lordsummit Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I'm a newbie round these parts, but I know where you're coming from. Pops are a nightmare. I use a wet vacuum machine, and it gets rid of a huge amount of surface noise. It won't turn a sows ear to a silk purse. I have a Blue Note of Sonny Rollins that looks so perfect, and I've cleaned the thing nearly till the grooves go flat, but it still sounds awful at the beginning. I do think though that the Rega Cart's tend to accentuate the noise, I ran a Bias many years ago, and from memory it was quite a hard little cartridge. The most forgiving cartridge I ever had was a Denon 103, but that might cause you problems needing a different phono stage, plus there's a whole can of worms with end of side tracking. I don't know if you can get one on your side of the Atlantic, but the Denon 110 is a little miracle for not very much money, I'm almost certain it would sound better, and make you less aware of the noise. Try some of your records on another deck as well, see if it makes a difference. It is worth getting right. I don't know what the second hand market is like out there, but it might be worth buying something like a VPI, cleaning all your records, and then selling it on. They do make a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted February 27, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 27, 2015 Bumped for Earl to look at 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm a newbie round these parts, but I know where you're coming from. Pops are a nightmare. I use a wet vacuum machine, and it gets rid of a huge amount of surface noise. It won't turn a sows ear to a silk purse. I have a Blue Note of Sonny Rollins that looks so perfect, and I've cleaned the thing nearly till the grooves go flat, but it still sounds awful at the beginning. I do think though that the Rega Cart's tend to accentuate the noise, I ran a Bias many years ago, and from memory it was quite a hard little cartridge. The most forgiving cartridge I ever had was a Denon 103, but that might cause you problems needing a different phono stage, plus there's a whole can of worms with end of side tracking. I don't know if you can get one on your side of the Atlantic, but the Denon 110 is a little miracle for not very much money, I'm almost certain it would sound better, and make you less aware of the noise. Try some of your records on another deck as well, see if it makes a difference. It is worth getting right. I don't know what the second hand market is like out there, but it might be worth buying something like a VPI, cleaning all your records, and then selling it on. They do make a difference. I used a record vac, and a Sumiko Blue Point Special cartridge to eliminate static, and pops.... I was told it cut a new groove into the record, and that is why there was no noise. Almost all of my records were purchased used when I had the cartridge and they were virtually silent when there was no music. So silent that people picked the vinyl as the best when I would cue up a cd , and record for demos, they could not believe that they picked vinyl until I lifted the arm and they heard the sound go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 A couple of names I haven't seen here in awhile (pauln and mas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 pauln was a Houston guy who visited my house. Made me feel like a mental midget, but a great guy. He had a massive collection of 78s. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 If all the cleaning does not solve it you can scour eBay and Craigslist for a Burwen Research TNE-7000A Transient Noise Eliminator or DNF-1201A Noise Filter. They can also be used in conjunction. The DBX SNR-1 (Single Ended Noise Reduction) may help as well. The key is obviously a clean and de-static'd record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) All this talk about noisy vinyl makes me want to make a point. Surface noise on all records varies to degrees. Some are very quiet, some very noisy. Most are somewhere in between. Certainly I would love to have "digital quiet" vinyl pressings. Unfortunately, most of my collection is far from it. So I have learned to focus on the music and ignore the ticks and pops. The sad reality is that not all people can do that. I had a friend who spent several thousands of dollars on a TT, phono stage and few records. I think he kept everything a couple of months before he finally gave up and dumped it all. He just couldn't get past the noise, no matter how much the sound thrashed his digital rig. So the bottom line is that no matter how good the sonics, some people just won't put up with any residual noise. There may be a lot of you reading this post right now, you know who you are. No shame in it, it's just not for everyone. I, for one, will continue to enjoy my records. And every time I upgrade something in the vinyl chain, or further fine tune my rig, I get a big grin. Shakey Edited February 27, 2015 by Shakeydeal 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 DizRotus has some super duper record cleaner last I heard. May want to contact him here on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 There used to be formulas that were for DIYers to make their own record cleaners.... I am sure they are still out there if you look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 This is what I have used for years. http://www.discdoc.com/p15.html Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 This is what I have used for years. http://www.discdoc.com/p15.html Shakey Do you use that with a vacuum machine or just manually? I've been using this but it takes a loooong time and I have hundreds of records to go. I'm wondering if I could speed things up without consequence if I used with a vacuum system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Yes, I use a Nitty Gritty cleaner. Not as nice as a VPI, but works fine. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I see that Disc doctor has instructions for using their fluid with a vacuum system. Do you have any tips or tricks in addition or that are different to the Disc Doctor instructions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) I have almost eliminated nearly all dust and static based surface noise... and I am using an EXTREMELY sensitive cartridge with a ruby stylus. I use distilled water... and that is it. except when I get a new record, then I use a combo alcohol and water recipe. when I first clean an LP with A/DW mix on a new LP, I get a lot of noise... but the record is clean. after some time in the sleeve after the initial cleaning, the record is only wiped (no more than three to four revolutions) with a discwasher brush and distilled water and my LP's are nearly dead quite. naturally if there is actual surface imperfections, no amount of cleaning will get rid of that sound. one word of advice if you do try this... YOU MUST make sure you get an older version of the brush: this is one with NO RED thread or material and definitely not one of the newer units that are tan in color. if you want to see how much I believe in this, one brush is more than enough to last nearly a lifetime... I own 8 of them. Edited February 27, 2015 by Schu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 (edited) If you're serious and willing to put in some effort, read the thread at https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/145942-the-best-way-to-clean-preserve-vinyl/Not to say that other methods don't work, but I've tried most and nothing works as well as the Reg Williamson (RW) system previously available from the now defunct Old Colony Sound Lab.As I begin the process of ripping vinyl to FLAC for use on my Pono, I would NEVER go to that trouble without first giving the record the full RW treatment. If the record isn't worth cleaning, why preserve it as a high quality digital file? The RW system allows me to haunt thrift stores, used record shops and the like to score hidden gems that appear to be beyond all hope.Send a PM if you want to pursue this avenue. Edited February 28, 2015 by DizRotus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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