Posted 08 November 2011 - 09:20 AM
[/quote]
If it were up to me, I would be on Ebay buying an SAE 5000, and DBX expander. With the two of them, I can viriually eliminate the pops, and have a VERY nice sounding recording... but the wife has her say as well, and they typically get up to about 250-300 each.
[/quote]
I am an audiophile & would like to add my 2₵ here. 1st. I own almost every retail click & pop remover ever made, including the SAE 5000. If you took a razor blade & carved wagon-wheel type spokes gouges on the record, the SAE 5000 will remove that type of SEVERE pops. Be VERY Careful when using it, because it can (& WILL, if not used judiciously) grind your music up like hamburger.
My 1000+ LP's are all in nearly mint condition, so they don't need a lot of processing. When recording them I process them with (1) Burwen TNE-7000 [Transcient Noise Eliminator], & Burwen DNF-1201A [Dynamic Noise Filter]. The TNE-7000 does a Wonderful job of removing 99% of the general scratchiness found on LP's (even New ones). The DNF-1201 is a Frequency & Level Dependent Variable Band Pass Filter. That sounds like a mouthfull, but it just means that the 1201 limits the hi freq. output, when there are no hi freq's on the input. Also, when the music is Loud, the 1201 opens up & lets all the music through. The 1201 is quickly & easily calibrated to each LP you wish to record. Both the 7000 & 1201A are Tape Loop processors. I run mine daisy-chained, but can simply turn the music around at the 7000 by using the Monitor switch. Both Burwen processors occasionally come up for Auction on E-bay. The 7000 is the most highly sought after click & pop remover, & the regularily sell used, for more than they did new. The 1201 can be picked up for around $50.
If Tape-Loop processors are to complicated for you, then you could use the Garrard MRM-100 [Music Recovery Module]. It is inserted between the turntable & a HI-Level (AUX) input on the pre-amp. Good luck finding one that still works. The MRM has it's own phono ='ization ckt, which is why its output goes to a HI-Level input on the pre-amp. I don't know how accurate that phono EQ ckt. is.
There were several other "click & pop" Kits avail. years ago. They're not really worth mentioning, because the quality of the kit, depends on the skill level of the assembler.
ALL click & pop removers work Best with a 4-CH capable (20Hz to 40KHz) phono cartridge. The Audio Technica AT-20SS ($250 in 1978) & Grado Prestige GOLD ($100 - $2000 NEW on E-bay) both cover the required frequency range. Why 20Hz to 40KHz? It's because ALL click & pop removers Analyze the wave forms from 20Khz to 40Kz. That's above human hearing limits, BUT a click/pop has a HUGE amount of energy in that frequency range. When the processor sees high energy in that band width, it shuts off the output for the few mili-second duration of the click/pop. Since it's only a few miliseconds, you don't hear the "hole". Some processors "claim" to fill in the hole with music from the miliseconds Before the click/pop. That "claim" has never been verified.
Now, moving on the the dbx expander. I still own the Original (& BEST) 3BX. I've also owned the 4bx (when it was 1st. introduced). I currently use a 5bx Range Expander. ALL dbx expanders are designed to make Loud music LOUDER & Quiet music QUIETER (thereby increasing the dynamic range of the music). The Original 3BX (but NOT the series II or III) expander was a TRUE Stereo expander. It had 2 independent range expander ckts. The later series II & III Summed the L+R signal to control BOTH Voltage Controlled Amp ckts. The Orignal 3BX can handle loud music in one CH. & soft music in the other CH. The series II & III expanders can NOT do that!!! Range expanding works Great for Listening to LP's. BUT if you're recording the expanded music to tape, you can Very Easily exceed the dynamic range of the recording window. That is due to the inherent limitations of the tape itself & to some degree the quality of the recording head.
Since you're recording to your PC, you don't have to worry about exceeding the dynamic range of the computer. ALL sound cards have a greater dynamic range than LP's (even range expanded LP's).
With careful processing I am able to record LP's to Cass. with 'nearly' the dynamic range & clarity of CD's. My recording chain is: nearly mint LP, Audio Technica AT-20SS (or Grado Prestige Gold), Yamaha PX-3 turntable, dbx CX-1 pre-amp (phono EQ ckt), Burwen TNE-7000, Burwen DNF-1201A, dbx 5bx, dbx 150X (professional 3-Ch compander), Nakamichi DRAGON, Maxell UDXL II or Maxell Metal cass.
I hope this helps you.
MLStrand
Help
Don't you want to preserve that joy in the digital world? 
