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Is the Last Record Preservative system a worthwhile investment?

I take great care in my record collection.
1. I have a manual record vacuum cleaning machine. I also use an enzyme cleaner on a few really dirty ones.
2. I replace all paper sleeves with plastic ones.
3. I use groove glide on only the records in really bad shape. Around 1 percent.
4. I use a record jacket to protect the covers.
5. I meticulously keep the stylus clean.
6. Use a brush everytime I play a record.
  My question being is; will the Last system actually improve the sonics even after all the care I put in to my collection?
How much time is involved treating a record? How much per record does it cost if I buy the larger treatment kits? Id like to hear your experiences with this product. I have close to 3000 records. My analogy is like a great movie that I have never seen. Wow you just now saw that? Will I have an aha moment using the Last system like oh wow, I should have seen that movie years ago. Lol
128x128blueranger
rshak
416 posts
 
Perhaps it was a case of user error . . . 

but many, many years ago I tried the stuff on quite a few records and found, after time, that they sounded worse (clicks, pops, etc. that were *not* present when the records were treated).

I've stayed away from that stuff and for years have relied on my Loricraft and proven cleaning fluids.  Very happy with that arrangement.
inna
7,228 posts
 
Records must be clean and you have to apply it correctly.
User error.
terry9
2,255 posts
 
I use ultrasonic cleaning, and find no significant difference between 'Lasted' records and just plain clean ones.

That said, the improvement of 80KHz ultrasound over VPI was night and day.
kacomess
199 posts
 
The problem as I see it is this: anyone who applies Last to a record is (by definition) someone who cares for their records. In other words, that person is an audiophile and will likely be very careful about cleaning, etc. So, how can you separate that truism from the potential benefits of Last? Having noted that, I've used it for decades and I really can't tell if it helps or not
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 
@rshak, Walter Davies states that because the Last chemicals bond to the vinyl molecules, any foreign matter in the groove will pushed off the surface of the groove (but will remain IN the groove), where it may be heard by the stylus as noise. The solution is to clean the LP well before applying Last.
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