Frustrated with Vinly


Hey All,

Just coming here to let out out my frustration with Vinyl. I know that Vinyl takes patience but it's frustrating when playing some of my newer records and they have noises that I do not want to hear. Meaning, I try to clean them and they still have noise (pops, crackles, etc). When playing at low volumes of course you do not hear as much but when I turn up the volume is when it gets irritating. 

I can understand if older vinyl would sound like this but these are my newer records that I bought (amazon or barnes and nobles).

Now, I know the products that I am using are probably not great in the first place and I will probably need to upgrade to some more serious cleaner).

Currently trying to use a combo of: Kaiu Vinyl record cleaning set and I have also tried the Audio Technica AT6012 Record Care Kit.

So now I am considering either a Spin Clean type system or Pro-Ject  VC-S2 ALU Type cleaning system.

Any suggestions?

I almost want to give up on Vinyl sometimes and stick to digital (cd, hi res files, qobuz streaming).

Current equipment: denon dp-300f w/2m blue cart.

Thanks

Jay
128x128jay73

Showing 9 responses by noromance

@averyclark
My TT setup is probably Mid-FI -(1200gr/ATvm540ML/Elac PPA-2 Phono) at best.
I have that cartridge. It's pretty good. I bought it as a reference point to judge my three $800-$1750 (used) Deccas. Suffice to say, and I was pleasantly surprised, the Deccas were far better. My point is that you can't (respectively) judge the medium from your perspective.
@saburo +1
@jay73 The better the noise floor and dynamic range of the turntable/arm/cartridge/phono combo, the greater the ratio between intrusive vinyl noise and the quality of the sound (music).
@jay73 Since you asked earlier, the Spin Clean is very effective for the price.
1. Get a Spin Clean and clean all your records.
2. Buy Mobile Fidelity inner sleeves.
3. Buy a box of Mr. Muscle pads.
3a. Drop stylus with cue lever onto pad. Lift. Repeat. (Do not drag over stylus.) After every side.
4. Sell table and buy a Pioneer PLX1000, Technics SL1500c, or a Technics 1200GR.
5. Find a solid record store with used original pressings and explore other new music.
You can buy after-market end of record lifting devices so don’t let manual only tables turn you off. That said, I already recommended a semi-auto Technics 1500c if you can't stretch to a 1200GR. Forget the Thorens. A used VPI Classic might also suit. 
@jay73 I haven’t heard the Thorens. Current models are not great like the old TD125, 160, 124 etc. 
Each to their own. But what Uberwaltz says is true. At a certain level of system synergy, vinyl has a magic all its own. If you've never been there, you can never know.
I think I hear a slight positive difference in the sound but not sure yet
Be careful with "upgrades" for the sake of it. And beware of fooling yourself with confirmation bias.