Well I learned from this thread that you really can’t completely eliminate crackles and pops in vinyl playback, and a word “anthropomorphization” that doesn’t help with static either
Dealing with Static on LP palyback
Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with static build up on LPs as I play them? Just playing one side is something enough to cause an arc when I pick up the album. Most of the time I hear tiny, consistent crackles that sound just like static.
All the things I tried that claim to reduce static does not. I must have four record mats and a camel hair tone arm brush, all of which claim to reduce static but have no effect that I can see.
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SAY WHAT! I merely presented data that may help explain the observation and reports with measurements that the diamond stylus in sliding contact with the record does not cause static, and nothing else. Peace |
The key to The Triboelectric Effect Series - AlphaLab, Inc is looking at the values and then comparing values to estimate the relative charge affinity between materials. For example, HDPE which is used for many (MoFi) record sleeves has a charge affinity of -90 while PVC has a charge affinity of -100. They are close, but the table predicts that if HDPE & PVC slide, HDPE will give up electrons to PVC which will gain, and PVC can develop a static charge. Ergo, when removing records from HDPE record sleeves, remove slowly. Otherwise, if you check other triboelectric series, you find glass to be one of the most positive - it wants to give up electrons. No, there is no specific data for diamond that I found (and I am not going to dive deeper) other than the article I spoke of earlier, so there is the need for some deductive reasoning.
My textbook only quotes THE WEAR AND CARE OF RECORDS AND STYLI, by Harold D. Weiler, 1954, and states: I.1.2 “Record dust/dirt when examined under a microscope consists of grease, stylus particles, abrasive material, and solids which resemble wool fibers covered with a soft waxy substance. An analysis of the "dust" removed from a number of stylus tips, which had been used on dirty records, showed that it consisted of approximately; 12% jagged silica particles, 35% diamond dust, 40% miscellaneous particles, including soot, grit and particles worn from the record groove itself. The remaining 13% consisted of fibers and lint.” Unfortunately, Weller never differentiated the particle size, and those materials, diamond dust should be of no consequence because of how fine it should be. My textbook states: VI.13.3 "...This has to exist as a very, very fine powder and the finest diamond powder you can buy is 100,000 grit which is 0.25 micron. So, the diamond wear powder on the record is probably less which in the end becomes inconsequential so long as there is no cleaner residue." However, the silica (which are like sand) and miscellaneous particles from the pressing factory (think about unsealed concrete floors) and the residential home can be sources. As far as aluminum platters, in Chapter VI of my textbook you will see where I grounded my VPI Al platter (all the way back to the source outlet), and where I use a DIY record mat made from a three-layer vinyl (with conductive center) electrostatic discharge control (ESD) mat, but it can only be used with a reflex clamp since it has no record label depression. Take care, Neil |
Excuse my ignorance, but I don't know what a reflex clamp is? Is it one that uses a lever to grip on the spindle to exert downforce on the record? My only gripe about the Holbo, and it is a very minor one, is that the spindle is too short especially if you want to use a platter mat. The supplied puck is recessed underneath by about 2-mm so when a thick record plus 5-mm mat plus 2-mm recess are added, the centering hole in the puck just misses the top of the spindle. I will get a 3-mm Achromat to try! If that doesn't work I'll be filling in a bit of the recess ... |
Yes, such as the SOTA clamp - Reflex Clamp – Sota Turntables. VPI tables have a threaded spindle, and they have a screw-down clamps. A washer about 25-mm wide and 1-mm think is used to lift the record a little, and then the reflex/screw-down clamp slightly bows the record near the outer edge of the label to clamp it to the mat. They are very good for records with dish warps. But, like all things, some people like them and others do not.
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