Need advice on preamp and rig pls

[E-Stat]

So I unhooked the preamp for good. It was producing a sound too hot for me. Now things are smooth and warm again, not amplified and pumped up on both ends. I don’t mind having the volune level a bit lower... it will never match the aux level output.

I agree with the comments about loading, but... understand it is a very modestly designed unit using op amps with a switching wall wart power supply.

"Audiophile grade" as screened on the cover it is not.

 

[4-2-7]

Hell, it could even be the quality of the water the pressing plant uses to wash the discs before packaging.

Pressing plants don't wash new records.

Or the amount of dust in the room where they cut the sleeves.

Pressing plant generally don't print or make the cover, but a few places do. I also never seen a cover get cut, the right size parts are printed, assembled and folded if a gate fold. But packing the records would not be in that space.

Look at this vid, and if you just want to see the jackets being made it starts at 2:20 mark.

The same goes for labels being farmed out to printers, that's all this company does.

 

[Nixxuz]

Pressing plants don't wash new records.


Pressing plant generally don't print or make the cover, but a few places do. I also never seen a cover get cut, the right size parts are printed, assembled and folded if a gate fold. But packing the records would not be in that space.

Look at this vid, and if you just want to see the jackets being made it starts at 2:20 mark.

The same goes for labels being farmed out to printers, that's all this company does.

Did not know about the washing. It seems like the sort of thing they would do to get rid of...well, anything that's not supposed to be there. And I was referring to the paper sleeves, not the jacket. I assume those get cut in bulk somewhere, and that they can be either good or bad about making sure any paper dust is gone. In any case, I'm sure there are multiple reasons a brand new pressing might suffer from pops and tics straight out the shrink wrap.

 

[hiFi DAD]

I'm sure there are multiple reasons a brand new pressing might suffer from pops and tics straight out the shrink wrap.

Forgive me if the conversation has shifted, but I don’t recall the OP ever stating that the issue was with brand new pressings. Am I missing something?

some albums are dead quiet, while other are noisy.

If the preamp is capable of being dead quite repeatability with the same album and allways noisy with others how could it be anything but the condition of the album?

 

[Nixxuz]

Forgive me if the conversation has shifted, but I don’t recall the OP ever stating that the issue was with brand new pressings. Am I missing something?



If the preamp is capable of being dead quite repeatability with the same album and allways noisy with others how could it be anything but the condition of the album?

Ehh, I shifted it slightly. Just throwing into the mix the fact that some people are under the assumption that a new, out of the shrink wrap record should be free of surface noise.

 

[hiFi DAD]

Ahhh, gotcha.

I won’t even play a brand new album without washing it first. Another thing to keep in mind is that depending on the size of the run the stamper can wear out and affect the quality of the pressing too!

 

[4-2-7]

So I’ve been on a MFSL kick lately and was playing Beck’s Sea Change. And there it was once again — crackle and crispies. It seems ever since I got the preamp, records are full of crackle! Know that I had just cleaned Beck album with spin cleaner. and used zerostat gun.

Forgive me if the conversation has shifted, but I don’t recall the OP ever stating that the issue was with brand new pressings. Am I missing something?

Yes in the OP, it's stated.

 

[hiFi DAD]

Yes in the OP, it's stated.

How does that translate to “brand new”? Sea Change isn’t a new album and according to Discogs MOFI presses were in 2009 (9yars ago) and 2012 (6 years ago). If he bought it used who knows how it was handled before he got it.

 

[bdmcn71]

How does that translate to “brand new”? Sea Change isn’t a new album and according to Discogs MOFI presses were in 2009 (9yars ago) and 2012 (6 years ago). If he bought it used who knows how it was handled before he got it.

I did buy Sea Change used in EX condition. I washed it before playing it. With preamp: crispies. Not everywhere, but def. pronounced. Without pre-amp: very, very little is noticed and it sounds warmer, smoother.

Side question: I have a Thorens 165 and hope to find a second head so I can buy a different cart: Ortofon Bronze. Currently running a V15vx ..... wonder what kind of change I can expect ..... hope I don't feel compelled to look for another preamp .....

btw... not sure of the loading number on my V15...... not good with audiophile, tech stuff.

thanks for all the tips and thoughts......

 

[E-Stat]

With preamp: crispies. Not everywhere, but def. pronounced. Without pre-amp: very, very little is noticed and it sounds warmer, smoother.

Understand you are using phono preamps in either case - just different ones along with adding interconnects with the Pro-ject

 

[Nixxuz]

I did buy Sea Change used in EX condition. I washed it before playing it. With preamp: crispies. Not everywhere, but def. pronounced. Without pre-amp: very, very little is noticed and it sounds warmer, smoother.

Side question: I have a Thorens 165 and hope to find a second head so I can buy a different cart: Ortofon Bronze. Currently running a V15vx ..... wonder what kind of change I can expect ..... hope I don't feel compelled to look for another preamp .....

btw... not sure of the loading number on my V15...... not good with audiophile, tech stuff.

thanks for all the tips and thoughts......

If you don't like surface noise you probably aren't going to like the Bronze.

 

[Akustic]

How worn is the stylus ??
Once it starts plowing the dirt in the grooves it only gets worse ...