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How much noise?

satkinsn

satkinsn

low end audio
Subscriber
I'm curious: how much noise are you willing tolerate on a thrift store/garage sale record, after proper cleaning and care, etc., etc. I ask because I get some records - mostly classical - that have at least a little noise throughout and more than that in places, but I'm not bothered. I have a turntable reserved for these low-end albums, and I wonder if others do likewise.
 
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Been buying and listening to vinyl since age 4. Bought my first Monkees album then and of course 45's. I still have all those records. And I beat the hell out of those records back then on a portable player. Stacked them, put quarters on the tonearm to stop skips. :) So I am use to vinyl noise. But... from about age 10, I had better systems and took better care of my ****. Pretty anal about cleaning stuff. But even today, random noise doesn't bother me that much. Its the nature of the beast. Anyone who says they have zero noise is full of it. But constant noise (crackles, pops, etc..) I dont play them.
 
I rate records with index cards that are colored.

Purple is perfect. I have yet to issue one of those since I started the system.
Blue is excellent. Nothing audible in the songs, maybe some noise between tracks. I have given a few of those.
Green is good, there is noise between the tracks, and maybe the occasional transient on the quieter parts. I give out a fair amount of these.
Yellow means there is audible noise on the quieter parts and maybe an occasional pop during the louder parts. These are not a permanent award; they mean to clean the record again to a fair amount. Yellow and green mean clean again, but good potential. I give these a lot.
Orange means there is something wrong here that keeps me from enjoying the record. Give it all the onions on cleaning. Consider wood glue. I have given a few of these, they also are not permanent.
Red means sell it to the record store for some store credit, it is beyond my help, or below my minimum quality.

If a record can not be cleaned into green, I will sell it off to the record store. So, to answer the question, I will tolerate noise in between the songs and the smallest amount occasionally in the quietest parts. None in the main volume part of the work. However, it should be noted that I will retain a rarer record with noise until I can upgrade. I will also tolerate more on a quadraphonic record as those are rarer.
 
I use dual turntables on my main system and all of my albums are color coded with stick-on dots.

My primary turntable has a Shure V15-type IV with JICO stylus and is only used for albums that I bought new and are still in mint condition. (records with green dot)

My secondary (and office system) turntables have Shure 97xe cartridges and are used only for records I bought used and any new records that are less than perfect. (records with yellow dot)

I also have a mounted Stanton 500.v3 cartridge that is weighted so it can be swapped with any of the other cartridges without changing the VTF. This is used for any records that are a little rough and noisy and usually needs to run through the TNE. (records with purple dot)
 
I'm pretty tolerant of noise on rock/pop/jazz but find it distracting on classical so tend to only keep pristine classical LPs.

I'm puzzled why people have a lesser-than setup for less than perfect vinyl.
A *clean* LP with some scratches should present no more risk to a stylus than a percussion-heavy record.
 
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satkinsn said:
how much noise are you willing tolerate on a thrift store/garage sale record, after proper cleaning and care, etc.
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Apparently a lot. As long as I don't notice the cracks and pops on music tracks, while I'm busy doing something else, I can take it for casual listening. I do critical listening sessions on weekends, through which I practically do not much else. I can't take a lot of noise through these. Not even on quiet passages. I don't play thrift store records through these though.
 
The great thing about analog is "you can listen through the noise if present", digital not so much lol.

Depends on the noise type, background noise yes, repetitive pop pop pop with every revolution again not so much.

I only buy new or still sealed so not much of an issue with those, but I do have a large collection of used records inherited from my brother in law that I've been slowly going through and weeding out the unlistenable.

He owned a used record store so some are really trashed beyond cleaning.
 
Pop Lps are easy to accept and the music usually hides the occasional imperfections. Its classical records that that more often than not, that are to noisy to accept, I thoroughly clean them and then float them when the noise is random and in the back ground, But scratches and bolders causing loud disruptions are un acceptable and the LPs go into the trash. I guess thats why I have over 2000 CD's that are classical and only a few hundred LP's. Now when I can't find European LP's with plastic sleeves that have been well maintained I am very very happy. Some of our Lp's came with plastic sleeves but most didn't and the paper scars the surface adding noises even if the LP's are kept clean. Back in the old days we could audition records before we bought them, I wish it were that way today. But the last time I checked I think my average price for Lp's was under $3.00 pre-owned, When I can't find an original LP I am looking for at a reasonable price , thats when I turn to iTunes, or CD's , SACD's, Discogs, Arkiv, etc. You just have to be patient. But when you are approaching 80 how patient can you afford to be?
 
