Frustrated with Vinly

Bdp24 is spot on with the possibility that a lot of ticks and pops that a lot of people assume is dirty vinyl is actually a Phonostage that is not quite right.

Now of course it could just be exactly dirty vinyl but I know when I " returned" to vinyl I was extremely underwhelmed with my entry level gear.

Don't give up though as once vinyl sings to you, well there's no turning back then.

And saying that I am sitting listening to a stupendous DVD-A recording right now, lol.😎😎

I forgot about one album that I had bought and just played one of the tracks, Dire Straits On Every Street: You and Your Friend

I ran my anti-static brush on it before playing and cleaned the stylus. It played flawlessly, not even one pop or crackle.

Finally, some relief, lol.

But that tells me it's got to be the records and need better cleaning I assume.

Playing Tin Pan Alley by Stevie Ray Vaughan right now as I type and it has just a few crackle's, so that also makes me feel a little bit better. 

I think I tend to panic to quick. Going to need to get a better cleaning method/apparatus. 

By the way, I have another thread asking about opinions on some turntables but wanted to get a quick opinion, what do you all think of the Thorens TD 148a?

I do like the convenience of auto start and stop (especially the stop).

Thnx

You have a well engineered phono stage, look elsewhere for the gremlin.
search hand washing records in sink for tips

Regardless of what the artIcle says this is going back into my reassembly of my 70’s system. 😀

SAE 5000

http://www.swingmusic.net/sae.html

Hi

Your frustration is something I completely understand. At the end of 2015, I thought it would be a good idea to start listing to LP's again. Do, dug out my 45 year old turntable, dusted it off, put a new cartridge in it and I was off to the races. Or so I thought...

Had all the same issues. The pops were driving me crazy, that and static. And, so began the arduous journey into cleaning records. Started with home brew formulas, various brushes, cloths and methods. 

Got a spin clean - which drove me crazy and made me want to walk away from records and cut my losses. The SC seemed to make more noise than it took away. I had replaced the TT with a new one at this point so there was a decision to make.

Problem is, records sound so sweet! (Plus I love the process of having to get up and put one on - took more commitment than streaming something from my computer)

Stubbornly kept at it and decided I was going to see it through.

As I was trying to sort out the cleaning, I was also trying to work my way through what pressing and from where and by who.

A friend of mine deals in UK pressings. He returns to "Jolly Old" three/four times a year and comes back with a stockpile of wonderful product. He was a big help in finding my way through the myriad of options for pressings. 

Picked up a RCM for a good price, and now listening is a joy. The Okki Nokki is by no means a high end machine. But, when the right care is taken. and right materials used during cleaning, I am very happy with the results.

Has completely changed my relationship with LP's. Now, if there is the odd snap, crackle or pop, it doesn't bother me as they are few and far between and more often then not, the result of a mark on the vinyl. 

There will be a point I suspect, where your collection grows to the point where you are "all in", and an RCM will become a part of the set up.

P