Vinyl Snap, Crackle & Pop Issues and Solutions!

hearingimpared

pearsall001 wrote: »

Very simple solution here folks...stick with CD's!!! Problem solved. :D

My response to this Phil is in this Bugs & Thugs clip.

"Okay rabbit whad do ya know" "Shed ep rabbit":D

http://vodpod.com/watch/2111873-bugs-and-thugs

hearingimpared

madmax wrote: »

Please make this a sticky if possible.

I also find the better turntable/cartridge combinations can move the noise to a different area of the room outside the performance area where it can easily be ignored. Cheaper setups tend to put it right between the listener and the speakers.
madmax

Chuck I've noticed the same effect with the high end cartridge I currently have. Sometimes the tick or pop sound might occur behind one of the speakers and with the music being played is barely noticable.

hearingimpared

anhchungdoan wrote: »

Thank you for a very good post, Hearingimpaired. Now, I would really tip my hat to if you can direct me to the place that I can buy an " automatic records cleaner".

I had one back in the 70s and I loved it. It's an upright unit where one would drop the records ( again , upright position ) into an opening slot between the two side pannels of the unit. There was a on/off switch to spin and clean the records .

It did not only clean the records throughoutly but it also helped to reduce static cracks and pops.

You can do a search on VPI 16.5 & Nitty Gritty and you will get a plethora of links where you can buy them.

Here is an example for both;

http://www.google.com/search?q=vpi+16.5+for+sale&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1


http://www.google.com/search?q=nitty+gritty+record+cleaner&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

rcrook317

new pro-ject will be here in 3 days...cant wait.still need phono stage and couple sets of interconnects but ill shop around till find good deal used.anyway,at least for me,ive been buying new,180 gram vinyl and will continue to get new for time being.While as previously mentioned new vinyl can still have issues if pressed wrong i feel for newbies such as myself jumping in to used vinyl and a cleaning machine is alot to take on at first.Beyond obvious scruffs,scratches i wouldnt be able to "grade" a lp at first sight.

BlueMDPicker

SCompRacer wrote: »

George, glad to be of some assistance. For the sake of simplicity, I've returned to being an audio enthusiast. Joe is my rabid cousin, the audiophile.:D

I use a Feickert for setup. It has come in handy for the different table/arm combinations I've owned/tried. I have two VTA settings, thick and thin. Just something I have learned, some cartridge/stylus combinations are more sensitive to VTA than others.

You make house calls, Doc?

anhchungdoan

hearingimpared wrote: »

You can do a search on VPI 16.5 & Nitty Gritty and you will get a plethora of links where you can buy them.

Here is an example for both;

http://www.google.com/search?q=vpi+16.5+for+sale&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1


http://www.google.com/search?q=nitty+gritty+record+cleaner&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

Thank you, sir. It's a bit more than I want to spend though. As much $$$ as my entry level Sl1200 TT , so I guess I have to manually clean those used LPs .

You should start a Vynil Club if Polk forum does not have one yet. For the last 2 weeks, I have not touched any of my CDs but the LPs that I 've got from the 1/2 Price Bookstore.

Again, thank you for the very imformative info. Andrew.

anhchungdoan

It's a beautiful cleaner:

hearingimpared

anhchungdoan wrote: »

Thank you, sir. It's a bit more than I want to spend though. As much $$$ as my entry level Sl1200 TT , so I guess I have to manually clean those used LPs .

You should start a Vynil Club if Polk forum does not have one yet. For the last 2 weeks, I have not touched any of my CDs but the LPs that I 've got from the 1/2 Price Bookstore.

Again, thank you for the very imformative info. Andrew.

You can always find Nitty Gritty's & the VPI used on audiogon and forums geared towards vinyl.

doctorcilantro

Great you shared your procedure. I have yet to start using my Nitty Gritty Mini-Pro. One thought I have is that I can't take as much care as you do to one particular side at a time.

I have some nylon records brushes and I guess I was thinking of a small bit of manual pre-cleaning.

The only fluids I I have here are Record Research Labs and the stock Nitty Gritty. I haven't done much research on fluids but I plan on looking into some of the ones mentioned in this thread.

thanks
dC

hearingimpared wrote: »

Just an FYI. I use a four step process on my 16.5 when I prep my LPs whether new or used.

