Walker Vortex Vacuum Wand for VPI

I've been using the new Walker Audio Vortex Vacuum Tube for the past couple of days and have been comparing it to my stock VPI vacuum tubes. I am very impressed with the results! Lloyd has once again taken a concept to the next higher level of execution and performance.

The new Vortex tube is a direct replacement for the VPI RCM stock vacuum tube and is made from a soft Delrin material. As Markd51 points out, it doesn't have the felt strips on either side of the vacuum slot. Additionally, the slot machined into the Vortex tube is narrower than in the VPI tube. The result is much higher vacuum suction (Lloyd says two to two and a half times more) than the stock VPI tube provides. This is readily observable in use: with the Vortex a single revolution leaves a completely dry record surface. This never happens with the stock tubes.

The other big advantage for me is that I can stop swapping vacuum towers/tubes between the cleaning steps and the rinse steps. Switching the stock tubes was a important step to eliminate cross contamination between cleaning and rinse steps and doing so improved my results. The Vortex tube largely eliminates the risk of cross-contamination because with the pure Delrin material there is nothing to hold moisture from one step to the next. A quick wipe of the tube with a paper towel between steps eliminates any remaining possibility.

I've always liked the speed of cleaning with the VPI because the vacuum wand covers the entire surface of an LP in one pass. The speed difference of a VPI as compared to a "string cleaner" like the Loricraft or Odyssey RCMs is significant. With the greater vacuum suction delivered by the Vortex wand, I suspect that the cleaning results may now be comparable, but I don't have any way to that make a comparison. In a conversation this evening with Lloyd, he said that he's made the comparison about 50 times at this point and he's convinced that the results he is now getting with his VPI RCM fitted with a Vortex tube is at least as good as the results he gets with his $7,000 German built Odyssey string cleaner RCM that he's used for the past year or two. (He says he's selling his Odyssey.)

Markd51 mentions the O-rings. I asked Lloyd about them. He says they are nothing special, just O-rings that accomplish what he wanted to accomplish in floating the LP above the surface of the platter. (He says that floating the edge of the LP keeps the surface off the platter to minimize contamination and allows the LP to pull into contact with the vacuum tube more readily.) He provides them with the Vortex tube, but one could use any number of other solutions -- the O-rings were cost effective.

Is the Vortex replacement vacuum tube worth it's not inconsiderable cost? For me, the answer clearly is YES! It's improved the sonic results I'm getting from my multi-step cleaning regimen, it allows me to stay with the VPI RCM I've been using for 20 years now, it eliminates having to change vacuum tubes between steps thus simplifying the cleaning process, and the VPI/Vortex tube combination cleans much faster than any string cleaner design.

If you use a VPI record cleaning machine, purchasing a Vortex vacuum wand should be a top consideration for your next upgrade. I'm delighted with the results I'm getting here. (In fact, I just re-rinsed with the Prelude Final Step 4 rinse and Vortex wand my copy of The Malcolm Arnold English Dances on Lyrita SRCS 109 and am sitting here just being blown away by the improvement I'm hearing in a record previously cleaned!)
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Rushton,
Thank you for your thorough evaluation of this new product.

I'm sure you can understand many of us are very curious, and perhaps I sort of have an apprehension as well, thinking about direct contact of the Delrin Wand to the surface of the vinyl, and worry about the possibility of groove damage?

I think of this even more, considering the slot as you say is narrower, and because of this, greater venturi-suction effect is created, and perhaps greater friction between the two surfaces?

I can understand the description of an extremely smooth surface of the Wand, but wonder-visualize as well, the possibility of contaminants being wedged in between the mating surfaces?

Sorry to sound like a "Doubting Thomas", I do know that Walker makes some very outstanding, cutting edge products. I assume this should be another from the great minds. Mark

Ditto Rushton's experience. Have been using the new Walker Audio Vortex Vacuum Tube this past weekend with my VPI. It took a little time to get it adjusted just right. The results are very good - just as Walker promised.

No scratches on the LPs. No problem at all.

This product in conjunction with the Walker Prelude record cleaners deep cleans the records better than other cleaners I have tried. I do tend to reserve the four step process for new records or prized gems from my collection.

The Vortex allows for faster cleaning - no more VPI tube swapping.

Hi Mark,

I take seriously your concern over "the possibility of contaminants being wedged in between the mating surfaces." But, I see the same risk with the felt edges on the stock VPI tubes. After some consideration, I decided that the Walker Vortex is actually less risky in this regard than the VPI tubes.

With the VPI tubes, I've always been careful to rinse and "scrape down" the felts at the end of each session because I've always worried about something getting trapped in the felt and then scratching my vinyl. I don't have the same worry with the Delrin Vortex tube. The material itself is fairly soft (not like the hard VPI plastic of the tube), and it's easy to assure oneself that it's clean and not harboring some grit that might scratch.

Could some grit sitting on the surface of an LP get caught against the tube? Sure. But it could as well get caught against the felt of the stock tube. Still, we've all got to make our respective choices in the matter and I certainly respect your concern.

Oldvinyl, glad to hear you're having the same experience with Lloyd's newest creation as I am.

Regards,

I can get an understanding of a re-adjustment of the Wand Tower Height, per Walker's instructions, which I read at Elusive Disc, but what isn't clear, is mention of properly aligning the Slot in Delrin Tube, so that it faces straight down towards the record.

With that being said, and for the cost that Walker is charging, which is not at all cheap for a piece of tubular Delrin, with slot, why didn't Walker then cut the proper locating Slot in the Delrin Tube End, mating correctly with the locating Pin in the VPI Wand Tower?

Probably no biggie, I know, it doesn't take a Physics Major to probably align the Tube correctly.
Maybe I should ask Lloyd Walker this question? Mark