Ultrasonic cleaning with kirmuss and loss of high frequency details.

Yes, wondered about his using that same brush multiple times in succession and then being surprised that he kept revealing that whitish deposit, which might well have come from the brush that was dirty from previous use.  But I gave him the benefit of the doubt in that I assumed he cleaned the brush between uses without mentioning it.  At least I hope so. 

What I do with my VPI HW17 is to clean (using the built-in brush) in both directions with a mixture of distilled, deionized water + 10% propanol + a drop of Triton X100.  Then dry with vacuum.  Then squirt some pure distilled deionized water on the surface of the LP and use the HW17 brush and vacuum to get rid of the excess cleaning fluid that may have lodged in grooves.  That last bit with unadulterated deionized water makes a difference. Takes me 2-3 minutes to do both sides of one LP.  I compared my method to one particular US machine, cleaned by the owner of the company, at the Capitol Audio Fest.  I chose one LP that had really good sonics but was stubbornly still a bit noisy after VPI cleaning.  All I could say was that the US cleaning made no significant improvement, and I could guess (not prove) that the noise on this particular LP was due to previous groove damage with a bad stylus, not to "dirt".  We sometimes forget that some LPs are not salvageable by any cleaning method.  By no means, however, do I claim that my little experiment proves anything about what is the "best" way to clean.  It only made me feel that I have little to gain by adopting the US method, which would add some aggravation that I don't need (until I am able to hire that butler).

Hey @lewm, that would make a great name for a cleaner---The Record Butler ;-) . "I say, Sir. What shall I clean for thee this morning?"

Personally, I hope I never get to @lewm ’s feeling. I feel that the cleaning process brings me even closer to "the connection" I feel with any particular artist’ music.

Truth in advertising.... I struggle with this all of the time. This ONE thing that really keeps me from coming close to bringing any product to the public (in my dreams). It seems the norm is to exaggerate your products strengths, all the while knowing those so-called strengths are maybe 1% of anyone's (end user) best experience. I HATE thinking about it!

Record Butler by Day, Vinyl escort by nite.....

Those stating they hear a loss of HF content after US cleaning are very much in the minority among users.  US cleaning has become almost mainstream in the audiophile community.  At present, there is  enough data of results spread across machine types, cleaning formulas, cleaning processes etc that if there were inherent problems with US cleaning we would have already discarded US cleaning, much as the community has embraced, investigated and ultimately discarded other tweaks.   Harry Wessfield (VPI Owner) fully investigated the possibility of reduced HF content from US cleaning, and concluded the process is safe.

I set up a DIY US cleaner using a Chinese US tank, Vinyl Stack, and Rushton's cleaning formula.  I pre-clean using a Spin Clean to remove large debris and most surface debris.  I vac dry to remove any fluid or water residue.  US cleaning is performed at 35' c, 0.3 RPM / 15 min, or 5 full revolutions in 15 min.   My results are repeatable.  I experience a significant reduction in background noise- often to a level below the noise floor of the rest of my system.  MUCH better reproduction of transient response, "air", ambiance cues, and brass/string overtones.  I also hear a virtual elimination of low level "shooooshhh-woooosh" noise.  I theorize that a microscopic layer of debris is bonded to the walls of the grooves.  The layer is just enough to blunt the leading edges of very fine groove modulations that contain all of the low level and background information I mentioned earlier.  US cleaning removes this layer, exposing additional information to be reproduced.   I think it is very possible, and very likely that before cleaning, this layer of grunge can be heard as HF distortion and may be perceived as additional HF extension.   Removal of the layer, and removal of the grunge would remove any related distortion, and this may be what is heard by those who believe US cleaning reduces HF content.