How do you get past the pops and hiss of LPs?

Your dad is right ... scratches & audible pops were pretty much the way it was with LP's. The Stereo Magazines (Stereo Review; High Fidelity; etc.) used to advise you to make a tape copy of the LP and play that, because LP's were so easily scratched (usually after the first play). The LP was to be saved for special listening occasions. You were usually OK, unless the disc was really scratched up and then it was outrageously annoying. Also, LP's were warped beyond belief (RCA Dynagroove comes to mind) and there was not too much you could do about that.

Cleaning the LP's, the turntable, and cartridge helps. But if the record is scratched, it's scratched. With 180 gram audiophile records and + $1000 rigs, scratches may be less of an annoyance ... but now you are getting to the same place where you are with a cd player ... get a + $1000 cd player, for the best redbook sound and less digital glare.

I found all this way too frustrating and I gave up on LP's about 10 years ago and spent my time getting the best sound out of CD's.

Regards, Rich

A third vote for thoroughly clean records, But also, a good quality, well set up turntable and tonearm combination will be incredibly quiet. Friends whom I have had over for dinner evenings or casual "get togethers" have commented at how quiet a turntable can be relative to what they remember.

With a clean record that is in good condition, background noise, scratches and pops are virtually non-existent. I think the old Thorens may be partially at fault. The older, higher mass tonearms really have a tough time keeping up with the newer high compliance cartridges.

But, just keep listening to the music. With a turntable, the music usually sounds so good, it makes all the other stuff go away.

You either love the MUSIC, or not? Can you listen to a cheap radio, and fall in love with a bit of music?
I am forced by my own choice to listen to music with the joyous chatter of my parakeet usually crooning to himself. I do not find it disturbing. I am glad he is having a good a time as I. (My cockatiel listens carefully to the music, as if meditating on each note. and is especially enraptured by Maria Callas.)
Cleaning and stuff is great, but the sound of the music seems better via a 'shaded dog' than a CD. clicks included (on damaged vinyl rescued from the hell of second hand store misery)
Be very greatful you have no tinnitus. Talk about HISS!!!!!

Even at its best vinyl may give you a few ticks and pops from time to time-static.It cannot be as quiet as digital either. How do we get past? We just do.Not an issue at all.

You will find that, with proper VTA, which is the angle at which the stylus meets the record, the surface noise will be presented in a different plane than the music. For many, though not all, of us our sensory gating mechanisms can easily tune this out. Contrast this with the CD, where the noise actually exists within the fabric of the music.