tt surface noise reduce or tolerate?

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.

06-23-08: Detlof
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.

That's my belief. Tape hiss being masked by surface noise.

I suspect those quiet LPs that are free of tape hiss were mastered from tapes that had very little tape hiss.

Tvad, you make good sense. This could well be so. Whatever, lets enjoy he music, noise or no noise, digital and analog...

Amen.