Step 1, 10 squirts of Vinyl Zyme Gold applied in two revolutions with a 4" foam paint brush. Let it sit for 1 minute.

Step 2, right on top of the VZG I place a line of MFSL Super Deep cleaner scrubbed in with the VPI brush in three revolutions, this removes the grunge lossened by the VZG and lifts mold release compounds. Vacuum the record dry.

Step 3. change the vacuum tube, place a line of MFSL Record Wash and scrub in with a MFSL scrubbing brush two revolutions. Then vacuum clean.

Step 4. change the vacuum tube, place a line of VPI record cleaning solution and scrub in with a different MFSL scrubbing brush two revolutions. Then vacuum clean.

Side one complete. Take record off 16.5 platter, place a second clean cork mat on the platter and place the cleaned side of the LP on the clean mat. Then repeat. This avoids cross contamination.

I've not found the need to do a distilled water rinse as the VPI fluid leaves no residue. I also have the two different Tergitol chemicals but have not needed to crack them open yet because I have gallons of the above name fluids.

AS far as steam cleaning goes, it is indeed a thorough way to clean records however, I am very heavy handed and have scortched records thus ruining them using a steam cleaner so I had to stop using it as I can't seem to become less heavy handed. LOL!

Once the prep is completed I place the record in an MFSL inner sleeve. Before playing these prepped LPs again, I give them a spin on the 16.5 using the VPI solution using the MFSL brush that I marked VPI both sides again using a the different cork mat to clean side two. Before removing it from the 16.5 I give it a good shot from the Zerostat gun and then bring the record over to the turntable. I give the platter of the turntable a good shot with the Zerostat gun place the record on the platter zap it again and I'm good to go.

A bit labor intensive, yes, but my records are pretene and are dead silent while playing.

Huck344

Awesome post Joe! You are my hero!

doctorcilantro

Would steam-cleaning be an easy way to pre-clean. Protect the label and blast a little steam on there with distilled water etc. and then put on the RCM? Seems to be a lot of debate about heating up records with steam, possibly to a partial melting point or warping...

doctorcilantro

I just picked up one of these rather than shell out $66 shipped for a zerostat.

ionolcast

I'm also getting the grounded brush to try.

I haven't spun vinyl in over a year probably (ouch!); that's how long its taken me to salvage my vinyl rig plans/components through some tough times and an unplanned move.

DC

hearingimpared

doctorcilantro wrote: »

Would steam-cleaning be an easy way to pre-clean. Protect the label and blast a little steam on there with distilled water etc. and then put on the RCM? Seems to be a lot of debate about heating up records with steam, possibly to a partial melting point or warping...

Yes steam cleaning fantastic. I can't use it because I'm to heavy handed and can't break the habit. You can put the record on the RCM an let is spin while going back and forth from the lead in bead to the run out grooves. Two revolutions should do it. Vacuum it dry, then do your cleaning procedures.:)

hearingimpared

doctorcilantro wrote: »

I just picked up one of these rather than shell out $66 shipped for a zerostat.

ionolcast

I'm also getting the grounded brush to try.

I haven't spun vinyl in over a year probably (ouch!); that's how long its taken me to salvage my vinyl rig plans/components through some tough times and an unplanned move.

DC

I was going to recommend the Ionoclast but never tried one so I didn't want to go there. I imagine it is very good because I've purchased and heard some their products and Pierre doesn't sell crap or snake oil.:)

doctorcilantro

hearingimpared wrote: »

I was going to recommend the Ionoclast but never tried one so I didn't want to go there. I imagine it is very good because I've purchased and heard some their products and Pierre doesn't sell crap or snake oil.:)

Kind of a no brainer at half the cost of importing a ZeroStat from Europe.

Dawgfish

Awesome post Joe!

Vette C6.r

Great info Joe. Just getting into my new TT and this is great info.

Thanks for taking the time to educate us.

hearingimpared

doctorcilantro wrote: »

Kind of a no brainer at half the cost of importing a ZeroStat from Europe.

