Living with popping and crackling

Dougdeacon...No. For artistry I like my Rubinstein LP, which I play in preference to digital discs, but I am always upset by the surface noise. Even when new this LP was somewhat noisy because they cut it at a rather low level, probably to preserve dynamic range. I would prefer a little more compression (they always do some) and less surface noise.

I've got 3 copies of that Rubinstein and I agree, none of them is particularly quiet. I gave up after realizing that I don't even like Rubinstein's Beethoven. Not sour grapes, I love his Chopin like everyone. But he just doesn't "get" Beethoven for me. De gustibus non disputandem est, or YMMV if you prefer Internet-ish.

4yanx, Miles Davis is a great way to demonstate the virtues of vinyl. I always found his muted trumpet to sound harsh on even so-call audiophile cd's. I only heard Miles once on SACD when I demoed it at Sound by Singer in NY. I listened to Sketches of Spain which left me out in the cold compared to my vinyl which is spellbinding. As for the supposed noise issue which Eldartford seems fixated on, perhaps he is not be cleaning properly or has something wrong with his setup. I can't see that the small difference in noise level, even on quiet passages would be an issue to anyone given the other improvements in sound. I have very few Jazz LP's that present any type of objectionable noise level but perhaps its different in the classical realm or his definition of "objectionable" is far more critical than mine. On the other hand, I have several digitally remastered LP's that are dead quiet but not nearly as musically enjoyable as their straight analog counterparts to my ear.

Jyprez...I accept your comment that I am "fixated" on LP surface noise, but I reject your suggestion that the noise is "supposed". This is why I cited (in the earlier post) the many kinds of hardware that the audio community desparately developed to address the problem, before digital came along. Also it is true, as you say, that most Jazz and Pop music is recorded at a constant loud level, which hides the surface noise.

By the way, I hope you realize that ALL of your LPs have very intensive noise reduction in the form of RIAA equalization. Also, all but a few "audiophile" recordings were mastered using Dolby or DBX dynamic noise reduction, compression, and peak limiting.

Perhaps LPs are like saussage...you don't want to watch it being made.

While I may be coming to this discussion a little late, it matters very little to me if some of my vinyl records have noise. If I wanted dead silence, I would listen exclusively to CDs. After 20 years of CD enjoyment, there is no substitution for a good vinyl album; a CD cannot compare in areas of naturalness, warmth, and life-likeness. Many CDs have an electromechanical overlay to some degree. Fine vinyl has soul and body; it's alive. Whereas many CDs lack bloom and air.

To reduce the noise on vinyl, it's been my experience to use one of those recording cleaning machines from Nitty Gritty, Disc Doctor, or VPI. Brushes don't seem to do as well. The surface of each record needs to be cleaned and then vacuumed to remove all the dust particles that will either contribute to noise or to premature record wear. But I think I may be stating the obvious.

Any work of art, any fine wine, or any great musical performance is often imperfect, but this lack of abstract perfection has never kept me from enjoying these experiences. The same is true of vinyl. Certainly vinyl is not as pristine sounding as digital, but neither is it as sterile or clinical either.

Thus, when given the opportunity to listen to a good vinyl album or its CD counterpart, I will always choose vinyl with everything else being equal.