Wayne Parham Messages: 18786 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
A record player is a mechanical recording device. It converts the grooves on the disk to mechanical movements of the stylus to an electrical signal out of the cartridge which is developed at the amplifier and sent onto the speakers. The speakers then do all that in reverse; They take an electrical current, transform it into a magnetic field that interacts with its built-on magnet, which creates movements of the speaker cone and those vibrations are transmitted through the air as sound.
In all those transformations, there are some inaccuracies and distortions that can come into play. So noise can be introduced at any place along the line. But the one most common is the obvious thing: Dirt and scratches on the record disk itself. That's what makes the pops and clicks people associate with old vinyl recordings. It's also who vinyl enthusiasts are so careful about how they clean and store their record collections.