HumminGuru vs.Degritter

A lot would depend on whether you want the machine to do the drying for you as well; DeGritter will, Humminguru won't. I like the machine to do the drying, so I've been very happy with my DeGritter which I've had pretty much since the first ones came out. 

@larsman The Humminguru has the option of 5 or 10 minutes drying time.

The Degritter offers a lot more, but costs several times as much. You have to decide whether the capabilities are worth the increased price. I bought the Degritter as the Humminguru wasn't around at the time. If the latter cleans as well as the former, I'd probably go for the cheaper one (but then there are debates about 120kHz vs 40kHz).

@dogberry - Thanks for the correction - Is that the newer model of Humminguru? I thought the original one you had to let air dry after it did the washing, but I could be mistaken. 

That was the original. The Nova model has a more powerful fan and can do either 3 or 6 minutes drying.

My version has the drying feature even though it’s not the latest model.

rvpiano, 

 Based on your HB purchase thread, you seemed satisfied with the unit.

If the HB silenced LPs in the past, what's changed?  What performance  traits of the HB are you find as shortcomings?

I

@tablejockey 

Yes I did say I was satisfied, but upon further listening I found there were still noises that I might be able to eliminate.  If there is a unit that can do a better job I’d like to have it.  If not, I’ll be happy to stop looking.

The Degritter II is the most awesome cleaning machine I've had so far. And their customer service is second to none. If you can swing the cost I can't think of anything that's better bang for the buck.

I also have Okki Nokki, Audio Desk and Kirmuss.

Hey dwette.  

Tell us about your experience with the Kirmuss.  I think that it's a viable option here as a choice between the Degritter and Humminguru should also include the Kirmuss.

Any reason not to buy a good used unit of the latest model? i.e. do any parts wear out?

@rvpiano I would be more concerned with the accessibility of replacement parts. all of these machines will have the parts go. The ELF times are pretty short for most. 

@rvpiano Why not keep the Humminguru and invest in a Sugarcube from Sweetvinyl?  I bought one when it was a beta product being crowd funded, and I have been thrilled with it.  To my ears, the processing does not degrade the sound at all.  It effectively removes 95% of clicks and pops, and the newer software uses noise shaping to effectively lower surface noise.

@johnss I hadn't considered that.  Have you, or anyone, had one of these cavitation cleaners fail?  If so, what was the manufacturer's support like?

The Degritter Mark II provides a lot the HumminGuru does not. The most attractive to me is the Degritter's ultrasonic frequency of 120kHz compared to the HumminGurus's 40kHz. 120kHz produces much smaller exploding bubbles compared to those produced at 40kHz (the smaller bubbles reach deeper into the record's groove). The ultrasonic cavitation is produced by four very powerful side-mounted transducers that create 300 watts of pulse code cleaning action. The Degitter's water filtration and drying systems are more advanced than those of the HumminGuru's too.

But those features come at a cost. Everyone would love to have a Degritter, but not everyone wants to spend $3300 ($3300 will buy a lot of LP's!), or is able to. Most everyone can afford the $400 HumminGuru, and it provides good US cleaning for that price. And for $200 you can get an US cleaner with record "spinner" from several sources. Considering a Discwasher now retails for around half that price, I'd say a $200 US machine is a great deal!

How can you even compare them? You can buy 5 HG to one degritter. 

It's a superior machine in almost every way, but you pay for it. I have a HG also used my friends degritter. I prefer it over my HG, but it's out of my budget. You can use TERGIKLEEN in you HG that will next level it. Also, clean really dirty records 2-3 times, usually I'll flip the album over in-between. 

The HG is a great unit, about the only thing in its price range, but it has limits. The Degritter has more power, has different UC frequencies, is at the top of the chain, where the HG is at the bottom. 

Degritter operates at 120Khz vs HG at 40Khz. HG is a modified jewelry cleaner. It was never developed for records. The frequency does not remove enough from the grooves.

Better to save and buy the Degritter when you have enough...

@bbenzaquen6343  I think you are mistaking the HG with a Kirmuss, which is a modified jewelry cleaner. The HG was designed solely as a LP cleaner.

I also believe the best way to clean LPs is with both US and vacuum. The results I get with a vacuum machine and the HG are superior to what I was getting with a well known US machine by itself.