Vinyl Question
 

I just bought my first turntable. A new VPI Traveler and new cartridge. I bought some LPs ...new.. never played before. I cleaned the LPs before playing them. I used a manual Spin Clean machine. I cleaned the new cartridge. My question is: WHY AM I STILL GETTING TICKS AND POPS? Do I need to clean the records better? Or will ticks and pops always be there because that's the nature of vinyl?

I don't clean my albums, just sweep any fuzzy stuff off with a carbon fiber/felt brush.

Some vinyl is simply noisy. Some dead quiet. It's the pressing.

Actually there are many factors that make clicks and pops. Most of my vinyl is CD quiet however there are some companies pressings that are just horrendous.

Back to black is very noisy when their are low passages and particularly stay away from the English pressings Simply Vinyl. They claim Seal of Quality and Heavy weight Virgin vinyl but the pressings are so bad and noisy I can't listen to them not to mention they usually have very sharp edges.

Setting up your TT is critical and depending on the shape and design of the cartridge/stylus can make a huge difference on what you hear as far as noise goes. I have an old technics SL 1400 mKII table with vintage MA 2002 cartridge and although some will argue it was a nice cartridge it picks up every click and pop imaginable. I play the same LP on my Transrotor with Clear Audio Da vinci V2 cartridge and I don't hear a single click or pop.

Although we could argue about record cleaning I have found that many newly opened LP's can have all sorts of crud in the grooves and investing in a quality cleaner is something to consider. I have cleaned older LP's that were full of noise which was 90% removed by a good cleaning. I usually clean any new LP before playing it and usually find when I don't there is inevitably some click or pop. Although for regular playing I use a brush and don't bother with the machine once it has been properly cleaned.

Unfortunately lp's and some noise go hand in hand and although 90% of the time it is not a bother it is IMO worth the trade off over CD's.

ditto on Simply Vinyl.

I found my LP12, Garrard 401 and NAS Spacedecks all have low noise floors and do a great job of NOT reproducing pops and clicks.

I haven't noticed cartridges making a difference. Good decks make a difference in my opinion.

Crap pressings don't work on anything.

I agree in most cases the TT makes most of the difference. The Darkstar has no suspension but is made entirely of Polyoxymethylen or POM which has incredibly high dampening characteristics and has proven to be vibration and noise resistant on a level comparable with tables like the SME line of very pricey tables using all sorts of elaborate dampening methods.

This by itself initially proved to help however as I went from a Benz Glider V2 to Koetsu Rosewood and finally settled on the Clear audio Da Vinci (I got a screaming deal I couldn't refuse) I found each handled noise different almost as much as the TT once you get into the styli that are small like the Micro HD of the Clear Audio it seems to make a huge impact on surface noise. I am no expert but I can only assume since the styli is smaller in overall size (a hybrid parabolic geometry with a stylus radii of 0.008mm x 0.040mm) it seems to sit lower in the groove and any surface noise created by wear from other cartridges or just poor handling on the surface just fades away. But what do i know other than I enjoy the sound. :cool:

Although my ultimate goal was to pick up an Air tight PC-1 which is still the finest sounding cartridge I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing this can all get to be a bit crazy and next thing you know you are spending more than you would on an engagement ring for something that is the size of a pin dot. In the end you can choose the Linn Sondek approach of allowing your needle to do the cleaning or invest in a cleaner and be obsessive about it.

congrats on picking up the vpi!
awesome starter table.
pretty soon you will see the slippery slope and there will be no resistance!

Though as other posters have noted, some pressings (even brand new stuff) are poor and very noisy. But if you have that problem with all of your LPs, the VTA (vertical tracking angle of your stylus) is likely set too high - if the arm is adjustable vertically, try lowering it a smidge - you'll know you've gone too far if the sound becomes veiled and all treble sparkle is lost.

Thanks for all the responses. The ticks and pops are not in every LP so it must be the pressings. I'm not a big Doors fan but I bought the 45 RPM album from Acoustic Sounds. Amazing sound and dead quiet too. The last song "The End" is a must hear.

Static once the record is lifted from the plater. While you clean the record and dry it, static again. I have a VPI record cleaner and it states "while drying using vac, only one revolution".

Oh the slippery slope of hifi!

The trap of buying and listening based on great production and pressings.

I'll admit my doubt that any Doors album's production should be qualified as a high quality audio listening benchmark.

The Texan is right. The Doors production may not be "benchmark" level, but the Acoustic Sounds pressings are amazing. But if you really want the hair on the back of your neck to stand up, try Jennifer Warnes The Well. The 33 is amazing enough, but the newer 45 release is absolutely captivating. Or if you can get your hands on Michael Ruff's Speaking in Melodies, another "you are there" dead quiet pressing. Janice Ian's all-tube masterpiece Breaking Silence, guaranteed to make any system sound about $10k better. I could go on. Point is you can find LP's that are both beautifully recorded and perfectly pressed. None of them of course will stay that way, but how quickly they deteriorate and how bad they get depends a lot on how carefully and consistently you clean the records, the turntable and your stylus.

Welcome to the slippery slope without a chute!

The hi-fi bug is kicking your ass right know. You will find that the some of the noise comes from the weakest link in your system. Upgrades will be calling you.

But vinyl also has noise - some pressings are better than others. I have 180 gram and 200 gram pressings that have noise - most don't. Also try getting a weight lock for the TT, it does help keep the vinyl alittle more stable. Cleaning the record with a cleaner doesn't always help. I mostly just carefully dry clean them and wipe of with a vinyl "duster" on the turntable during rotation. Obviously before you set the tonearm down.

Good luck and welcome to the best source - Vinyl!