Phono stage can minimize tics and pops on vinyl

I hear the noise on a different plane than the music. In life, if someone sneezes from the 2nd balcony, it sounds from a different place than the orchestra.

@stringreen I understand this bit very well- its why I prefer vinyl, as any surface artifacts are in a different plane from the music, while the colorations (brightness and hardness) of digital are part of the music itself.
However, this statement suggests to me a misunderstanding, I'd like to clear it up:

a good system won’t minimize the clicks.pops, but neither will it emphasize them.

The idea here is that indeed a phono section can affect how many ticks and pops you hear, because they originate due to phono section design issues which is triggered by something on the LP surface. And I hate to say it, but many high end phono sections do have this problem- in fact they emphasize ticks and pops, and people thing they are part of 'a good system'. I think this is because as I pointed out earlier, many people grew up with unstable phono sections and simply thing that ticks and pops just come with the media, which they don't. 

Put another way, if you really do have 'a good system', you will hear less ticks and pops- it will minimize them, without other coloration, such as a loss of highs.

@atmasphere   You said: " Put another way, if you really do have 'a good system', you will hear less ticks and pops- it will minimize them, without other coloration, such as a loss of highs."

The loss of highs issue was a real concern for me when the Luxman E-250 entered the system.  Initially the sound was "muted" and "slow".  Honestly, it took a good 300 hours or so to open up and for the highs to come into their own.  That was a great relief as I then felt I had the whole package.  So your mentioning that the phono stage needs to be of sufficient quality to minimize surface noise but not roll off or accentuate any part of the frequency spectrum is the overall goal.

Even if your vinyl is very well kept, I would buy a simple ultrasonic cleaner outfit and clean it ...you will be surprised how many clicks and pops are eliminated. If that doesn’t do it, then think about electronic solutions.

I've not used my Discwasher in 20 years. I don't need it- a simple dust brush is all I use and that is to prevent dust buildup on the stylus. IOW I'm playing LPs free of ticks and pops with no need to clean them.