Brand new vinyl - what’s acceptable to you?


I just ordered a dozen new albums - this time all 180 g variants. The Norah Jones had a scratch on it coming out of the paper sleeve the first time. (Separate gripe - why do they package ostensibly “audiophile” albums in crappy sleeves which might actually damage a record?).  I’ll return the Norah Jones. But, the Miles Davis album has a noisy spot 1/4 the way through the first track. I’ll try cleaning the record but usually don’t have to for a new album. Or should I as a better practice? (This old dog can learn new habits).

Fortunately, the Pat Metheny is dead quiet - thank you ECM! All my ECM vinyl - even from decades ago are quiet. However, my experience is that ECM is very much an outlier: that most labels will come with some noise.

I’m working my way through all the albums but it made me want to poll the group: How much noise do you accept on a new pressing?  Do you have a rule of thumb for what to reject?

Thanks,

 

mgrif104

To “lewm” it may concern.

You sound quite normal to me. Are you sure you need those meds?

 

l only feel l have to wash as a “LAST” resort. 🛁

I have an absolutely flawless minty JJ Cale OP I bin dived out of a Goodwill…. The small victories of the vinyl Camino Real

I clean all my new records on my Degritter before I ever play them. I also have a Keith Monks DiscOveryOne that I use before each play.

I had a HumminGuru and it worked well, but I just yearned for the Degritter...

I also have a Record Doctor X that I use when I hand clean used records.

How much noise will I accept on a new record. None!

I have also noticed a lot of new releases are arriving warped. I use my Orb DF-01iA on those. If they flatten properly and sound fine, I keep them.