@oldaudiophile
"Regarding the Roy Gandy theory of the stylus just pushing dust & debris out of the way, there is a funny story about this. Can't remember where I read or possibly saw the video about this, probably Analog Planet or one of Michael Fremer's many videos. As best I recall, Mr. Fremer was visiting the Rega factory in England and was later invited to Mr. Gandy's home. Upon discussing this idea that the TT stylus just pushes dust & debris out of the way, Mr. Fremer suggested putting this to the test by playing a succession of records without brushing and without a dust cover in place. It wasn't long before enough dust & debris had accumulated at the stylus tip that it lost contact with the record grooves and ultimately started skipping around on the record. I wonder how Mr. Gandy plays his records now."
Let's get real here and thanks for addressing me directly @oldaudiophile by linking my username. I've always advocated in all my posts dusting a record prior to play as in the one you responded to just preceding yours. When the stylus encounters foreign matter as the record plays it pushes it out of the way.
The endless dissertations in this thread regarding what electrical charges and dust particles have to do with noisy playback are essentially moot and quoting old research papers published decades ago when the technology was still in it's infancy to bolster one's position on an age-old subject. With newer and more advanced stylus profiles, if a listener would take the time to do their discovery, purchase a cartridge that uses a better profile and set it up in their tonearm as directed by the manufacturer along with the most basic record handling and hygiene practices is all that is required to control the noise levels during vinyl playback. There are always going to be minute surface defects and occasional non-fill from the stamping process. Also, there might be foreign matter adhered at the very surface which can be delt with permanently using a keen eye and a fingernail if one remembers the track that was playing where it occurred in the music segment. Not a cure for all occasional pops and clicks but that's vinyl.
Using additives on a records surface (Groove Glide or whatever) poses protentional future risks as the components of that material ages and brakes down in the groove. Cleaning solutions as well, regardless of the manufacture's claims about it's purity and effectiveness will leave residue on the records surface and in the grooves that will eventually contribute to surface noise. Observing the accumulation of these substances on the stylus after play is direct evidence.
I also watched fastidiously the series of Micheal Fremer videos when he visited Rega several years ago and don't recall a segment where Fremer put Gandy's assertions to the test as I quoted you above. Find me a link to the segment you're referring to and I'll stand corrected.
If you believe that Fremer is a final authority on anything having to do with vinyl, then you must be one of his lambs. He can be credited along with others for helping to keep vinyl in the public's conciseness during it's darkest days, however.
