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Walker Audio Prelude Record Cleaning Question -

While I am very happy with the Walker Audio Prelude record cleaning system I recently ran out of there "Ultra Pure Laboratory Grade Water" that sells for $44 for 64 oz. I started to rinse with the standard $1 a gallon distilled water in lieu of the Walker water after doing step 1 and step 2 and can not tell the difference sonically.
Has anyone gone to the extreme and compared the two types of water listed above. I have not done a direct A/B comparison between the two but just cleaning with the standard distilled water yielded very positive results and I am not sure there is much if any difference between the two water rinses but I could be wrong. Personally I feel the biggest improvement the Walker record cleaning system has over the Disc Doctor system, which I was previously using, is Step one which removes the Teflon coating on the vinyl record.
Any thoughts how critical the quality of the water is?

Johnny
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jtimothya
612 posts
 
 
I'm in agreement with Hdm's post.

Having compared the Walker Prelude water with the 9800-5 NERL Diagnostics Reagent Grade water I hear no sonic difference between either used with both the old (2x water) and new (1 water + 1 hi-rez rinse) Prelude regimens and my Loricraft RCM. No special methodology is claimed that a critic would find flawless. (I do believe the new Step-4 Rinse is superior to water only.)

There is however significant cost difference based on 5 gal quantities, with the Walker and AIVS water being 8-10 times more expensive. Each box of NERL includes an analysis (cf. Rushton's pointer) and claims to meet standards for Clinical Laboratory Reagent Water. For my purposes the NERL Reagent Grade water substitutes just fine for Lloyd's water.

That there is a sonic difference between distilled water and other waters has been discussed previously in this useful thread.
 
Tim
 
grimace
624 posts
 
With all that scrubbing and rinsing when does anyone have any time to listen to records?
tjnif's avatar
tjnif
77 posts
 
Is their a good source you can buy the NERL Reagent grade water??
jtimothya
612 posts
 
Is their a good source you can buy the NERL Reagent grade water??

Google is your friend. I suggest using 'NERL 9800-5' as search terms. A quick look finds ~$32.00 on this page - don't know about shipping. Here: https://www.utechproducts.com/dept.asp?NAV=1&id=2149 There are others.

Last winter I bought a 5gal. box for $33 including shipment - I don't see that sort of deal still available, but you should be able to find it in the $40-$50 range. As far as supply houses go, the NERL water is pretty much a commodity, so I'd buy on price. While it seems like a lot, the 5 gal. box is compact and includes a spigot. Its actually quite convenient to refill your current water bottle.
 
Tim
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Also look in the yellow pages. There's probably a lab supply store closer than you think. You'll save on shipping and won't have to buy so much at once. The Nerl bottles do post an expiration date although this is probably of little significance in this application.
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