Vinyl's Noise Floor


vinyl's noise floorI'm actively considering returning to analog after a 19 year hiatus from it. I listen to a lot of classical music, which, as we know, has many pianissimo, i.e., soft passages. If the soon-to-be desuetude 16 bit format has an attribute, in my opinion, it would be an extremely low noise floor. I've read about the advantages of analog, the most salient of which is its innate sense of continuity and palpability. What concerns me about vinyl is its, supposedly, high noise floor.Assuming that the recording is of the highest calibre, the vinyl impeccably clean, and the analog rig unequivocally great, will there be even a modicum of distracting noise during a near-silent segment of music?
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Showing 1 response by albertporter

It is possible to get vinyl as quiet as CD, but there are dozens of factors making an absolute yes or no answer difficult. Much Depends on how hard you want to work to get there.

There is nothing in your post that hints at related equipment or quality of software. Even if "highest calibre" as you state, does this mean brand new or always cared for LP's from your collection?

What is the quality of the turntable arm and cartridge, how efficient are the speakers and what are you using for the phono stage? How close do you sit from your speakers and at what sound pressure level must you listen to fill your listening room and convince yourself that the balance of the presentation is correct?