Record cleaning and care

lnitm

... the pops and clicks I’m hearing sound from more like dirt or static as I can’t see scratches with the naked eye in particular. Some are brand new records, some are old but in very good shape with appear no scratches.

Visual assessment of an LP is tricky business. I have records that look awful but play perfectly, and vice-versa.

I’ve been told that cartridges that " remove " or " lessen " pops and ticks are rolling off the highs.

Not necessarily. Different stylus profiles may be more or less susceptible to pops and clicks, and the same is true of phono stages.

... a perfect or very clean record and using Ultra Sonic and Vacuum RCM can pops/clicks be virtually eliminated or is that just inherent with vinyl no matter how clean ?

I have many LPs that play with virtually no pops or clicks, including records that are more than 50 years old. Cleanliness - and an LP’s initial quality - are critical to how well an LP will play.

I wash a few of all used LPs IN THE SINK. Some I just use a vacuum cleaner (like the one for the floor) So now you know...Cheap alternative would be to use Aquafina bottled water as a rinse. It is pure H2O. all contaminants removed. I have thousands of used LPs, they play just fine. Maybe I am just not as fussy? but there are typically zero tic or pops on my used LPs.. I buy clean ones to start with. No need to buy messed up ones. Sooner or later a good copy will find you.

I wish, @elizabeth Here’s an example. I bought this record that was not the soundtrack to the album in the movie Cloud Atlas (a somewhat odd sci-fi pic) but something different. It was actually used as a prop in the movie, and they pressed two limited runs. Record was 40 bucks new and sold out by the time my copy arrived from EU. It was tragically warped. I have one of those flattening machines and every time I thought of it I’d give it a whack on the flattener, then play it. Today, voila, since I got the thing- I dunno four or more years ago, it played cleanly for the first time!
I could go buy a copy for like $700-- yeah, it’s that stupid now.
Some records, even when graded high (I will only look at M- used) play like poop. Cleaning helps.
If you get good results-- and the key isn’t just washing the things, it’s getting the cleaning fluid and contaminants off the record, you’re good.
Maybe I’m a little OCD. I guess my point is, not all this stuff is so easily replaceable cheaply.