tt surface noise reduce or tolerate?

06-23-08: Detlof
...vinyl reproduction can be so quiet that Tvad would be quite surprised.

I'm certain this is true. However, I maintain that the simple physical contact of a polished and sharpened gemstone on a vinyl surface makes it impossible for LP playback to be free of surface noise.

I'm also not interested in the vinyl versus digital debate.

Readers should also be aware that the OP has budgetary considerations mentioned in another thread, and unless he has changed is budget from one allowing the purchase of an unmodified Technics SL1200 and a stretch to purchase a Benz Micro Ace cartridge, then the discussion as it pertains to the OP may be moot.

Well, I haven't picked up a Radiohead LP for a while so maybe I'll check this one out. It is possible that it is just poor quality vinyl. But then, there needs to be a reason to get people to shell out for the 180/45 double lp. ;-)

Some will argue otherwise, but I do clean new records. Better safe than sorry to my mind. Anyway, I would think that the surface noise should be no greater than tape hiss. If that means anything to you.

Tvad, reason and what has remained of school physics demand that I agree with you. Often enough surface noise is masked by the music, no doubt about that. But with some LPs, even in silent passages, there is just no surface noise and I swear that my ears are still good. Of course this is not true of all Lps, but there seems to be vinyl which is practically without noise, if everything else is done right. Wished I knew why this is so.

Dan, I listen to a lot of tapes, old prerecorded ones and the new ones from the Tape Project. Also here, no tape is like the other. Some hiss terribly, others don't at all, however even the avarage LP runs much quieter than the average tape, at least with my rig.

I would think that the surface noise should be no greater than tape hiss. If that means anything to you.
Dan_ed (System | Threads | Answers)

IMO, that's a very good analogy for someone familiar only with CDs. Plenty of CDs have tape hiss in the quiet sections.

It's interesting that LPs would not also have the tape hiss audible, since they are manufactured from magnetic tapes that often have tape hiss (unless the LPs are rare direct to disk recordings). This doesn't make sense to me.

06-23-08: Detlof
...with some LPs, even in silent passages, there is just no surface noise and I swear that my ears are still good. Of course this is not true of all Lps, but there seems to be vinyl which is practically without noise, if everything else is done right.

Agreed.

Tvad, I've found this especially true with SACD, mostly of course with those made from old RCA or CBS three channel master tapes. Oddly enough, if comparing this to the the original LPs drawn from the same sources, you hear no such thing, possibly because it is masked by surface noise, when playing the LP. But some of those old Shaded Dogs can be very quiet, have good highs and plenty of bloom there and no hiss at all. So this is puzzling and perhaps food for another thread, because now I am really of topic. My apologies to Radiohead.