Ultrasonic record cleaners

Cleaned my record collection using a VPI and the Walker Four Step Process. 90% thru discovered that no one does the Fourth Step except maybe Mr. Walker. Sigh.

Re cleaned VTL 006 The Doctor with an Audio Desk machine. Played Isn’t She Lovely.

Way more natural. Less hi fi. Cymbals are relaxed where before they were etchy.

Prolly you want to know the rig. Lyra Atlas Sierra Lima. Basis arm and turntable. Super Lumi phono stage. Nagra pre. Manley 440 w/KT 77 driving Eminent Technology Super Eight mid/tweet. Manley 500 w/KT 90 driving woofers. Hsu VTF-2 Subs. NBS wire.

So called damaged records are mostly dirty. Clean ’em up and they’ll sound great again.

Important to use Stylast 4 and 5. 4 to clean yr styus after which use 5 so’s the stylus will slip thru the groove. It’ll sound better and preserve yr stylus.

I lean toward the idea, a Clean LP with certain sized contaminants removed from the Groove will be an improved environment to allow a Styli to have an extended usage life.

A cartridge styli is one of many parts that are impacted on by contamination.

The Crud that collects at the Armature Base at the Damper and Coils interface is quite something, it is a hard to believe the collection of particulates when seen.

A not too old Cartridge with not too many hours of usage can easily be in a state of cleanliness that will be a condition that will most likely impede the Cart's performance. 

I am even aware of Metal Dust Particles entering the body to come into contact with the Coils and ultimately burning/shorting out a channel.

The cleanliness of the LP Groove is only one area of cleanliness to show a concern for if the very best replay is the ambition, if the longevity of the Styli is the only concern, then the Groove being clean, seems to be a good measure to assist with achieving this, it certainly produces a valuable 'peace of mind'. 

@tennisdoc56 +1 on the HumminGuru recommendation.  I too was interested in an ultrasonic cleaner but didn't want to spend $3,000 on a Degritter or KL Audio.  All ultrasonic cleaners basically do the same thing, spin a record in a bath of water, have a set of transducers to shake the dirt loose and then dry the record, Many have mentioned that the HumminGuru's transducers are not as strong as KL Audio or Degritter.  HumminGuru's transducers run at 40k Hz and DeGritter operate at 120k Hz. I can't comment on which is better and by how much.  There are many YouTube videos on this topic.

None are miracle workers and won't repair a record with medium to heavy scratches and if a record has lots of dirt or grit, you should first clean the record via a suitable brush before using any ultrasonic cleaner..

I decided to purchase a HumminGuru for $450 and am happy I did so.  The HumminGuru is simple to use and I find it cleans records better than a vacuum based cleaner.

For any ultrasonic cleaner, you'll want to use a surfactant such as GrooveWasher G-Sonic concentrate to break the surface tension of the distilled water used in the cleaners bath tank.  For the HumminGuru bath tank, 1 drop is all that's needed, so a $30 1 oz bottle should last a lifetime.  

Remember to use an anti-static device as static noise can be as bad as a dirty record.  I still use my 45 year old ZeroStat device with terrific results.  Make sure to test it's effectiveness with the supplied mini light bulb which is basically a Christmas tree light.

Hope it works out for you.

@chowkwan @pindac I believe you are correct to say that very clean records will prolong stylus life. One my cartridges that have cantilevers (an odd statement to some of you, I suppose) I do use an "ultrasonic" stylus cleaner - it isn't ultrasonic at all, much lower frequency, and some Last 4. But the Deccas can only withstand a stylus brush, and this is important: any liquid placed on their styli will track up inside the cartridge and dissolve the glue holding the coils in place. You do not want that to happen!

Thanks for everyone sharing their knowledge and experience in this thread. As a consequence, I have modified my ultrasonic cleaning process in several ways:

1. I extended the de-gassing cycle to the time it takes to warm up the water bath to 35 C, and I now de-gas before each use, after the device has been sitting unused for a day;

2. I added a capful of surfactant in the 6L tub (I’m using Photo Flo 200);

3. I extended the cleaning time in the warm ultrasonic bath, to approximately the time it took to de-gas and warm up the water bath;

4. I slowed the rotation of the motor to about 3 cycles per minute (this is using a low voltage adjustable DC adapter set at its lowest 3V), which is as slow as my adapter will turn the motor;

5. I added a "rinse" process: I just use a sprayer filled with distilled water to spray both sides of the LP after the ultrasonic bath.

I still use 1 oz of 91% isopropyl alcohol in the 6L of distilled water. . . and this is for the VEVOR 40kHz ultrasonic machine.

I’ll find out how much of a difference this makes from the way I used to clean, which was just throwing the LP in the warm ultrasonic bath for a few minutes at a high rotational speed, and call it a day. 

I will keep an open mind, and consider that it is possible that I'm just being obsessive over an issue that won't make much of a difference at all. . .but perhaps it may. . .my system is sensitive and detailed enough where I should be able to detect an audible difference, if there is one. . . although for most users on this forum, just a simple wash in the ultrasonic bath would probably be sufficient.

Thanks!