Found a new toy. Now, uh, what is it? SAE 5000

[John in MA]

Got this being thrown out last week. It's an SAE 5000, which from what little I can find is a filter for vinyl pops. They seem to be desirable on eBay, too.

Anyone have personal experience with one of these things? I haven't tried it out yet but it seems like a good idea. Might help when I start doing more with my old albums.

 

[whell]

This was one of the more valued "pop and click" filtering devices for analog playback. It worked pretty well, and you could actually control the amount of filtering. Definately worth hooking up and checking out to see if you like what you hear. Some folks really liked these, others complained that they could hear the device working, which took something away from the listening experience.

 

[Pappas3278]

Pretty F-ing cool nonetheless!

 

[Eunomians]

Nice find. It works fairly well, but, as previously mentioned, lots of folks complained that it 'could be heard'.

SAE's next model, the 5000-A, tried to address this issue - but to no avail.

Your unit is worth some money. I highly recommend that you sell it on eBay.

Then, with that money you made, purchase the only pop & click remover that really works, the one made by Burwen 2 years earlier than SAE's version. It does not add any noise at all (unlike the SAE). I never listen to or record LPs without it.

 

[Cantabury Guy]

I have been using the newer version the 5000A since it first came out and have experimented with it and use it frequently. A little goes a long way. Set it too high and it will chop of the highs. Dont expect it too clean up a really noisey record. Im lucky that virtually all my LPs are very clean but when I find a pop that doesnt go away after a second cleaning I will then egage the 5000A at about the 2.5 setting and see if that does it. If not up it in increments. Remember you dont want to take away music content. It also only works with stereo cartridges not mono because it senses out of phase material(pops). I know many people dont like these but I feel they expect too much from these. It does make some of my records more enjoyable.

 

[tcdriver]

Sae 5000a

I have owned and used a SAE 5000A for about the last fifteen years. I echo much of Cantabury Guy's comments. It can effectively eliminate pops and clicks from records, however, there is no free lunch. When the pop is removed there is a slightly audible artifact put in its place. This artifact is much less annoying than the original pop and depending of the music and how careful you listen, it may be inaudible to you.

Also note that when a signal is routed through the SAE 5000 it introduces very steep high and low filters with cutoffs about 20Hz. and 20kHz. This may have a sonic impact on the music, depending on the source and the quality of the rest of your components.

The bottom line for me, it is definitely worth having and occasionally worth using. :yes:

 

[Strawman]

I have both the 5000 & 5000A, if you push in tht "invert" switch, you'll be able to hear the noise that is being filtered out. It should help you to adjust it as all albums may not need the same threshold of noise reduction/loss. I also have a KLH DNF 1201A that helps somewhat for tapes and FM noise. I like them. :thmbsp:

 

[Eunomians]

I forgot to mention that the Burwen or SAE unit works great when used in conjunction with the DNF1201A or the DBX SNR-1.

You remove the clicks & pops with the SAE or Burwen, then you remove the hiss/static with the DNF1201A or DBX SNR-1.

The combo makes for incredible quality control over less-than-perfect LPs. Certainly, it is a must for recording/archiving LPs to CD or hardisk.

 

[John in MA]

Thanks, guys. I'll check this puppy out and see what I think.