Record Cleaners / RCMs

Even brand new records benefit from a good cleaning and will sound better. There are those, in fact, who will argue that a brand new record should absolutely be cleaned first before playing to prevent damage. And by cleaning, I mean wet cleaning/vacuuming. Using any cleaning method that deposits a liquid on the record and does not remove most or all of that liquid with a vacuum is not something that makes much sense.

The Linn/Rega suggestion is absolute lunacy. Think about it. Cleaning the record with the stylus? The stylus, while it is collecting that crap is literally grinding it through the grooves.

You do not need to spend huge amounts of money to get quality record cleaning. A DIY or KAB EV1 with quality fluids and the right approach/technique will equal, if not surpass all of the RCM's short of the Monks and Loricraft which offer a technically superior, more concentrated vac of the record.

In my opinion, records do not need to be "scrubbed". You need to get the proper solvents/fluids deep into the groove to suspend what's there so it can be vacuumed away. "Scrubbing" is probably detrimental in the same way that using a stylus to "clean" your records is.

All that being said, if your records are super clean and you're not planning on buying much in the way of used, or even, new records, you may feel you can get away without an RCM. If you have any kind of committment to buying much vinyl, though, I consider some kind of cleaner to be absolutely essential.

Hi, I listen to vinyl exclusively. I have over 4,000 Lp's. I listen to my records on a VPI TNT HRX turntable. My cartridge is a Lyra Titan. I firmly believe that if you plan to invest thousands of dollars on records and the associated playback equipment. You owe it to yourself, to invest in a good record cleaning machine.

I buy many used records at shops, ebay and Audiogon. I wouldn't think of playing these records on my $4,500. cartridge, without a thourough and careful cleaning. Handle your records with care, and they will last a lifetime. I don't know why someone would discourage careful record cleaning.

New Lp's benefit from cleaning also. The new Lp has releasing compound residue, and needs to be removed carefully with good cleaning fluids. You can find them at any reputable highend dealer. I like music Direct, the staff is very knowledgable and they have been in business for many years.. I own a VPI 17F Record Cleaning Machine. I wouldn't be without it. I like this machine mainly because it cleans in both directions.

Ciao,

John

I would suggest getting something such as the VPI 16.5, which has a motorized turntable and powered vaccuum. The Mobile Fidelity cleaning brushes work well. I recommend Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions cleaning fluid. The recently changed ownership, but the website for direct ordering should be back up in a week.

Here's the thing with cleaning and not cleaning: First of all, new records have mold release on them, which allows the record to more easily be removed from the press. This is a petroleum/parafin based material and it attracts and collects dirt. Vinyl is subject to microbial grown on its surface. Both of these need an enzyme based cleaner to be removed.

The body oil left on records by touching them with your fingers is harmful, but not so much so as the two things that I just mentioned. The damage to the record surface caused by fingers is just easier to see.

The stylus exerts a great deal of force per square inch in the grooves of the record. This force creates heat which, under some circumstances, can cause microdust to fuse to the groove walls. It's best to keep as much of this cleaned up as possible, especially organic matter based microdust. Inert particles normally does not react to the stylus force by fusing with the vinyl.

Especially since your records have been stored, I would expect that they should be cleaned very thoroughly before they are played in order to avoid any damage to them.

Thank you for your responses. Interestingly enough, when I acquired my Linn Axis, my dealer had given me the semi-abrasive green mylar squares to clean my stylus. I'm not sure if they ever were effective or not. I don't think the green pieces could remove any larger deposits on the stylus.

I have a question about the KAB EV1: if I connect my home central vac to this unit, will it not short out my central vaccuum motor? Unless you're using a shop vac, I don't think most vaccuum systems were designed for wet and dry suction. I think the same thing would apply to someone connecting their stand-up/upright vaccuum to the KAB as well. How much fluid is used to clean one LP?

calgarian

The KAB traps all the fluid. As such, it can be used with a wet or dry vac and I use it with a Filter Queen dry vac. KAB does not recommend its use with very high powered shop vacs; your central vac would be fine with it.

As to fluid usage, it will probably depend on what system and brushes you are using and perhaps what fluid you are using. I have a scrap turntable (arm ripped off, motor still functioning) beside my KAB for applying the fluid. I use the RRL fluids. Using carbon fibre brushes, you need to get enough fluid on the record simply to have the fluid pooling in front of the brush. Not very much and having the fluid puddling all over the record will not get you a cleaner record than using a minimal amount. I use a pipette/eye dropper to apply the fluid to the record before brushing, about 7-8 decent sized drops from inner to outer edge. $70 Cnd. worth of RRL (Super Deep and SVW) will clean approximately 250-300 records using this method.