Just bought a nitty gritty, hear no difference.

When I owned my Nitty Gritty, cleaning results varied greatly, depending on the length of time vacuum was applied. Too often, quick vacuuming leaves the LP partially damp and still contaminated with dissolved solids that later dry into the grooves.

I got a substantial performance increase, especially in residual noise removal, with the Nitty Gritty (and my current VPI cleaning machine as well) when I experimented between 2, 4 and 6 revolutions of vacuuming.

I now use only 6 revolutions or more of vacuum, based on listening tests.

There is no point in going through all the cleaning motions and then leaving stuff behind. I cannot promise this advise will help in your situation but it certainly will not hurt to experiment and requires only an additional 10 or 15 seconds.

Are the clicks & pops from dirt?

Or are they vinyl damage? (cleaners won't help).

bgrazman

Your experience, even with a good cleaning machine, is why so many abandoned vinyl when CD presented a viable alternative. Once a new LP has been played, the pops & ticks get worse with each subsequent playing. The better the analog rig, the more the LP`s defects become apparant, Michael Fremer & a zillion $ worth of turntable, arm & crtrg. not withstanding.

RCM's only get rid of pops if it's dirt/dust. If it's pops because it's been played a lot and the grooves are wearing out, nothing can help that out. A RCM is a must and makes a huge improvement, so can't think of why it wouldn't in your case? hmm did you clean the stylus? Are you putting too much cleaner on. It took me some time to get the routine down. If you use too much or not enough cleaner, you will actually get more pops. I guess maybe you took pretty good care of the records. I also have the RDIII.

good luck I'm sure you'll get it working right.

I once had a Record Doctor II and a Nitty Gritty 1.0, and I can tell you that the Record Doctor is definitely not as nice.

With the Record Doctor II and the Audio Advisor formula that comes with it, you have to clean each side of the record three (3) times. (Wet, use the brush, flip, vacuum completely dry, and repeat.) You will hear a difference on old, uncleaned LPs after that point. It was pretty obvious to me. If you don't, the problem will be elsewhere in the system.

Also, record cleaners will not reduce the record noise that comes from damaged records. If anything, they accentuate scratches. BUT, you get a lot more information out of the grooves across the board. This may be relevant to what you have been noticing.