I happen to think that vinyl playback can stand on its own merits without making technical claims that don't stand up to objective study.
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