Jump to content

Distortion on new vinyl - guidance needed


Recommended Posts

Hi there

 

I am a beginner to Vinyl. I have a rega rp1 with an ortofon blue.  I recently purchased my first records - 8 new vinyls (4 Joanna Newsom records, 3 Aphex Twin and Through the looking glass reissue). 6 of the 8 play perfectly and sound perfect with no distortion. 1 (Aphex twin - Syro) has a reasonable amount of distortion on one of the 12 tracks but otherwise sounds perfect. However most disappointingly, Joanna Newsom's Ys - has major distortion on certain passages of all of the songs (both sides of both discs), to the point where 4/5 tracks are nearly unlistenable. 

I also have about 7-8 old LPs from the 70s and some modern LPs from the 90s, all of which play and sound perfect with no distortion at all.

 

My questions are:

1. How much distortion is to be expected on a vinyl?

2. If a vinyl has distortion, what chance does one have to get it returned and replaced?  In this instance, Joanna Newsom's Ys was bought from amazon.com so i think i'll struggle. 

3. I am determined to get a good copy of Ys - should I try to buy another (which i'd probably do through Red Eye Records in Sydney) and see how I go? Or should I try to get a second hand copy from closer to when it was released (2006)? There is a review on discogs from April 17 with someone having the same distortion issue and suggesting there may be an issue with the recent pressings.

 

I'd be grateful for any guidance on this issue. 

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites



I know this may sound silly but the advice is prudent and has worked for myself and others 

Can I ask if you have you cleaned the records properly 

Record pressing & processing can leave contaminants on the surface and grooves - just because it's new does not guarantee the record is clean 

 

That is the first thing I would do 

 

 

Edited by Full Range
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, Wansmith said:

2. If a vinyl has distortion, what chance does one have to get it returned and replaced?  In this instance, Joanna Newsom's Ys was bought from amazon.com so i think i'll struggle. 

3. I am determined to get a good copy of Ys - should I try to buy another (which i'd probably do through Red Eye Records in Sydney) and see how I go? Or should I try to get a second hand copy from closer to when it was released (2006)? There is a review on discogs from April 17 with someone having the same distortion issue and suggesting there may be an issue with the recent pressings.

 

Amazon are great for replacing/refunding damaged vinyl. Just email or use their chat.

They may or may not require you to return the original.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, muskrat1954 said:

Are you sure table is set up properly? Is the Ortofon sensitive to vta ? If all is good it must be the lp. Can you try it on another table?

Sent from my ASUS MeMO Pad 7 using Tapatalk
 

 

If the other records are fine then it's not a set up issue.

 

I would say the Joanna Newsom record is poorly pressed and needs returning. As mentioned above, Amazon are very good with returns. The only issue the poster might have that if one is poorly pressed then the whole batch might be. It doesn't hurt to return it and find out however.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites



It happens with new release or reissued vinyl unfortunately...
Get the refund from amazon, try get the original pressing, clean the records would be the solution otherwise see if there are any high quality pressing available of course it will cost a bit more but it is worth it in most cases.
Welcome to the dark side, start saving $ mate.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ahh this side is truly dark

 

Thanks all for the very helpful advice. I had not thoroughly cleaned the new vinyl (possibly a rookie error on my part) so that will be my first step.  Then will see how i go with the amazon refund/replacement. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't sweat about not cleaning new records all that much. The vast majority of us middle aged folks who have been playing records since the 70s or earlier would never have dreamed of having to clean a new record and it's only because we now have a bit more money than we once did that we buy expensive cleaning machines to get that last bit of goodness out of a record, (tongue slightly in cheek).

 

The problem has been over the last 2 decades though that record manufacturing became a bit of a lost art and as vinyl presses began to turn again there was a definite drop off in quality and hygiene from how things used to be. Things seem to be improving now in my experience but alas you will still run across utter rubbish being pressed and you never can tell until you play the record. With only one pressing being made of most records-one batch and that's it-if one is crook then the chances are the whole lot aren't much better.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can relate with the purchase of an album that was released today. At the same time I bought one of the spin clean products from Pro-Ject and decided to see if there was a difference listening to it from new unclean to new cleaned.

 

Huge difference, as they often come in paper sleeves i find it's pretty common to find some form of paper fibres etc on the surface, not to mention the static also!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nearly all of the new albums I have purchased lately have been pretty mankie,  especially the ones I have bought from Amazon that are often covered in fluff, funnily enough the local JB HiFi ones are usually pretty clean.

 

I have not put any of the new albums in the US cleaner yet to see what improvement if any there is.

 

cheers Terry

Link to comment
Share on other sites



16 hours ago, TerryO said:
Nearly all of the new albums I have purchased lately have been pretty mankie,  especially the ones I have bought from Amazon that are often covered in fluff, funnily enough the local JB HiFi ones are usually pretty clean.
 
I have not put any of the new albums in the US cleaner yet to see what improvement if any there is.
 
cheers Terry

Terry

I clean everything before playing now with the exception of Analogue Productions or Mofi releases which are properly sleeved.

Paper and cardborad inners will leave noise. Use your US to ensure a quieter presentation. Certainly been my experience.

I open a bunch of new arrivals, clean them early in morning, place in 'going to play today' storage box.

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk
 

Edited by scuzzii
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...
To Top