Is it just me or..

[atomicAdam]

Does it seem like some LPs come out of the package with a good amount of static electricity already on the record? I mean, I'm paying $25 for the record, not the static electricity dammit!

[dean_martin]

I got a bowl of Husker Du for Christmas. It was shrink wrapped so tight it could make a guest appearance on Housewives of Beverly Hills.

[Mr Peabody]

I am afraid you are right. A couple years back I got my hands on a sealed Police album and was really excited to play virgin vinyl, it did sound good but there was an occasional pop and I just couldn't understand why.

[RGA]

The recommendation made to me for new vinyl was to run it through a record cleaning machine before you play it to get rid of the residual wax. Further - I place a Bounce sheet between every few albums which picks up the static - no need for a pricey gun.

Generally I find most albums in my collection are free of noises - but certain tables, arms and carts also do a better job of this than others. I noticed a dramatic improvement with my TT2/Arm3/IQ3 over my Rega P2 clone and Shure M97xE cart on all forms of noise. But the AN set-up is also nearly 10 times the price of my previous table.

Personally I would not buy any new rock or pop albums on vinyl anymore. They seem to simply transfer the digital copy over and sometimes you lose a song or two to boot as is the case with Sarah McLachlan's latest album. Paying more for less and getting the dynamically truncated digital sound is rather pointless.

The interesting thing is that Classical and Jazz sound so much better on my vinyl rig than any CD player I have heard - the biggest beefs I hear from people who don't like vinyl is that it has high noise on classical and jazz - and that illustrates further that those people have never owned or heard good vinyl replay (regardless of price). After hearing expensive Clearaudio and Roksan and being roundly unimpressed the turntable industry is not doing themselves favours putting out inferior pricey models - and I could not believe that both of them won awards in some magazines. My dealer had the Clearaudio in and tried three of them - had the rep out to set it up and his conclusion was that it sounded broken. He elected to not carry the line and put the turntable in the used section for 1/3 retail with full warranty just to get rid of it. And that table won turntable of the year? Project at about 1/4 the money sounded a lot better - uglier and not pretty cut glass but you have to wonder.

Unfortunately, it's really hard with turntables - I think they sound better but I also think it requires a relatively large sum of cash to really get enough out of them to warrant the bother. I think it takes something like a TT1, a top Linn LP12, as starting points to do vinyl justice. My goal is the Voyd Reference on the used market. But that table, arguably one of the very best available for anything approaching sane money, is in huge demand and they don't make them anymore. They are selling for much more now than they went for new and that is taking inflation into account. My dealer has a nice decked out set-up and it's simply some of the best sound I have heard period. I wish Guy Adams stayed in Audio rather than heading up some department at HP. Guy also designed the OTO Phono SE which you'll have to take from my cold dead hands.

[atomicAdam]

A good idea with running it through the cleaner before you even play. What are those sheet of paper you speak of?

Personally I would not buy any new rock or pop albums on vinyl anymore. They seem to simply transfer the digital copy over and sometimes you lose a song or two to boot as is the case with Sarah McLachlan's latest album. Paying more for less and getting the dynamically truncated digital sound is rather pointless.

All I can say to this is this is what you get for buying Sarah McLachlan.

But seriously - I think it has more to do w/ a Label than a style of music. Though I'd be interested in hearing more about the different mix and production techniques used for vinyl versus CD.

[02audionoob]

The main reason I wet clean even new records is that it seems to discharge the static. I don't know that I believe the tales of substances left on the surface during manufacture, but I clean the record to get it quiet...and I keep a Bounce dryer sheet under the felt mat, just in case that helps.

[atomicAdam]

The main reason I wet clean even new records is that it seems to discharge the static. I don't know that I believe the tales of substances left on the surface during manufacture, but I clean the record to get it quiet...and I keep a Bounce dryer sheet under the felt mat, just in case that helps.

Oh you mean Bounce like what you stick in the dryer! Fantastic idea. Thanks! i'm going to give that a try.

[02audionoob]

Another thing that ought to work is a lubricant, like Gruv Glide. Not that dryer sheets aren't lubricants...they are...but Gruv Glide goes on the record itself.

[basite]

That's normal. During the production, we also see that the record is put on other records in a stack, carried around,... It's normal to generate static here.

also, there is some dust & dirt from during the production process, this is why it's advised to clean your new record before you play it

I know, it's not convenient, but I think everyone here will agree that "convenience" is more something you'd associate with ipod's and the like

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[frenchmon]

Hey what do you guy of the "Spin Clean" ? Any body here use one?

[02audionoob]

Hey, frenchmon...have you seen my cleaning video?

[frenchmon]

No...where can I see it?.

[frenchmon]

No...where can I see it?.

[02audionoob]

No...where can I see it?.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTxUju-l5PM

[frenchmon]

cool....I have a wet vac...i'll try it.
Thanks

[hifitommy]

static is a physical reality with vinyl. mostly though, once the disc hits the platter, the static field collapses through the ground. only in arid climes like alaska in the winter or the desert (palm springs etc) is static a problem on the tt.

the static reduction devices like tha zerostat are costly but mapleshade makes one for about $30. i have my old zstats from m years ago and i wouldnt be without a device like this. antistatic sheets for the laundry are not going to be as effective.

the very best time to use a zstat or other device like it is just after removing the record from the platter when its ALIVE with static, and just before placing the disc into the sleeve. this prevents the record from attracting dust with its 50Kv static charge, in the sleeve.

other ways to handle static in an arid environment is to have a room humidifier.

[jrhymeammo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTxUju-l5PM

Hey noob!!!
I never wanted to admit this, but I haveto wear ear muffs when I clean my LP.
There's gotta be a better way!!!! Please don't say digital...

[02audionoob]

Hey noob!!!
I never wanted to admit this, but I haveto wear ear muffs when I clean my LP.
There's gotta be a better way!!!! Please don't say digital...

Yes...what a drag to have such a noisy process! My ear plugs are just part of the drill. I literally will not clean records that way without them. There's something about putting the crevice tool on a record that makes my little vacuum go shrill. Speaking of digital, though...my little Logitech Wireless DJ is like a best-kept-secret. Handy little guy, although no digital output.