Looking for advise and recommendations on a nice record cleaner.


Hello,

I have a McIntosh MT10 and a good size collection of records. 

I noticed some of my records not sounding like they use to. 

I was told that my records were dirty and to look into a good record cleaner. 

I am now here for recommendations and where to look to solve my issue. 

128x128uavnola

@uavnola  How much do you want to spend? The best record cleaner costs $6000.

For value I would suggest The Nessie Vinylmaster. Any record cleaner that does not use vacuum drying should be avoided at all cost. This includes most ultrasonic units. The air is full of debris, if you fan dry or air dry a record that debris sticks to the vinyl rapidly. Vacuum drying removes all of the fluid and debris from the record. A dry surface is less likely to gather dust and debis than a wet one. Another factor is you do not want a cleaner that reuses it's fluid. Always use fresh fluid to clean a record. 

If you want to go for broke the Clearaudio Double Matrix Sonic Pro is fully automated, uses fresh fluid for each cleaning and does both sides of the record at the same time making it the fastest cleaner out there, but it is not cheap. 

If you are interested I can give you the recipe for a great cleaning fluid that is for vacuum cleaners only. It kills static and lubricates the record. Records are definitely quieter using this fluid. 

Have you been cleaning your records? I would suggest first you find an album you know well, which doesn't sound the the way it use to. Then find someone (record store maybe?) who offers ultrasonic cleaning, get the record cleaned and then listen to it  to see if it sounds better.

If your album does sound better after having it ultrasonically cleaned, then delve into looking for a better cleaning solution

I'd also double check your players set-up and verify your stylus isn't worn.

If all your looking for is a cleaning solution, I'd recommend getting a Degritter.

This one gets very good reviews and doesn’t break the bank, and using the cleaning fluid concentrate and mixing with distilled water makes it very cost effective to use as well, especially if you have a sizable record collection.  This seller includes the dust cover free that I think costs $35 separately, which is nice.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_325RDV/Record-Doctor-V.html

Two* answers so far, one against U/S (they do not vacuum dry), and one for.

I’ll clarify. Vacuum cleaning machines are generally cheaper, remove most of the muck, and do not cause much static on drying. They are noisier, by far. U/S machines probably clean a bit deeper (depending on U/S frequency and power used), but they blow dry and may increase static. They are often more expensive, but DIY machines adapted from devices intended for other purposes can be cheaper, though usually less powerful. Confusing, eh?

You don’t mention your budget, so I’ll try to cover the bases. A basic vacuum machine like a VPI will give you most of the benefits of cleaning, but will be noisy. You can get very close to U/S levels of clean with more expensive vacuum machines like a Monks or Loricraft.

If you choose to go ultrasonic, and want a better clean than from a vacuum machine, you’ll be looking at a Humminguru or Degritter (I’m assuming you don’t wish to plunge all the way to the very expensive machines like the KLAudio). You may have to deal with static if you have low humidity, and may need a Zerostat or Furutech Destat III for that purpose. Ultrasonic machines don’t last forever, and the transducers will burn out sooner or later.

My eventual choice (after a VPI, then a NittyGritty RCM), is to use a Loricraft, then a Degritter, then vacuum dry on the Loricraft, and use a Destat III. I’ve said before this has been the biggest upgrade. You can make your records sound better that way than by buying all sorts of new components. But I’m obsessional about clean records, and you may be more reasonable than me.

*I type too slowly!

... one against U/S (they do not vacuum dry) ...

The Klaudio machines offer ultrasonic cleaning and vacuum drying. They really work.