The SugarCube Is Here At Last...Clicks & Pops R.I.P.

What SC product is appropriate when the desire is to record to a Tascam DA-3000.

 

Wow, I’d never heard of the Sugarcube before or even anything like it. Didn’t know a machine that could cancel out pops and clicks had been developed. If I had £1500 I’d buy the Sc-1 as I’d only need it for cancelling out pops, clicks and surface noise, I’m not fussed about recording vinyl to digital .

 

Not quite sure how it works but I took a quick look and I think that you’d want one of the sc-1 family depending on what features you want.

 

The SC-1 Series would be all you need. You would install it downstream of the Phono Preamp output or in the Tape In/Out loop on a receiver. It is an AD/DA converter as is the Tascam. It does its magic in the digital realm and converts the repaired signal back to analog. You would basically be doing 2 AD/DA conversions, not ideal. Unless you needed the Tascam to digitize from another analog source, the SC-2 series would cover your vinyl recording needs.

That is what the SC-1 series is meant for: The Mini does click and pop/removal, the Mini/Phono adds a MM/MC phono preamp and the SC-1 Plus adds Sweet Vinyl Noise Reduction. SVNR is a form of noise reduction intended mostly for use with 78's surface noise and also analogue tape hiss found on early classical LP's. The click and pop removal does it's job without creating audible artifacts for most people. The SVNR on the Plus units is effective, but should be used sparingly-- its effects will be heard the higher you set it.

The SC-2 series has the same 3 options and allows you to record via the same device.

 

Can you record in real time from the SC-1 Plus connected through the USB to a computer, i.e., turntable to phono preamp to SC-1 Plus to laptop?

 

Short answer is yes. I do it all the time where you can record without the sugarcane processing, where the surgarcube repairs before recording, or the sugarcube processes repair after recording in realtime.

 

Are there any samples available online demonstrating the effect of the SVNR?

 

My question is, does the Sugarcube eliminate crackle? I mean, I have maybe a few discs that have pops and clicks but probably not enough to justify spending £1500 on a Sugarcube to eliminate them . But I have records with a lot of crackle.If it cancels out crackle then I’m more interested

 

Short answer: Yes.

 

Pops, yes. Clicks, yes. Crackle, no.

Ben, why do you feel the answer is Yes? Perhaps I'm missing something...

 

What level setting is recommended if one does not want to harm the music in any way?

Has anyone here done in-depth tests? If yes, what were the results?

 

These days I try not to go above 6, as I can start to hear changes, so above 6, for me, means replace the record. Below 6 I cannot hear any difference beyond click and pop removal.

 

Some have said Yes some have said No. I think the answer is somewhere in between, depending on what you define as crackle. To me as clicks and pops become more closely spaced in time, they eventually become crackle. The SC is great with isolated clicks and pops. It becomes less effective the more closely spaced they are to each other. So one persons clicks and pop may be another persons crackle.

 

When I first got my unit I used to use set the level to 3 from the default of 5. When a new firmware update gets installed the setting goes back to the factory default of 5. When I got my SC-2 Mini about 1 year ago there were a lot of firmware updates, sometimes days apart. Without my knowing it sometimes I was set to 5 not 3. I did some listening tests and I could not tell the difference between 5 and 3 so I just leave it a 5 these days. One less thing to think about and zero differences to my ears.

 

Depends on what type of music is being processed. Music with a lot of transients (electronic music with prominent drum or synth transients), You can get away with 3 or 4, seldom the default 5. I can go as low as 1 if I hear it muffling up the kick drum. If it affects the transients no matter what level, i just bypass the processing and record the output so I can throw it in RX7 and do manual declicking.

 

Gotta depend on your definition. Does it remove all crackle and leave the record pristine? No. Will you still notice crackle on headphones. In some cases yes, though mitigated. Will you hear it on speakers? Probably not.

 

Listen to the samples I uploaded near the beginning of this thread, The Doors The End in particular. You will hear that the SC-2 removes pops, ticks, and crackle, plus much surface noise. These devices are essential IMHO, once you have one in your system you will not want to live without one. Non-fill is the one noise it cannot completely eliminate, though it definitely lessens it’s impact.

Besides enhancing your enjoyment of the music, it does away with the need to get upset about noise on new pressings from the lesser pressing plants, and the need to return them. In addition you can save yourself from extensive time cleaning records (on expensive machines) in the hope of a silent black background, the Sugarcube will give you that.

 

I bet most of us who have the unit have done countless A/Bs using the app! After about a month, I got tired of the A/Bs and now simply enjoy the music. To be honest, I do not turn on my SC1-mini unless I know the album I will be playing is noisy, and since I have relatively few noisy albums, I seldom turn ON the unit. However, once ON (I have mine set at level 3 or 4) I do not bother turning it OFF even for quiet albums including MMJ SRX, AP UHQR, MoFi One Steps, etc. I just can't tell the difference between the unit ON and OFF.

If I somehow lose mine, I will buy another.

 

Thanks. Definition is key, indeed. For me, crackle is that "walking on dry leaves" kind of sound - a constant crunchy background noise, a little like tape hiss but much more aggressive and less pleasant. I find that removing the pops and clicks can actually exacerbate crackle as it's then the primary noise left behind, along with groove noise.

 

I have a question for you - I remember you was talking about replacing PS, wonder if you did it and did it make a difference..

 

Because now I am using "balanced" path from Gold Note PH-10 ->Pass XP-20->Pass XA30.5 I no longer can properly compare as tape loop (and my SC-1 mini) are single ended and with XP-20 volume drops several db when tape loop engaged )). So I still playing mint records sometimes (I fortunately have many of) without SugarCube as I feel (perhaps imagine) that all balanced path sounds better, even considering that PH-10 design is not fully balanced.

 

That's for my SC-1 Plus, which is finally due to ship next week... that power supply is still in the box waiting.

 

I know a few of us (myself included) have posted before/after samples on here. You'd think Sweet Vinyl would post samples on their website, wouldn't you?