Degritter brand ultrasonic record cleaner

Will give more detail later, but so far I'm awfully glad I went this route vs something like a VPI, Okki Nokki or other machines.  This machine really suites my needs.  Drop record in, press button and walk away, return to US cleaned and dried record!  The extra cost for such convenience to me is well worth it, against the time/labor/noise etc involved in other methods.

Congratulations, @prof! I can't see how KLAudio and Audio Desk will be able to sell any more of their machines; the Degritter is clearly superior, and cheaper! If one has the $ and wants a non-DIY ultrasonic cleaner, it is imo the one to get.

 I have been in contact with the folks who created The Degritter and have found them to answer all my questions quickly and with a level of detail that inspires confidence. Having just recently gotten back in the the vinyl game, I find it would be helpful to have a product that is easy to use and gets the job done without all the fuss. The Degritter seems to check all the boxes and seems like a real engineered product. Most everything else seems just shy of DIY. 

@prof Having had the unit a while can you provide an update? Does the unit meet your expectations and would you purchase again? Any pitfalls?

You mentioned a 2nd tank as for a clean wash if one adds their cleaner to the distilled water. I had the same idea. Also, your list of reasons of getting it are exactly like mine. If I could clean up both new and old vinyl and get rid of most of the pops and ticks that would be great. So far surface noise has not been terrible just pesky ticks and the occasional pop.

As good as vinyl has been overall I think digital sources like SACD, CD, or something else for some genes or content may win out for playback - especially of the source material is very quiet. For example, the new Brian Eno half-speed masters may be a bit too noisy on vinyl for me. But the vice of most of my albums have been great. So I would like to clean them up as much as possible without having to make a sacrifice at the alter of the vinyl Gods. 

Thanks for the feedback.

I got mine a couple days ago. There have been some issues but I think (hope) we’re past that now. The company has been very responsive and helpful. Coming from a KL machine there are so many things better about the Degritter. I had one new album that was very noisy since I bought it. Probably should have thrown it out after cleaning it with the KL 10 times and no improvement. I cleaned it once on the Degritter and it’s 95% quiet now!  I’m putting every record through a heavy wash and I swear even records with no issues sound noticeably better afterwards.  

The Degritter machine met my expectations.  Nice looking, very easy to use, great user interface, excellent flexibility in how you want to wash the records.  Being able to drop a record in, push a button and walk away was what I wanted.

There was one software glitch (machine didn't automatically turn off after 15 minutes as it is supposed to) but that was purportedly fixed with updated software that I have yet to download and install. But nothing that has impeded the use of the machine. 


It's nice that the Degritter can be updated by the user as new software is released - they can tweak how the machine works based on user feedback and their own research.

Just to try, I did get a second tank.  So if I want I can do a wash with surfactant, then insert the second tank to wash off the surfactant.  Not sure this has made any difference.  It's tough to know because I only ever have one copy of a record to wash, they are all going to be in different shape sonically, so it's hard to compare multiple cleaning methods.

As for sonic results, like any record cleaner it depends on the shape of the record and the nature of it's noise.  Obviously this machine won't get rid of pops and ticks caused by actual damage to the record, only if it's caused by debris that can be scoured out.   Overall I'd say I hear an appreciable difference with every record after cleaning - smoother, less hash, somewhat less pops and ticks.  There have been the occasional jaw-dropping difference.  One record went from sounding like it had been taken directly from a trash compactor - hard to even hear the music through the noise - to sounding almost brand new after a wash in the Degritter.  I hadn't thought such a thing possible until I heard it.

Downsides?   Sometimes I'm not sure I prefer the sound of the washed record to the unwashed record.  It can sometimes make a record sound in a way a bit more CD-like than vinyl.  Can sometimes seem to lose a little bit of life/air/leading edge after a wash.