Please post a review of the Mapleshade offering. I've been looking at it for a while now and just haven't moved on it. If it can do this on a carpet then I'm definitely interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvr7uNZ_WaE

Here is one that is rediculously inexpensive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSHYe-E7cVA

These are the comments on the above link;

kinthy — November 28, 2008 — $9 Portable Air Purifer used in place of Zerostat or Groovstat (Groov-stat)to remove static from records.

kirbyyasha You saved me a bunch of money, thanks man! I got a cheap Air purifier from the local hardware store, tried it, sure enough, results! Thanks! 2 weeks ago

bertie7771 This looks like an outstanding way to avoid the ridiculous $100 prices for a Zerostat. It looks like you are using the KaiDomain portable Air Purifier SKU: S006134. Is that right? 11 months ago

There is no reply from the clip poster, so I don't know what its called or where to get it.

Just a side note; I purchased my Discwasher Zerostat 3 back in the '80s for under $20 new and it is still going strong. Milty must of have bought it out and are apparently making a huge profit on it. The build quaility doesn't seem as good as Larry (Toolforlifefan) had his for a year and it bit the dust.

george daniel

here is one that is innaresting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6OjtKUZ048&NR=1&feature=fvwp

hearingimpared

george daniel wrote: »

here is one that is innaresting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6OjtKUZ048&NR=1&feature=fvwp

His step method and swapping vacuum tubes and brushes looks familiar!;) I'm surprised so see that he doesn't move the steamer back and forth from the lead in groove to the runnout groove.

I must be doing something wrong with the steamer as I keep the steamer the same distance from the record as he does but I've scortched many a record and it causes lots of noise where the scortching occurs.

bikezappa

Hearingimpared

Your first post reminded me of my past turntable days and all the crap I would do to stop the pops on the lps. Back then all lps had surface noise in the quiet passages of jazz or classical music. In addition most women's vocals would sound raspy after a few playings. And the pops never went away no matter what solution or liquid that I tried. Maybe they have better record cleaner now but I doubt it.

I currently work in a class 1000 clean room fabricating optics and components for the semiconductor industry. Dust or particles are my enemy. The only way to clean things, parts and small crevices is to use an Ultrasonic Cleaner in a clean room. Even after cleaning the dust in the air starts to coat the clean part or LP. The best way to clean LPs would be in a clean room with an ultrasonic cleaner and then play your lps in the clean room. The Ultrasonic bubbles off the particulates with the help of the surfactant.
DI water can then be used to rinse the surfactant.

You all have more patience than me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning

You need to find by experiments what the correct surfactant to use with the Ultrasonic Cleaner and the final DI rinse solution for the part to be cleaned. Wiping with a brush or cloth will not remove the small dust particles in the grooves of the LP. The brush or wipe will just move them around. Where do you think the particles go?

anhchungdoan

+1.

I will think abt HER while I manually clean my used LPs.

hearingimpared

bikezappa wrote: »

Hearingimpared

Your first post reminded me of my past turntable days and all the crap I would do to stop the pops on the lps. Back then all lps had surface noise in the quiet passages of jazz or classical music. In addition most women's vocals would sound raspy after a few playings. And the pops never went away no matter what solution or liquid that I tried. Maybe they have better record cleaner now but I doubt it.

I currently work in a class 1000 clean room fabricating optics and components for the semiconductor industry. Dust or particles are my enemy. The only way to clean things, parts and small crevices is to use an Ultrasonic Cleaner in a clean room. Even after cleaning the dust in the air starts to coat the clean part or LP. The best way to clean LPs would be in a clean room with an ultrasonic cleaner and then play your lps in the clean room. The Ultrasonic bubbles off the particulates with the help of the surfactant.
DI water can then be used to rinse the surfactant.

You all have more patience than me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning

You need to find by experiments what the correct surfactant to use with the Ultrasonic Cleaner and the final DI rinse solution for the part to be cleaned. Wiping with a brush or cloth will not remove the small dust particles in the grooves of the LP. The brush or wipe will just move them around. Where do you think the particles go?

Thanks for the info BZ. It sure looks interesting. I agree with you about dry brushing the dust and particles but when you us a vacuum type RCM the particles are completely removed from the grooves. That is the time to zap it with an ion gun to keep it from attracting more dirt.

doctorcilantro

Another benefit to digital RIAA implementations is you can activate real-time noise reduction; a little skosh, or more when needed. Purists beware, but I'll be damned if it doesn't make those clean but noisy records sound like a million bucks!

