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Where do classical vinyl records get their rumble from?

Recently converted back to vinyl from silver disks, I am struck by how much rumble seems to be inherent in the new and used vinyl I am buying.

A case in point, is a recent Deutsche Grammophon (DG) recording (487 7484) of Mahler’s Second Symphony made at a live performance at the Sydney Opera House (I was there).  The first set I bought was amongst the dirtiest pressings I have ever had, but the second set was much improved.  However, there is a persistent rumble whether played on my Holbo Mk2 air bearing system or my venerable Garrard 301 (new bearing from Classic Turntable Company).

Mahler typically has huge dynamic range, from muted off-stage performers to hundreds of musicians going hell-for-leather.

The rumble could be partly caused by the venue’s air conditioning system, but I hear similar background on a Telarc recording (Stereo 10051) of Saint Saens Organ Symphony made in Philadelphia.  Telarc even arranged to have local roads shut down for the recording sessions.

Similar efforts were made by DG when recording the organ at Notre Dame in Paris, where recording was done late at night to reduce traffic noise.  My copy includes Dolby Atmos on Pure-Audio Bly-ray (DG 486 1466).

I was beginning to think the rumble was inherent in my tables, but then I played a German Direct Metal Mastered (DMM) set from In-Akustik for Clearaudio’s 40th anniversary (INAK 78051 2LP).  It includes some Telarc tracks.  This set has the quietest background I’ve never heard.  There is virtually no rumble, exonerating my tables.

So apart from the recoding venue’s air conditioning and traffic noise, why do so many classical records seem to have built-in rumble?  Could it be from the mastering lathe?

I am really only thinking about classical recordings where the dynamic range approximates the signal to noise ratio of vinyl, meaning that very low-level signals are musically important, while simultaneously bumping against the noise floor.

richardbrand
richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand OP
1,389 posts
 

Here's one set of Deutsche Grammophon records that won't be bothering me with poor quality control. 

I had ordered the set from Presto almost six months ago and Presto has been regularly sending me delivery updates, for example in March:

We have been notified by our supplier that your item is unexpectedly out of stock. We expect this situation to be resolved within the next two weeks and will despatch it as soon as possible

I just received this email:

Thank you for your recent internet order.
I regret to say however that we are unable to supply one of the items ordered:

Item 1x Deutsche Grammophon - 4864943 Rachmaninoff: the Piano Concertos & Paganini Rhapsody

We had hoped that this disc would become available soon. Unfortunately, after discussions with the record label they have advised us that it has been deleted from their catalogue and they have no current plans to re-manufacture.
We have refunded ...

I reckon I won't see my set of DG Paganini Caprices by Maria Duenas, catalogue number 4865711, ordered in April, any time soon either. Yet this is a relatively recent release from DG - 7th Mar 2025 to be precise. 

Are we seeing the start of the end of physical media?  Or has the Gulf war so reduced the supply of vinyl that the Universal Music Group is rationing it?

 

kevemaher's avatar
kevemaher
421 posts
 

Yet another reason to end the preposterous war against Iran.

gbmcleod
608 posts
 

@ghdprentice 

Is the rumble (of the subways) you’re referring to hearing on the 'Nutcracker' recording the Mercury Living Presence recording with Dorati and The London Symphony Orchestra?

I ask because I have several of Mercury's recordings where I could hear the subways, or even trucks passing outside the symphony hall. And I believe that those recordings were at Watford Hall in the UK. I don’t recall ever hearing it with London Symphony Orchestra recorded elsewhere. (I had never thought about that at all until just now!)

Anyway, none of that is evident on my current good-but-not-great system, but I could hear it on the systems I listened to 15 years ago, which were far superior at low-level information.

P.S. I took the time to look at your system components. I should have realized it would turn out to be top-tier Audio Research! I had an SP-11, SP-9 and a few of their amps back in the ’80s and ’90s. Ah, the good ol’ days...😊

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,466 posts
 

@gbmcleod 

It is: The Royal Ballet Gala Performances RCA Victor Living Stereo, 1958 recording I believe. Classic Records Release. I think there was only a thousand or so released on heavy vinyl. 

goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,589 posts
 

I think I've discovered a large part of your problem, buying Deutsche Grammophon vinyl. It's odd that early Archiv Produktion recordings sound as heavenly as they do, when nearly every Deutsche Grammophon pressing that I've listened to is mediocre by comparison.

@richardbrand Just as an experiment, can you load a mono cartridge onto one of your tables and play these records that are bothering you? I'm just curious whether these anomaly's exist within the vertical wall of the pressing. 

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