That's not a huge task in the digital domain. This app has a mode that solely focuses on pops and ticks, just the big stuff. On another thread at Hoffman, I learned of ClickRepair, an application lauded by needle-droppers who digitize rare vinyl (as well as some troubled souls who make digital copies of their bog-standard LP issues for god knows why). I should add that with more recent releases, there's also the real possibility the vinyl might actually sound better, even if from a digital master, because the limitations of LP cutting don't allow the mastering engineer to brickwall the mix. for a living, so at the end of the day, the last thing I want is to be looking at another backlit screen.
Clickrepair software Bluetooth#
I like LP's because they have huge cover art, you can actually read the liner notes without magnification, and maybe most significantly, when I have guests over who want to play something, we're not sitting around staring at playlists on screens and dicking around with bluetooth pairing. I've experimented with some fairly fancy-schmancy turntable and cartridge setups over the years, but I'm not one to make claims about the sonic superiority of vinyl. I'm not one of those analog true-believers. Most of the reaction there was negative, solely because the signal path is digitized, thereby breaking the holy AAA chain. So.Ī couple of years ago I saw a thread in the Hoffman forums about the Sugarcube, a $2K device that transparently declicks vinyl. I also enjoy good (read: "transparent") audio. I also enjoy many genres that feature a wide dynamic range. Though I've culled out most of the truly thrashed LP's over the decades, I also have a lot of sides that are in less-than-stellar quality. Oh, and I'm no fan of modern country, but that should go without saying.Īs a result of the above hunter/gatherer methods, I have a lot of records that never made it to digital. Really, the only thing I'm not interested in is mainstream classic rock - I've had enough of that pumped at me over radio to last two lifetimes. My tastes are pretty broad - I started as a punk/alternative kid, but later got into soul, jazz, exotica, international, krautrock, early electronic, the more esoteric end of classical, vintage country, etc. I don't think I've ever paid more than $15 for a record, new or used, and the vast majority of my stuff was had for $1-5 each through the salvage operation described above, yard sales, thrift stores, or used bins.
As a collector, I'm definitely at the low end of the price scale. Stick with me - I'm getting to the hardware bit. I met a lot of fascinating people this way, including a guy who'd been a Walter Matthau's stunt double for much of his career, with several thousand jazz LP's collected over a lifetime in Los Angeles (unfortunately, two Japanese investors had flown in a few days before and snapped up most of the Blue Notes, but there was still a lot to be found.) Had an ad for years in the local paper under the head "Sanford & Son Vinyl Salvage," and took calls from people enthusiastic for me to rummage through their collections and cherry-pick for $1 a pop. I've been collecting vinyl since I was a teen in the 80's and really went ape in the 90's when everyone sold off their collections for CD's.