{"id":30866,"date":"2026-07-07T18:28:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/?p=30866"},"modified":"2026-07-07T18:40:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:40:04","slug":"why-does-the-board-creak-and-when-is-that-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/why-does-the-board-creak-and-when-is-that-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does a CD crackle\u2014and when is that normal?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A slight crackle is part of the vinyl sound\u2014something many people even come to love. But there\u2019s a point beyond which the crackling signals that something needs to be fixed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>When Is a Clicking Sound Normal?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A faint, soft click between songs or at the beginning of a record is usually just a characteristic of the analog format\u2014tiny specks of dust in the groove, fingerprints, static electricity, or the very structure of the record itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>When Should You Be Concerned?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the rattling is constant, loud, or occurs in the same places every time, the likely cause is dirt in the groove or scratches on the surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 Dust and static electricity \u2013 the most common cause, addressed <a href=\"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/product\/antistatic-sepetel-2\/\">with an antistatic brush<\/a> before each hearing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 To avoid leaving grease marks from your fingers, hold the disc only by the edge and the label<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 Dirt that has accumulated in the groove \u2013 requires deeper <a href=\"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/product\/plate-cleaning-liquid-3\/\">with cleaning fluid<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 A worn or dirty needle can scratch the record itself<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best way to ensure clear sound is to clean your records daily with an antistatic brush. This should become a habit: cleaned records will not only last longer but also sound cleaner, which will also extend the life of the stylus. You can find more care tips on our <a href=\"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/care-measures\/\">Disc Care<\/a> in the category.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-30868 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-2048x1365.webp 2048w, https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/phono.shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vinyl_brush_2_1x_73286d85-8bff-4964-a811-8c56f27e75f9-600x400.webp 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>A Simple Solution for Your Home<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wipe the disc before each playback <a href=\"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/product\/antistatic-sepetel-2\/\">AM antistatic brush<\/a> \u2013 Its nearly 600,000 carbon fibers remove dust and static electricity in a single pass. If the disc hasn\u2019t been cleaned in a long time or was purchased used, it\u2019s worth giving it a deeper clean with a special cleaner\u2014it gently removes even stubborn dirt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the rattling doesn't go away even after cleaning, check the needle\u2014it may be time to replace it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Broken needle<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A worn-out stylus is the most common\u2014but least recognized\u2014cause of poor sound quality. Every stylus has a certain lifespan during which it naturally wears out. This doesn\u2019t mean you need to keep track of how many hours you listen to music\u2014the best way to protect your turntable is to replace the stylus preventatively every one to two years, or every three years if you listen less frequently. Proper cleaning of the stylus with a special cleaner or brush helps extend its lifespan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But even with careful handling, the needle can be damaged very easily by mechanical force. If you accidentally press down on, bump, or drop the needle, you can not only break it but also damage it\u2014and it\u2019s not easy to spot damage on a microscopic diamond tip. Therefore, it\u2019s best to replace the needle as a precaution, even if you haven\u2019t yet heard any obvious signs of wear.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A slight crackle is part of the vinyl sound that many people even come to love. But there\u2019s a point beyond which the crackle signals that something needs to be fixed. When Crackling Is Normal A rare, soft click between songs or at the beginning of a record is usually just a characteristic of the analog format\u2014tiny specks of dust in the groove, fingerprints, static electricity, or the very structure of the record itself. When you should be concerned \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/why-does-the-board-creak-and-when-is-that-normal\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":7950,"featured_media":30867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7950"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30866"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30873,"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30866\/revisions\/30873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phono.shop\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}