Premium distilled water for ultrasonic record cleaner

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letting the days go by

Amen, Coolhunter.  The problem with a lot of audiophiles is that if someone hears, or claims to hear, an improvement in sound, everybody MUST follow because they don't want others to think they can hear subtle differences.And even if they can hear a difference doesn't mean it's an improvement.  MOST LIKELY, changes are based on a change in resonance somewhere in the equipment chain.

Perhaps buildup in your precious machine or remaining residue on the records makes a difference from a longevity / maintenance side.

I don't purport to claim some 'magic' improvement in sound as a result of water (or even fluid for that matter). What I do hear is the difference between an old record that has an unknown history of contamination (including previous haphazard cleaning) and one that has been properly cleaned. My experience has been - using only ultrasonic was insufficient for some records, that multiple cleanings using different methods yielded an improvement and that the results are often more in the method than any particular product. Since many of these records are from the '50s and '60s, some are quite valuable, and I listen to them (I'm not just a collector), I want to achieve the highest state of playback as possible. In addition, since I don't want any chemical residue from fluids to remain on the record over time--which can potentially interact with inner sleeve material, etc.- I want to do my best to preserve them. Thus, the reason for using high grade water in various rinse and cleaning cycles. As I originally noted, it may be overkill.  I have no commercial interest in any product or company. My explorations of various cleaning methods are published, along with my visit to Culpeper and interview with the preservation folks at the LOC re cleaning. I do not believe that any of this borders on the absurd but you are free to decide otherwise. The only caveat I would make in evaluating cleaning methods and products is to perform some comparisons using different cleaning methods and combinations- something that is not easy to 'test' scientifically, since every record is sui generis in its pressing quality and history of contamination and multiple cleanings, even using the same method, usually yield some improvement up to a point.