Cleaning records per se doesn’t extend their life, playing dirty records will shorten their sonic excellence. Why not just clean them as you play them? Clean 5 at a time. That way you are just cleaning the ones you listen to.
A thorough manual cleaning will be as good as any machine. It just takes more time. After experimenting with cleaning and playback I’ve learned that you are really only cleaning the surface and the first 1/3rd of the groove depth. Brush fibers are just not fine enough to get down to the area of the groove that really matters- I’ve measured them. The only cleaning machine that really makes a noticeable improvement in removing unwanted contaminents is the ultrasonic method. It’s a very expensive investment but the energy released by the micro-bubbles does seem to clean deeper than all the agitation-type machines.
That said, I do use an approach that is controversial, but it works for me. I have a second turntable I use just for quieting records that a normal manual cleaning won’t. It’s a decent mid-fi deck with an average cartridge- nothing I care too much about sonically, because I’m not playing my records on it- I’m just using it as my last step in the cleaning process.
After the record is wet cleaned and the surface looks dry, 2 minutes tops, I play the record on the “digger” turntable. Once on each side. This really removes deep, damp crud and quiets a stubborn pressing.
You need to keep your eye on the stylus and be prepared to clean it a few times/side as it can build up with crud pretty quickly.
You will also need to use a wetting agent such a Photo-Flo or similiar to break the surface tension of the water in the cleaning mix. The wetting agent allows the water to get deeper into the groove.
The cleaning brushes with replaceable pads from the Needle Doctor work great.
The final rinse should be just distilled water and a (dedicated rinse-only) cleaning brush to get the rinse down into the grooves.
A final recc: don’t use micro-fiber cloths to clean or dry your records, the fine fibers easily break off and get lodged in the grooves adding noise. Just let them air dry.
A thorough manual cleaning will be as good as any machine. It just takes more time. After experimenting with cleaning and playback I’ve learned that you are really only cleaning the surface and the first 1/3rd of the groove depth. Brush fibers are just not fine enough to get down to the area of the groove that really matters- I’ve measured them. The only cleaning machine that really makes a noticeable improvement in removing unwanted contaminents is the ultrasonic method. It’s a very expensive investment but the energy released by the micro-bubbles does seem to clean deeper than all the agitation-type machines.
That said, I do use an approach that is controversial, but it works for me. I have a second turntable I use just for quieting records that a normal manual cleaning won’t. It’s a decent mid-fi deck with an average cartridge- nothing I care too much about sonically, because I’m not playing my records on it- I’m just using it as my last step in the cleaning process.
After the record is wet cleaned and the surface looks dry, 2 minutes tops, I play the record on the “digger” turntable. Once on each side. This really removes deep, damp crud and quiets a stubborn pressing.
You need to keep your eye on the stylus and be prepared to clean it a few times/side as it can build up with crud pretty quickly.
You will also need to use a wetting agent such a Photo-Flo or similiar to break the surface tension of the water in the cleaning mix. The wetting agent allows the water to get deeper into the groove.
The cleaning brushes with replaceable pads from the Needle Doctor work great.
The final rinse should be just distilled water and a (dedicated rinse-only) cleaning brush to get the rinse down into the grooves.
A final recc: don’t use micro-fiber cloths to clean or dry your records, the fine fibers easily break off and get lodged in the grooves adding noise. Just let them air dry.