I always thought that pops were either debris, or physical defect. Scratches repeat 33 1/3.

Continuous noise I think is "dirt" that can be cleaned up. Otherwise, surface noise is damaged vinyl, could be from Improper cleaning/handling.


What would account for that low level continuous crackle?

R
 
twiiii said:
I guess thats why I have over 2000 CD's that are classical and only a few hundred LP's. Now when I can't find European LP's with plastic sleeves that have been well maintained I am very very happy. Some of our Lp's came with plastic sleeves but most didn't and the paper scars the surface adding noises even if the LP's are kept clean.
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One of the things I've read more than once is that older classical LPs in good shape are easier to come by, because classical collectors tended to know more and took better care of their albums. My experience has not borne this out.
 
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satkinsn said:
One of the things I've read more than once is that older classical LPs in good shape are easier to come by, because classical collectors tended to know more and took better care of their albums. My experience has not borne this out.
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Just depends. I've had excellent luck buying classical lps that are listed in mint condition. I buy them in lots of 5-10. Typically for less than $2 per Lp. The best pressings I've bought have been Philips. DG have been OK as well but I've got some clunkers as well.
 
satkinsn said:
One of the things I've read more than once is that older classical LPs in good shape are easier to come by, because classical collectors tended to know more and took better care of their albums. My experience has not borne this out.
Click to expand...
I don't know the reason for it, but in my used record shopping, which is 100% from the unsorted, floor level bargain section, classical lp's have been in much better shape than other genres. I visually inspect every record I'm interested in, and it's rare that I end up putting a classical album back on the shelf, and that's despite my preference being for older monophonic records.
 
An old, well-loved record has some character to it. I'm able to tolerate the noise, unless it's overwhelming. It's hard to say how much noise is too much, but I'm pretty tolerant of it in general.
 
I use an old Marantz 6200 (CEC made table) for less than stellar vinyl, but It has an AT-VM95ML cartridge that gets further down in the groove and doesn't pick up 1/2 the noise that the old Shure X97e cartridge with elliptical stylus did. I don't mind a little noise, but loud pops are a no go for me.
 
krautmaster said:
I use an old Marantz 6200 (CEC made table) for less than stellar vinyl, but It has an AT-VM95ML cartridge that gets further down in the groove and doesn't pick up 1/2 the noise that the old Shure X97e cartridge with elliptical stylus did. I don't mind a little noise, but loud pops are a no go for me.
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Always nice to read about others' experiences. Mine was different, with the AT440ML seeming to find and highlight noise more than any other cartridge I've owned, while the M97xE was perhaps the quietest. At one time, I had a section reserved for records that I would normally just put in the trash, but decided to keep until I mounted up the Shure again, simply because I had found it to let me hear past the blemishes and enjoy an album that other cartridges made unlistenable.
 
satkinsn said:
I'm curious: how much noise are you willing tolerate on a thrift store/garage sale record, after proper cleaning and care, etc., etc. I ask because I get some records - mostly classical - that have at least a little noise throughout and more than that in places, but I'm not bothered. I have a turntable reserved for these low-end albums, and I wonder if others do likewise.
Click to expand...

If you US clean them, a lot of that noise will be removed. For the most part, classical vinyl was treated better than pop and rock records by the original owners.
 
RogerA said:
I always thought that pops were either debris, or physical defect. Scratches repeat 33 1/3.

Continuous noise I think is "dirt" that can be cleaned up. Otherwise, surface noise is damaged vinyl, could be from Improper cleaning/handling.


What would account for that low level continuous crackle?

R
Click to expand...

Where I am located, during the winter, static is a big issue with crackling. Couple hits with a ZeroStat and its all good. That and I run a humidifier during the winter to keep relative humidity in the mid 40's to mid 50's. Also to help keep my guitars stable.
 
BushmasterM4 said:
Where I am located, during the winter, static is a big issue with crackling. Couple hits with a ZeroStat and its all good. That and I run a humidifier during the winter to keep relative humidity in the mid 40's to mid 50's. Also to help keep my guitars stable.
Click to expand...
I had to break out the Zerostat today because just walking across a throw rug in the living room generated enough juice to give me a nasty shock when I turned on a lamp.

A buddy came buy with new Van Halen and Alice in Chains re- releases that where loaded with production gunk and boat loads of static (records were still in their cardboard sleeves- yikes!). I cleaned them up on the record vac, then hit them with the anti static brush then the zerostat and they played perfectly.
 
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