old 70s/80s vinyl digitizing ... any insights?

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old 70s/80s vinyl digitizing ... any insights? 2013-10-07T18:03:14+00:00 Hi guys, I've got a side project going on where I'm digitizing a guy's old record collection. Hours of good listening! :D This is work? hehe! He's provided an old Pinnacle/Steinberg Clean Plus 5 bundle which includes a USB powered turntable preamp and sound card in one unit. Cool! It's all working fine, and he's not too fussed about quality, just a nostalgia trip for him, so I haven't tried to clean any audio yet... I thought I'd complete the mammoth task of digitizing first, then clean a little afterwards. I've been noticing the strangest thing... if there's any consistent crackle on the album it's always in the left ear (wearing headphones :)) Occasional crackle and pops happen on both sides, but typically the vinyl crackle is either left ear only, or really attenuated in the right... so let's say it sounds like it's been panned left. Is this normal? I've been trying to figure out the possible reason for the left side preference. It's definitely not cables, or clipping, or mains hum, or any of that, and the needle itself is fine. It also varies from album to album, and on some portions of some songs there is no crackle at all. So I've concluded that it must be from the vinyl groove itself, not any of the hardware chain involved in playback. (sounds obvious :roll:) Now the record/turntable turns clockwise, and the needle reads the outer edge of the groove as the left-channel... is that correct? Or is there mid/side I'm not taking into account? Anyway, assuming this guy cleaned his records with a sponge or chamois cloth or whatever the method was, and wiped them down in a more or less circular motion from centre to outer edge, that could possibly leave a residue on the left side of the groove, which may be the cause of the crackle being more prevalent on the left side... (in my humble estimation and understanding of these things.) Please shout if I'm sprouting nonsense! Then, regarding the audio cleaning, I'll probably address the big pops and clicks manually, because there aren't really that many. But I was thinking that I should probably split the stereo wave into separate left and right channels, and then just process the left through Clean's de-crackler, or perhaps a more modern algorithm... but I'm not gonna lay out huge dosh on iZotope or Sony Spectra Layers for this! My thinking is that processing the problematic left channel instead of both will result in fewer overall artifacts from the de-crackler. Anyway, I'll do a few tests using different methods, I just don't want to get that typical noise-profile hollowness as a result. BUT my main question is... why the crackle in the left ear, with substantially less-to-no crackle in the right ear? (yes, I clean both my ears every morning, lack of personal hygiene is not a factor here :D) Anyone else experienced this? Thanks! :tu: xalama qo https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=153276

xalama qo xalama qo https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=153276: KVRAF; Topic Starter; 1586 posts since 7 Jun, 2007

Post by xalama qo » Thu Oct 10, 2013 9:20 am

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xtp wrote:
xalama qo wrote: My main "huh?" was why the heck the vinyl crackle is consistently way more prevalent on the left side only. Wondering if anyone else has experienced 'biased' crackle.
I assume you have checked it is the actual record causing the crackle you are hearing, and not a faulty wire for the channel in question, connecting to the stylus.

I would agree with the others who have cautioned against weighting the stylus. Setting the weight correctly is the key, as well as any anti skate devices.

You might want to try posting your question here. Turntable Forum

Yup, I've checked all the in between bits thoroughly. No faulty cables etc. It's not a big issue, I just thought it a bit strange and wondered if anyone else has experienced this.

I know my way around audio fixing, so I'm sure a few experiments with different processes/procedures will give me the level of 'fix' I'm looking for.

Anyway, thanks for all the tips guys. Back to digitizing I go...

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