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?
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xsufentanil

Showing 1 response by raquel

Referring to an above post, perhaps it's more a function of the fact that classical music, with its many quiet passages, highlights surface noise, and perhaps Sufentanil is particularly bothered by it.

I have been discussing this very issue with a friend recently, and note that I am annoyed by surface noise with piano recordings and tend to prefer to listen to piano via C.D. Solo piano shows tape hiss more than most other instruments because the performer is often playing in the mid-register or lower, and there is nothing to hide the hiss, which is high frequency in content (string music, which lives in the upper mids and treble, is much better at hiding tape hiss). Similarly, the sparse, single-note-at-a-time aspect of some piano music can highlight ticks and pops because there is no other sound occurring to drown out the noise. In addition, before I put a motor controller on my turntable, the decay of piano notes would occassionally sound a bit off because of turntable wow and flutter.

I do not believe the problem is my LP's or my equipment. I have a wide range of used and new-reissue classical LP's, and clean them all on a VPI record cleaner with an alcohol-based fluid (Nitty Gritty) upon purchasing them and then periodically thereafter as needed. I use a carefully set-up VPI Aries, VPI 10.5 arm, and v.d.H. Frog on a Black Diamond The Source Shelf that is decoupled from the custom component stand it sits on via sorbathane, and the motor is decoupled from the BDR shelf via sorbathane, all into a Rowland Cadence / Coherence II run from batteries -- my analog system is anything but inherently noisy.

In short, I tend to much prefer piano music via C.D. for these reasons, even though the CD's do compress dynamic range. Piano is my only gripe, though -- I could just as easily describe how symphonic music sounds best to me on vinyl, because, with the exception of a few Reference Recordings HDCD's and XRCD reissues I own, I find that the vast majority of CD's cannot handle the dynamic range of symphonic music and compress on peaks (I also think digital recordings alter the timbre of string instruments -- I'd much rather hear strings via analog). As for my CD rig, it is an ARC CD-3 that was preceded by a Levinson 360s / 37, so it's not my CD players, and the rest of my gear in my main system is slightly rolled off or relatively neutral (VAC 140 tube monos, Revel Salons and Kimber Select cabling, dedicated lines, power conditioning, tweaks, etc.).