CES 2016

Here we go, more high cost record cleaning voodoo, and opportunity for hipsters to put out new 20-30 step YouTube cleaning videos. Forgive me here, but cleaning vinyl ain't rocket science.

...is a Spin Clean and perhaps a little extra time by hand dealing with those mysterious little nuggets that you find on some used vinyl (you know them: the one to four rotation "poppers"). Scratches and non-fill are the real bane of the vinyl lovers' existence, and no expensive gadget will ever fix those.

A good portion of the cost of these units goes into the custom machining, and the limited production runs don't lend themselves to cost effectiveness either. And there is the stigma that goes with the ownership of an item that costs thousands vs. hundreds.

My cleaning setup isn't perfect, but it does the job well enough. The main thing is having a clean record when all is said and done.

I got back into vinyl 10 months ago with the promise to my wife that I would only purchase 1 LP a month. Just my very favorites. 10 months later I have over 500. So there's that. But my cleaning process has changed as well. Started with some fluid and a lint-free cloth. Quickly upgraded to a Spin Clean. 3 months ago got an Okki Noki, which I love. Now my process is a combination the Okki Noki and the Spin Clean (I use the Spin Clean with distilled water only to get rid of any chemical residue left after the vacuum process.) It works great for me, and it's kind of fun. That said - I would LOVE to have an Ultrasonic cleaner. But the price would have to come down a lot more before that ever happens!

I use two Spin Cleans with the 2nd being distilled water. I have noticed an improvement since adding the 2nd one especially on used vinyl. I use high end microfiber at times but mostly use cotton. I find that cotton leaves a bit of lint. These extreme microfiber cloths w/silk edges really do a nice job drying the records. I have not had a static issue with them that some people describe.

I've had the Audio Desk for a couple of years and I'm very satisfied with it.
Expensive but worth every penny!
The dry-only option is very good news as the LPs don't always come out totally dry.
I use dual osmosis water so there shouldn't be anything left in the grooves when it eventually evaporates.
Are the improvements retrofittable? That would be very nice.

I have one of these and I find the real benefit is maintaining new or newer vinyl. For old and used vinyl I find that a good cleaning with my VPI vacuum cleaner using a good enzymatic cleaner(3 min./ side then rinsed w/ distilled water) is needed before cleaning ultrasonically. In effect having one of these machines significantly increases one's vinyl collection because you can finally listen to all the records you were avoiding due to too much noise.

At the RMAF a few years ago, I had an LP cleaned free as a demo by the AudioDesk machine. It is expensive and "clearly" better to my ears than all other machines. I use and love the VPI 16.5 but there is no real comparison.

listen (and that is the objective word)
record cleaners improve the sound quality of LPs
I bought am=m audio desk systeme vinyl cleaner 2 years ago and it has simply re-dynamised my record collection. The improvement after a cleaning is simply phenomenal. I don't know how it works, it simply does.
A phenomenal addition to my system

I've only had one at a time - but I've had to have them replaced because they are not dependable. With my latest version the rollers keep getting stuck, the cavitation isn't working and my records come out with hundreds of drops on them and I have to let them air-dry since the manufacturer didn't have the foresight to provide a dry-only mode.

Now he expects us to pay more for that.

So many reports of owners that have had so many problems and can't get support from the manufacturer who won't answer emails about repairs but will answer if you're interested in buying another one. I was lucky to buy mine through a wonderful dealer.

I will say there is no better cleaner than this or the KL Audio, but the latter is the one to get as nobody has problems with that and it actually dries the LPs properly.

I have had the machine for about a year and a half. The first one did not work out of the box the replacement has needed repair twice. The first time the rollers would not turn. Next there was a water leak. If the machine is not used for a few days the rollers do not turn. I must take a 5mm Allen wrench and Thursday the two stainless screws on the left side of the tank, turn the two screws back and forth one half turn, then the rollers operate. I will the say the machine is great ,when it is working

Michael Fremer is 100% correct. Cavitation (via ultrasonic) is the best, albeit expensive, way to clean records. My friend has both the Audio Desk Systeme (not the Pro version) and the KLAUDIO, and he recommended the KLAUDIO to me, which he prefers.

