Dealing with Static on LP palyback

@speedthrills ”no one will convince me…”

Vinyl is definitely a good source for people who know what they are doing, and have a fair idea of what to expect. A sorry and worst case scenario would be owning a 6K turntable, and never learning how to set it up correctly.

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." (Michael Corleone, GFIII.)

I just have to respond to RB.  You wrote, "You obviously made your mind up that there is little to no triboelectric effect with the vinyl / diamond pairing, and deduced without evidence that diamond and vinyl must be almost identical from a triboelectric perspective."   That is exactly wrong and what I did NOT say. I did not "make up my mind" about anything.  I originally bought the. ES charge meter in order to quantify the charge on the diaphragms of my ESL speakers.  As it turns out, you cannot do that, safely at least, because the stators are interposed between the meter and the diaphragm.  So then this subject of does the stylus cause ES charge became au courant, and I realized I could use the meter to acquire some actual data on that very different subject. The data I get are as I reported them, and after many repeats of the same experiment, I am convinced that the stylus/vinyl interface does not significantly charge up the vinyl surface, BECAUSE of my actual data, not because I had a preconceived notion. A priori, I could not have cared less where the truth lies. I was only searching for actual data.

Then, as you say yourself, I searched the web for information about the triboelectric classification of diamond, and to date I have not found any table that contains both diamond and PVC or vinyl.  Then I found the same paper as quoted by Antinn, only I did not realize that until after I posted my response to Antinn.  That paper is a bit confusing, so we can leave it out for now, because I proceed on the assumption that diamond might in fact be a good electron donor to vinyl. So I ask why I don’t see a charge buildup after playing an LP.  And that’s where we are now.  It is ironic to me that you persist in claiming that I am close-minded on the subject or that I went into my investigation with a preconceived notion, when in fact it is you who are so wed to the idea that the stylus does induce ES charge on an LP that you have made up a cockamamie story about electrons trapped in the groove and positively charged dust particles and how that neutralized particle could somehow both cause the negative consequences attributable to actual measurable ES charge AND at the same time evade detection by my meter.  You also persist in intimating that the difference between -100V and -200V, the before and after play measurements I obtained and reported here, is significant.  I am telling you that when a charged up LP reads -11,000V, a readings of -100V vs -200V, at the low end of the sensitivity of the meter, are not significantly different.  If you are a scientist or have ever performed formal scientific experiments, you would or should know this. I spent 40 years of my life conducting and publishing experiments in scientific journals using all kinds of measuring devices, and I do know this. Especially since subsequent repeat experiments show that that small difference between before and after is not repeatable.  If the diamond is a culprit, would you not want to see voltages at least in the same order of magnitude as what happens when I yank an LP out of a paper sleeve?  I would, and I don't.

@speedthrills 

"Admittedly this will read as snarky but its not meant to be. Having been frustrated with the expense and tedium of vinyl myself, my advice is to cut your losses on vinyl and go back to streaming, no one will convince me vinyl’s a better all around experience. It's nostalgic - for a while- then the realities of its drawback and limitations set in."

You're probably completely lacking in self-discipline.

@faustuss on self-discipline…..

l agree that this hobby demands self-discipline. It understandably requires positive thought patterns to be applied. With LPs a keen ear and understanding of “vinyl foibles” was comprehensibly covered in the recent discussion above. 

Some new entrants will always fall by the wayside if attention to detail is beyond their remit, even if they have the $£ investment for the job sat right in front of them.
 

@chayro Thanks for the tip on Gruv Glide!

Yep!  I am sold!

I purchased it and it arrived yesterday.  I followed the instructions, and my wife and I listened to a Neil Diamond record post ultrasonic cleaning and then a before and after test using the Gruv Glide.  The music was definitely more musical, more liquid sounding in the midrange and high end, the bottom was a bit more pronounced.  No change in detail, just more musical.  The difference is more than subtle and noticeable when doing the comparison.  Without comparison, the system just sounds a lot better, without a focus on exactly what is better. 

As for static, I did a tough test.  I played the treated record without the static draining tonearm brush and at the end of playing, there was no static.  Zero, non-whatsoever.

The only catch here is getting the right amount on the record.  Too little and it has little, if any effect.  The instructions state to use it sparingly, which is what I am doing.  As such, I haven’t had a case where I applied too much.  I might give that a try and see what happens.

Overall, I am going to treat all my LP’s with this.  Seriously, in this hi-fi game, anything that works this well usually sells for $50+ for 25 records, not $30 for 150 records.  I am definitely sold on this!

R