Maybe I should document my setup in a thread somewhere.

dc


DC

bikezappa wrote: »

Hearingimpared

Your first post reminded me of my past turntable days and all the crap I would do to stop the pops on the lps. Back then all lps had surface noise in the quiet passages of jazz or classical music. In addition most women's vocals would sound raspy after a few playings. And the pops never went away no matter what solution or liquid that I tried. Maybe they have better record cleaner now but I doubt it.

I currently work in a class 1000 clean room fabricating optics and components for the semiconductor industry. Dust or particles are my enemy. The only way to clean things, parts and small crevices is to use an Ultrasonic Cleaner in a clean room. Even after cleaning the dust in the air starts to coat the clean part or LP. The best way to clean LPs would be in a clean room with an ultrasonic cleaner and then play your lps in the clean room. The Ultrasonic bubbles off the particulates with the help of the surfactant.
DI water can then be used to rinse the surfactant.

You all have more patience than me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning

You need to find by experiments what the correct surfactant to use with the Ultrasonic Cleaner and the final DI rinse solution for the part to be cleaned. Wiping with a brush or cloth will not remove the small dust particles in the grooves of the LP. The brush or wipe will just move them around. Where do you think the particles go?

madmax

bikezappa wrote: »

The best way to clean LPs would be in a clean room with an ultrasonic cleaner and then play your lps in the clean room. The Ultrasonic bubbles off the particulates with the help of the surfactant.
DI water can then be used to rinse the surfactant.

Thats a great idea! How do you keep a "clean room" clean? Do you go through special cleaning processes before you enter the room?

doctorcilantro

madmax wrote: »

Thats a great idea! How do you keep a "clean room" clean? Do you go through special cleaning processes before you enter the room?

I have already sealed my house in a de-ionizing wrap which removes any static electricty in a 300 foot circular radius, now I just have to get all my clothes back from the NASA tailor where they are being modded. The cheapest way was to just mod the underwear, so I could have a cost-effecitve way to not contaminate my newly sealed listening space, but I went whole hog

If you pull a clean record out after cleaning the week prior, and zap it with a ZeroStat, maybe don't hit it with carbon fibre at all ....? If it has some lint and dust on it, wipe away, the brushes do pick up this stuff, but of course they do move around anything they can't pick up.

jm1

There is a purpose built ultrasonic cleaner for LPs now. It has been out for a little while. Some of the comments I have read are that it does a better job than any other method.

Hopefully the price will come down once others create similar machines for the masses.

http://www.ultrasystem.com/usfeaturedprodsAudioDeskVinylClnr.html

madmax

doctorcilantro wrote: »

If you pull a clean record out after cleaning the week prior, and zap it with a ZeroStat, maybe don't hit it with carbon fibre at all ....? If it has some lint and dust on it, wipe away, the brushes do pick up this stuff, but of course they do move around anything they can't pick up.

Here lately I've been using a fan meant to prevent static from PC boards while working on them. I also have a little desktop humidifier which I keep next to the RCM which falls onto the record while and after cleaning. I need to make a record cleaning area where everything has the perfect place...
madmax

bikezappa

madmax wrote: »

Thats a great idea! How do you keep a "clean room" clean? Do you go through special cleaning processes before you enter the room?

Clean rooms are very expensive and the cost depends on the number of particles are in the air and their size. Having a clean room with fewer particles and smaller particles costs more $. ALL the stuff in the clean room is special, the cloths, the paint, the equipment and on and on. The room is pressurized with many filters and blowers so all in incoming air is filtered, You must wear special cloths, gloves, hair net and shoes covers as a minimum.

Listening to lps in a clean room means you couldn't even have a drink or bring in the cardboard LP jacket. Not allowed. Are you LP guys are ready to make the commitment?

anhchungdoan

My audio room door is always closed and only I allow myself to use the room. It's a "clean" room to my standard. It's fun to spin vinyl after so many years but as previous poster stated, that's one hell of commitment and it will take the fun out of the hobby.

ANW, static pops and crack noise are the nature of the LPs. No matter how much i clean them, some will have more pops than others but once the music is playing, I do not hear those pops. Static pops and crack noise only exist between the tracks.

If some one cannot handle pops and cracks noise, there is always an alternate: CD/ SACD.