New York, NY (Top40 Charts) For some music lovers, there is really nothing quite like the experience of listening to an old vinyl record. Analog recordings emphasize certain midrange frequency bands that many people interpret as warm and comforting, and records also have the added benefit of being less susceptible to the effects of the "
loudness war" than digital recordings.
With all of the benefits that make records so much fun to own and enjoy, they also have the drawback of being extremely fragile. If they're not properly cared for, they'll develop skips, pops and warping that can ruin the listening experience.
Is there anything that can be done to make old records sound better? You bet - and you don't even have to spend a lot of money in the process. Don't get suckered into buying an expensive new turntable or stylus; the equipment that you have is probably fine. Here are some simple tips that can make old records sound better.
Clean Your Records
You're probably at least a little familiar with how records work. The audio information is recorded as bumps in the record's grooves. As the stylus travels through the grooves, it translates the bumps to electromechanical impulses, and the resulting sound is amplified and sent to the loudspeakers. One thing you might not realize, though, is that records are extremely susceptible to dust. Anything that touches the stylus will create an audible sound - and if the thing touching the stylus isn't the information in the record's groove, the sound will be something you don't want to hear. A dusty record will be full of unpleasant scratches and pops.
To clean a record, all that you need is a soft microfiber cloth. You can use the same type of cloth that you'd use to clean a computer's screen or sunglasses. Dampen the cloth with a bit of distilled water. Run it gently in a circular motion around the record, following the direction of the grooves. Avoid getting water on the label.
If you want to go even further, Billboard magazine suggests doing a second cleaning with diluted Simple Green to remove even more dust. You'll probably find, though, that the distilled water does a good enough job on its own.
After cleaning the record, dry it with a clean microfiber cloth and put it away. At this point, maintenance is key if you want to ensure that the record won't just start collecting dust again. Always put records away promptly after playing them. Make sure that all of your records have both outer sleeves and inner dust protectors. Dust protectors are inexpensive to buy online if you need some.
Don't forget that you should never smoke around a record - especially when it's out of the sleeve. If you feel the need to breathe some nicotine, grab a Geek Bar Pulse X instead.
Confirm that Your Turntable Is Installed Correctly
Now that your records are good to go, the next step is to make sure that your turntable is installed correctly because incorrect setup can lead to a wide variety of sound quality issues.
- Make sure that the turntable is placed on a heavy piece of furniture that isolates it from vibrations. If you've ever had a record skip when you walked near your turntable, it's not sufficiently isolated. You might also consider placing the turntable on a foam mat.
- Make sure that the turntable is level. You can do this with a standard bubble level. If the turntable isn't level, it might have adjustable feet that you can use to make small changes. If not, you can adjust the turntable by placing small pieces of paper under the feet.
- Check to see if the turntable has a grounding wire on the underside or rear. The grounding wire will usually be green. You'll need to attach the wire to a grounding terminal on the back of your stereo amplifier. If your amplifier doesn't have a grounding terminal, you can use electrical tape to attach the wire to the amplifier's exterior metal casing. If your turntable isn't grounded, you'll hear a loud hum when listening to records. If your turntable has no grounding wire, it's probably grounded internally.
- Make sure that the turntable is connected to the correct input on your stereo amplifier. A record player needs a preamplifier in order to bring the signal up to the correct level for listening. Some turntables have built-in preamps, but many do not. Start by connecting the stereo to the "Phono" input on your amplifier. Turn the volume all the way down and start playing a record. Bring the volume up slowly. If everything sounds good, you're all set. If it sounds too loud, your turntable has its own preamp, so you'll need to connect it to a different input.
Adjust Your Tonearm's Counterweight
Does your turntable have a metal cylinder with some numbers on it at the back of the tonearm? That's the tonearm's counterweight, which determines how much pressure the stylus applies to the record's grooves to prevent skipping and skating. Your parents might have told you back in the day that you could stop a record from skipping by putting a penny on the stylus. Although that can work in the short term, it's actually bad advice in the long run because the excess pressure will eventually strip the information out of a record's grooves. It can also damage your turntable's stylus. A penny weighs about 2.5 grams, and a turntable's stylus typically applies much less pressure than that.
If you have a single record with a skipping issue, that probably indicates a problem with the record itself - which can sometimes be resolved by cleaning the record as described above. If all of your records skip, though, you might need to adjust your tonearm's counterweight. Here's how to do it.
- Start by looking for an anti-skate control. This is usually a numbered dial positioned next to the base of the tonearm. The anti-skate helps to center the stylus in the record's groove, keeping the left and right stereo channels balanced. For now, set the dial to zero. If you don't see a numbered dial, your turntable probably doesn't have an adjustable anti-skate feature, so you can skip this step.
- Lift the tonearm off of its rest and hold it up with one finger. While holding the tonearm, move the counterweight back and forth along the tonearm until the tonearm feels weightless. At this point, you can let the tonearm go. It should hover on its own. Make further adjustments if needed until the tonearm is parallel to the floor. Now, you can set the dial on the counterweight to zero.
- Look up the recommended tracking weight for your turntable's stylus. If you're still using the stylus that came with your turntable, it should be in the instruction manual. If not, you can probably find it online. Typical recommended tracking weights range from 1 to 2 grams. You'll usually get good performance if you set the counterweight to the middle of the recommended range. Bass frequencies will be difficult to detect if the counterweight is too light, and they'll be overemphasized if the counterweight is too heavy.
- Set the anti-skate dial to the same number that you've selected on the counterweight. Your turntable should now be ready to use.
Buy Some Sound-Enhancing Turntable Accessories
Some accessories can significantly enhance your listening experience with vinyl records, but there's no need to spend thousands of dollars for the toys that you see on the audiophile websites. The turntable that you already have is probably fine; the differences between budget turntables and expensive ones are really quite small. Here are a few accessories, however, that might be worth grabbing.
- Noise-Isolating Platter: Have you noticed that your turntable probably has a replaceable platter? That's right - you can simply lift the entire thing out of the record player and replace it with a different one. The current platter is probably rubber - which works well - but many vinyl lovers swear by cork as an alternative. Cork does an excellent job of isolating the record from vibrations, and it doesn't generate static electricity that can attract dust to the vinyl.
- Turntable Weight: A turntable weight is a circular weight that you place over the record before starting playback. If you have any records that sound warbly because they're warped, a weight can potentially fix that issue.
- Stylus Cleaner: Earlier in the article, we mentioned the audio quality problems that dust can cause when it collects on a record. If dust is stuck in a record's grooves, where do you think it goes when you play the record? That's right - it gets stuck on the stylus. A stylus cleaner is a gel pad that removes the dust from the stylus, and it's a great accessory to own. Don't try rubbing the dust off of the stylus with your finger because it might damage the stylus.
- New Stylus: A typical turntable stylus delivers maximum audio quality for around 1,000 hours of playing time. That's roughly three years if you listen to an album every day. If your turntable has been using the same stylus for longer than three years, it's time to consider replacing it. A typical budget cartridge and stylus will cost well under $100.
