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Do these actually work?

cartop

cartop

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Good morning AK. I saw this and wondered if anyone here uses them and how well do they actually work?
SAE 5000 IMPULSE NOISE REDUCTION SYSTEM VINYL RECORD SCRATCH FILTER
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https://boston.craigslist.org/nos/ele/d/danvers-sae-5000-impulse-noise/6906226686.html

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Sort of. It's not a panacea, but it might help some with records that are irreparably scratched. It's no substitute for cleaning your records before playing.

ISTR reading a review when this thing was new, but a brief Google search didn't find anything.

Apparently you can also do it with Audacity, but that would seem to defeat the whole purpose, as your analog vinyl is now a digital file. However, if you have a record that's not available digitally, this might be your best bet.
 
There were several similar products from Garrard, Burwen, Heath, and others. They can be effective if used sparingly, but they can't remove every tick and pop and will start intruding on the music if you adjust them too high.
 
Thanks for the info. I guess if they were something that worked and really improved the sound then I would have seen or heard more about them. Maybe if an AKer is useing one of these they will chime in.
 
Nat's description is correct.

Use it for a pop and click filled record and use the invert button to hear what is being removed. Don't overuse it or it takes the peaks away from the music. If you have a record with a serious scratch, this will make it much more listenable because a serious scratch is a big impulse and this unit is good with big impulses.

but as with any additional item in the chain, there will be sonic degradation. How much you can accept is up to you. Some folks add tube buffers to get that particular degradation which they say they like. Reverb units add even when adjusted to not add reverb, just going through the circuit. This SAE isn't that bad. If you need one it is nice to have. If your records only have minor pops and clicks, not needed as much.

Wish mine worked. I get nothing from it anymore, not even invert.
 
I'm guessing the brain is a more easily programmed noise filter than the various electronic products, which, despite their merits, the public has stubbornly rejected. The same is true for dynamic expanders and other signal processors - apparently I'm by no means the only one to want simplicity in my system, even if I have to accept some compromises and noise.
 
This came out when I was a teen and I remember being very impressed by a demo at a Hi-Fi fair. Then I went to a Hi-Fi shop searching for more infos and the seller staring at me with some disdain said: "Do you REALLY believe in it ? You would do better taking good care of your records..." Missed sale, end of the story. Since then I'm intrigued about how it works, I suspect it used some kind of electronic delay line but this was before BBD chips were available... Definitely not an audiophile oriented product but even today you won't find really bad reviews so I guess it could be useful in some situations, if used with discretion.
Now I want one again...
 
Well it doesn't sound like it is something I would use because my LP's are in good to new condition. Maybe if it was a no-brainer for $20 I would give it a try. Thanks for all the info guy's. :thumbsup:
 
I have the SAE 5000A unit. It does clean up some of the noise on sketchy vinyl, but if you turn it up too high it does odd things to the music. It was worth the 20 bucks I paid for it. I recapped mine and cleaned the switches, and it can get rid of a lot of noise.
 
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