There's one fatal flaw in the business of putting music on record, and that's the method used to get the music back off the record. The needle riding in the undulating groove does retrieve the sound, but each time you play the record that needle gliding along the groove is ruining it. By the time you've played your favorite record, say 50 times, it's likely that you've destroyed most of its fidelity.

Theoretically, the needle in groove principle works great; practically, it's pretty terrible. The laser beam, digital recording, and other systems, now in the planning stages do away with Tom Edison's original needle in groove idea. But in the meantime, plastic records remain the universal method of sound storage and retrieval, and if you want your records to stay like new you've got to go to some trouble to maintain their virginity.

The culprits are dirt and static electricity. By dirt I mean dust, grease, dirt, smoke, plastic shavings, and anything else in the environment that contaminates the record's grooves or collects on the tip of the needle. Static electricity is also collected by plastic records, and these static charges will cause as many clicks and pops as the dirt.

Most record Companies are happy to have you ruin your records by playing them: 1 presume they figure that either you won't notice or you'll buy a new record when the old one wears out. They certainly don't go to any trouble to tell you how to take care of your records, and in some instances, like the current picture record fad, they knowingly produce an inferior product.

Stereo equipment manufacturers don't bother to explain that a speck of dust or a static charge will make a $2,000 stereo system sound exactly like a $100 system. Again, they must figure it won't help sales to caution their potential buyers that no matter how much is. spent on a stereo system, how it's used counts for more than how much it costs.

Taking proper care of your records isn't particularly expensive but it is a pain in the ass. Once you understand how it's done you'll never again be able to pop a record out of its sleeve, drop it on the turntable, and boogie. Instead, you'll find yourself involved in a quasi-religious ceremony that takes a good five minutes between wanting to play a record and actually getting it on the turntable.

Before you give up on all this, let me emphasize that proper record maintenance will make your hi-fi system sound a lot better. It's almost worth the effort.

So put 20 bucks in your pocket and head for your hi-fi dealer to pick up some of the following products:

Turntable Mat: Static building up in the record grooves attracts dust and holds it in the groove. There are several methods of discharging static, one of which is an anti-static turntable mat. Bib, Empire, Sound Guard, and several other manufacturers make these mats. They cost from $5-6. You don't have to do anything beyond putting them on your turntable.

Static Eliminator: This is a gun-like unit that releases positive and negative ions onto the record to neutralize the static build-up on the record. Empire and Bib make them, and they cost from $15-20. Don't point this unit directly at your eyes and set it off, as it is lethal.

Record Cleaner: This is the traditional velvet pad soaked with fluid that you use to wipe clean the record's grooves. Discwasher, Recoton, Watts, PR Disc Preener, and dozens of other companies make these for $15-25. They'll pick up the big pieces of dirt and dust and are especially useful for cleaning records that you played a lot before becoming a record care fanatic.

Because there is no justice, another product to consider is the Watt's Humid Mop, about four dollars, which is used to clean your record cleaner!

Deep Cleaning: Very dirty records can be helped by Empire's Disco-Film, under twenty dollars, which is like a facial mask. It is spread over the record, dries and then is peeled off, pulling the dirt and dust in the grooves along with it.

Sound Guarding: Sound Guard makes a record preservation kit for about $5 that coats your records with a permanent anti static property, and will make the hundredth play sound like the first. Don't breathe in too much of this stuff.

Groove Cleaning: One traditional approach is a small soft brush that rides in the record's grooves as it plays and wisks away the dust. Bib, Audio-Technica, and others make these units for under $10.

Stylus Cleaner: If you have dust in your record's grooves, the dust will collect on the tip of the stylus (needle) as you play the record. Don't blow the dust off or, worse, wipe it off with a finger tip. If you do, there's every possibility you'll ruin the stylus. Instead, spend some more money for Bib's Stylus Cleaner or some other stylus brush that will gently wisk the dust away.

Stylus Conditions: The state of the stylus is quite important once you've got a clean, staticfree record. Pickering makes a timer so you know how long you've got until your needle needs to be replaced (opce every six months is a good idea). Audio-Technica sells a Disc Stabilizer which holds your record more firmly on the turntable as well as a balancing system to make sure your turntable is perfectly horizontal to eliminate excess vibration. Discwasher makes a Disctracker that has a pneumatic damping system to make it possible to play warped records (and a good, many records come warped direct from the factory).

Do It Yourself: Yes, there are a few things you can do to keep your records cleaner without spending money for accessories. Always handle records by their edges (fingerprints leave dirt and grease). Don't pile records one on top of the other, on or off the turntable. Always return a record to its sleeve as soon as you've played it. Try to keep the area around your turntable as free from dirt and dust as possible. Avoid playing old crackly records with the stylus you use to play your new records.

There are no real alternatives in the record care game. Some folks I know make a reel-toreel tape of their albums and play the tape instead of the record, but then reels of tape aren't as convenient by a long shot. Others have switched from records to cassettes, but the fidelity isn't the same, especially with the shoddy duplicating systems used to mass produce prerecorded cassettes.

The only incentive to continual, obsessive record care is that if you have a quality stereo system and you keep your records clean and static free, it is possible to achieve a level of sound reproduction that is surprisingly close to perfect.