battling the pops and clicks


I recently put together an vinyl rig (Nottingham Horizon w/Dynavector 10x5 and Whest phono stage) I am really liking the sound, and I see what all the talk is about for sure. This setup really gives my Ayre D1xe digital setup a run for the money, and if it weren't for the pops and clicks I think I would certainly prefer the sound overall. This is saying a lot considering the price gap between my digital and analog setup.

I have the VPI 16.5 and disc doctor brushes and cleaning fluids and have spent some time and effort to fully clean my records in an effort to eliminate all noise. I bought quite a few new 180 gram records so I would have a good idea of what sound vinyl has to offer. I also have plenty of dusty old records from years back, which is the real reason I wanted a turntable to begin with. As much as I work at cleaning the records, it seems no amount of work will eliminate the pops and clicks. The more I focus on trying to get rid of them the more it bugs me. It seems to happen just as much with the new records as the old ones.

What I'm wondering is, do I need a better table and cartridge if I expect to listen to records with total silence? Or what am I doing wrong with my current setup? I've followed the cleaning instructions very closely and even taken it a step further by adding additional rinsing cycles with distilled water. I've used stylus cleaner and of course always used the carbon fibre dry brush before playing, and clean sleeves too.

The cleaning has reduced the noise, pops and clicks greatly, but in my opinion, more is still there than I would consider acceptable. Is this something that you just learn to tune out from or is there a way to fix it completely?

thanks, -Ryan
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As hard as the men who master LPs for us try, they will never be able to match the dynamic compression of CDs!

Ticks and pops in my system are rare. I still do not like them when they appear, but when I take into consideration the give and take between digital and vinyl, I will settle for vinyl anyday over the flat lifeless sound typically found on CD.
thanks for all the info, I am finding that I am learning how to clean my records in a way that is improving the noises I was getting before. I would be interested to hear what methods Nrchy and Lugnut are using to clean their records. I have a strong feeling much of what I hear is static, and it seems that since the AC has been running less it has improved, a quick rinse with distilled water seems to improve things a lot too.

I fully agree with the amazing superiority of vinyl. I am comparing a rather entry level vinyl system to a top notch digital source, and it is just a huge letdown when I go back to CD after playing some vinyl. I can warm back up to it and have to since I can't get everything I want on vinyl, but I've been making a point of playing CDs first and then listening to vinyl, or just skipping the CDs altogether.

I am looking into upgrading my table/arm/cart to a Nottingham Spacedeck/Spacearm and a Shelter 90x.

thanks, -Ryan
I recently bought a XYZ RS20 and am amazed at how little i hear the clicks and pops that drove me nuts with my Clearaudio Arum Beta S,,soooo much quieter now!
Ryan,

I've sent you a private email about record cleaning since I didn't want to start any more controvery in this thread. Cleaning of vinyl is a pretty divisive topic in these threads. I urge you to try several products, label what you used on the outter sleeve and monitor how well they do over a period of time.

Good luck,
Patrick