Analog Gear News

The O.G. has returned to the fold — or rather, to the spindle. In conjunction with engineers at the BBC Radio Record Library in London in the late 1960s, Keith Monks developed the first commercially produced electric device to clean records in order to meet the “exacting standards” of FM radio broadcasting — and thus, what we now refer to as a record cleaning machine (RCM) was essentially born.

Fast-forward to the modern era, where the late company founder’s son Jonathan Monks picked up his father’s mantle in the early 2000s with the introduction of RCMs such as the DiscOveryOne, Redux, and Prodigy models. The company’s latest RCM offering has duly been dubbed the ReduxTwo. This new Keith Monks RCM is said to have been, quote, “designed in collaboration with two university libraries and a specialist audio restoration engineer to deliver archive standard record cleaning.”

The two major components of the ReduxTwo — the washing brush block, and the vacuum wand — are clear reworkings of the original 1960s BBC/Monks design. All the main functions of the ReduxTwo are a series of plug-in sub-assemblies, and its inner workings are accessible under the lift-up top deck. The electrical parts are 12V DC, and they run from an external heavy-duty inline regulated switch mode power supply unit (PSU).

According to Monks, the “beating heart” of the ReduxTwo is the proprietary heavy-duty brushless Monks SmoothFlowPro medical-grade diaphragm pump, a joint design with the medical pump manufacturer and exclusive to Keith Monks. An array of air valves is synchronized to open and close in sequence, reinforcing each other’s collective vacuum creation, achieving an elevated (a further 3l/min), sustained suction, and smoothed-out airflow without turbulence.

Monks believes that airflow is more important than the degree of vacuum for effective fluid removal. SmoothFlowPro is said to allow the machine to run faster, reducing the user’s time to clean each record while improving performance. Additionally, the smoothness of the airflow allows the ReduxTwo’s Threadless suction tip to “reach” even deeper into the groove, “removing every minute droplet of moisture and contamination.”

ReduxTwo requires one pump unit to achieve all these benefits. The company’s new specialist institutions division, Keith Monks Archival Works, is said to have taken this benefit further with its Archivist version, which houses two Monks SmoothFlowPro pumps that work together in tandem. Each pump cruises at a lower level and reinforces each other’s performance, and is available via a standard ReduxTwo special order. As with the entirety of the ReduxTwo’s cabinet design and construction, Keith Monks Audio builds both versions of SmoothFlowPro into its sub-cabinet, all of it laser-cut and hand-built in-house in the Monks UK factory.

Easy plug-in connections make both standard single- and Archivist twin-pump versions of SmoothFlowPro available as a simple plug-in accessory with its own power supply. Monks adds that this enables legacy customers to upgrade any vintage Monks RCMs, all the way back to the original Monks Mk II that was manufactured back in 1969.

Other features of the ReduxTwo (shown above with the lid closed) include a brush block holder; Pyr/\mat StayClean for 12in LPs; supplied discOvery cleaning fluids for vinyl, Shellac 78s, optical discs (such as CDs, DVDs, and BDs), and concentrate for “extra dirty” records and system cleaning; and a three-year warranty. Optional extras include brush block holders for 10in and 7in records, and Pyr/\mats for 7-inchers.

Finally, the SRP for the Keith Monks ReduxTwo RCM — which will be available internationally in November 2024 — is €5,570 / £4,930 / $5,930.

For more about Keith Monks, go here.
To find an authorized Keith Monks retailer, go here.