After more than 6 months of use, I can say that it's a no-brainer. No special fluids, no rollers or brushes to clean, and changing the distilled water once a month is both a snap and cheap! I've had records where the surface noise was so bad as to be unplayable before cleaning with the KLAUDIO. After cleaning, wow! Almost no surface noise at all. All pops and clicks will not be completely eliminated, depending on their severity, but the surface noise reduction is nothing short of miraculous!

I have had my eye on the Audio Desk and the KLAUDIO for sometime. I have been considering the KLAUDIO for the durability based on users complaints of the Audio Desk of breakdown problems, but this deserves a look to see if problems have been carefully addressed and improvements have been made.

If you're on a submarine.

I would have one of these in a heartbeat if i could afford it, but in the meantime my Spin Clean and a vacuum with my Nitty Gritty manuel 1.0 will have to do. I do like rakalm's idea of using two Spin Cleans, now i'm just cloth wiping than vacuuming off the washing fluid. I like the idea of an extra distilled water rinse step. Spin Cleans are cheap so why not. I like when we share tips on this site, not all negative like so many others. One thing we can all agree with is a cleaned (washed) record sounds better and that's what were all here for.Cleaning and playing all my Bowie albums as I type this, RIP Starman!!!

...on my Audio Desk. I love it. I have used the coffee stirrer trick to stop the water droplet phenomenon. The rubbery record wiping lips will contact the record surface variably, depending upon the record thickness and warpage. Cutting a coffee stirrer in half longitudinally makes two little long half straws. Put one behind each of the wipers and shove them back in (a bit hard, but doable) and it puts just a little more pressure on the record resulting in drier results.
I am also interested if this is available as a retrofit. Any word on that Mikey?
Paul

Those of you looking for a less expensive, American-made ultrasonic cleaner should check out the Ultrasonic V-8. (www.ultrasonicrecords.com)

It's around half the price of the Klaudio or Audio Desk machines, cleans up to 8 records at a time and offers a drying option. I have cleaned my 1000 LP collection on my V-8 and the results are excellent. The amount of crud that comes off of records I had previously cleaned (using a Nitty Gritty RCM) is enough to prove the worth of the ultrasonic cleaning process. And the records sound glorious!

I don't understand it and I'm not trying to patronise anybody, this is an honest question. As a photographer I own lenses which are precision handcrafted and polished to the highest degree and use way more expensive materials and of course are labour intensive and they still don't cost as much as this simple machine.

I can't help but assume that given the current dearth of similar machines, the mark-up on this gadget is just enormous.

Is it necessary to buy a cleaner as good as this if you are only using new vinyl, and especially music matters pressings which are exceptionally good?

thankfully, a used records & book store near me has one of these (older version) and sells cleaning at 2 Euros per record. Excellent results, in the visual & audio categories. For example, I have a mint looking Japanese red All Things Must Pass that was noisy and that now sounds as good as it looks.

Downside: Naturally noisy vinyl will now be exposed for what it is and can't hide no more behind the "dirt" alibi.

Record stores should get one of these and offer the service. Machine will pay for itself and make a lot of collectors happy while saving them big $$$.

I built my own, or purchased my own from a few parts suppliers with an 80khz cavitation and it works awesome. I'm all in well less than $1k and it cleans four LPs at a go.

I use a Spin Clean and then place 2 Cerwin Vega speakers on each side up close and CRANK some Rock... The Cerwins are the cavitation generators.. Works like a champ.... :)

I get the best results with The Ramones.....

Hello Michael, I recently bought a vinyl cleaner pro. I am curious, who you clean a record with this machine, has it been your experience that the record is always 100% dry, ready to go back in the sleeve after the cleaning/drying cycle? Or do you use a cloth or something to dry any small amount of excess liquid first? thanks!