Went all analog / vinyl, I made a mistake
 

What was suppose to be my dream system has turned into a sickening feeling, this is not for me. Does not fit my personality if that makes sense.
Buyers remorse to the max. I went with superb equipment that was very pricy and now I’m not sure what to do next. I want to sell my turntable, cartridge, and phono-stage and go digital. The quality of the bulk of vinyl I have bought is not good. It is so noisy, full of pops and crackles. I have cleaned the records on a pro-ject machine, I’ve used cleaning/static brushes, it doesn’t matter, seeems to be inherit in the pressing. The only vinyl I have that isn’t this way is from MFSL, the rest varies. Some is so bad I can’t even listen to it as the noise is equal to that of the recording.

What kind of loss can I expect on a VPI Prime Signature, SoundSmith Zephyr MKIII, Manley Chinook? I don’t see a section on this board to list equipment, any recommendations?

Thanks for reading.

Who set it up for you? You shouldn't have that kind of noise.

You have to be a subscriber to sell things here. But I suggest you try to figure out what went wrong first. It should sound very, very good.

You need to be a subscriber to access the marketplace. Well worth it, I've bought and sold a lot of gear here. Asking what your gear is worth here is kind of like asking Jack the Ripper to run a girl's school. :)

Maybe it's time for an intervention!

When you subscribe to the forum you also get access to messaging so I can communicate with you directly. It may be worth a trip to Salida to hear what good analog can sound like. I've got a lot of experience with analog playback, have set up countless turntables and have learned the hard way what works and what doesn't.

Whatever transpires, best of luck to you - good digital can sound truly amazing so you are in a win-win position either way. I like and have both but they are very different experiences.

Tom

You certainly could divest of analog but I am not sure you have fully explored your options.

What you describe sounds like electrostatic contamination. MFSL do seem more resistant.

I have never found the anti static Big Brush to be all that helpful. I find a good washing with my ClearAudio Matrix cleaner to be better.
You need to check the humidity in your room. If it’s too dry you will never find a solution. I treated the carpet in front of my turntable with anti static spray or a dryer sheet. This is very helpful.

I have acquired some unlistenable albums the same as everyone else. You will learn the good guys (MFSL, Acoustic Sounds, Classic, Speakers Corner...) from the inconsistent from the bad. You will discover well cared for vintage often sounds cleaner than new and some really great noisy old LP’s can still outperform their digital counterparts.

Occasional clicks, pops, noise are inherent in the format. It is distracting at first but with experience they fade and interfere less than digital artifacts.

There may be a mismatch between your cartridge and phono stage, I have found this to highlight surface noise. Also check that you cartridge is mounted properly.

I have left digital long behind (or it left me) 7 years ago. I now have over 5,000 select albums and have not been happier. I upgraded my transducer to. Koetsu Jade and Eclipsed my Aesthetix Rhea. I had a Romulus DAC/CD but found I never listened to it so off it went. The only DAC I heave heard that inspired me is the latest offerings from MSB but $20-$30 K in a DAC ain’t my stick.

I hope you find what you are looking/listening for.

Mike S.

I have a VPI Table and a SoundSmith Cart and don’t have any issues w extensive pops and crackles. Are you playing old records that haven’t been taken care of? Have you tried buying a new pressing to see if the sounds persists. Is the rig set up correctly? There are a lot of great articles via google to help dial it in. It takes a little time to get it dialed in but sounds great when it’s set up.

For me I have found my ultrasonic KLAudio to be the perfect solution to eliminating noise from the LP. Nothing causes friction and the album is cleaned and ready to play. If I get any static it comes from my interaction from the KLAudio to the turntable. Then the only issue is the quality of the pressing or the condition of the used album. I personally like the sound of vinyl as an alternative to digital. It is like enjoying different flavors of ice cream. I get to enjoy both depending on my mood. If I want a session where I am more involved with my listening I choose vinyl. If I want to listen more casually or explore I choose digital.

Yes. Second the ultrasonic cleaner.

If you aren’t getting new vinyl, just take care when choosing second hand records. They are some really badly damaged and dirty records out there. Dirty is ok if you get the ultrasonic cleaner. Or maybe try the Kirmuss. Use lots of elbow grease. But damaged ones are a lost cause.

It’s why I tend to jump on any new MoFi or Analog Production reissues. Years ago when I first started, I baulked at the price of a set I really wanted - Harry Belafonte Live at Carnegie reissued with 45rpm. I hesitated thinking I’d wait for a sale. Never happened. The reverse did. Prices kept escalating and eventually went out of print.

Since then I’ve bought a lot of reissues of the same album (including on SACD/K2HD etc) till I got the latest 45rpm reissue.

That being said, I can’t go only analog. My style of listening doesn’t allow for extended listening periods all the time. Sometimes I just want a short 15-30 minute listening while waiting for the missus or just before bedtime. My ritual for listening to vinyl takes too long :) so having a digital rig is great. Also allows me to discover or rediscover new music.

Sometimes I start off with a Playlist in Roon of my favorite tracks and Roon picks up from the last song and creates its own radio playlist based on the last song.

Mgrenwick - Would you be able to post some more details about the vinyl you are buying such as where you get it from and some of the "conditions" that they would be graded at? I have bought tons of vinyl, new, used on Ebay, used off Discogs and used vinyl at local stores. I can count on ONE hand the number of albums I've bought that had issues with noise, clicks and pops, static, you name it. That being said, I am fairly picky when it comes to what I'm buying...I'm always willing to spend an extra $10 - $15 on something rated Near Mint than saving and buying a VG or VG+ pressing. I would think it has something to do with your setup as others have mentioned or perhaps you may not be quite as detailed as you need to be when buying vinyl (if we're talking about used of course). As far as new vinyl, the quality these days definitely can be hit or miss, but I STILL have not really had any issues with new either. Don't give up on analog, try and give us some more information on what and from where you're buying and your record cleaning process.

- Buck

Thomas Edison will be disappointed.

Don't know what kind of music you like or what records you have (new/used?).

Perhaps someone knowledgeable in your music genre can suggest a new album they know is pressed well with no problems. Buy it. Play it. Come back.

If a known well-playing album sounds noisey, lousy, it's could be your arm/cartridge setup. That can be corrected.

You say your Mobile Fidelity albums sound ... okay? good? fabulous? so-so? What are your expectations?

If your complaint is about used records being noisey, sometimes no amount of cleaning will repair scratched or gritty sounding used. The trick there is to take care of the records from the start. Otherwise, it's true that some record manufacturers use cheap vinyl to make noisey records. Acoustic Sounds / QRP is pretty reliable for good vinyl.

In other words, explore your situation a bit more before throwing in the towel. Expected loss? Around 50%, maybe more on the cartridge. Who knows, maybe you'd be happy with digital, but know that top notch sound from vinyl is genuinely possible.