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Walker Audio Prelude LP Cleaning Solution

I did not want to post this as a full review as this is my initial first impression using the newly released Walker Audio Prelude LP Cleaning Solutions.

Prelude is a 3-step process consisting of enzymes, premixed cleaning solution and an ultra pure water rinse (made via a 7 stage filtration process). I comes nicely packaged with the following: a 64 ounce container of ultra pure water, a 16 ounce squeeze bottle of premixed cleaning solution, a second bottle of water in a 16 ounce squeeze bottle, an empty 4 ounce squeeze bottle, and a jar of enzyme powder, along with a small scoop and a slightly larger scoop.

Lloyd’s research indicates that enzymes in a solution only have a life cycle of 8-10 hours before they die off. By keeping the enzymes in a powder form, and only mixing enough to be used during a cleaning session ensures they stay active.

If you plan on cleaning 5-6 or so LP sides at a time (which is what I have been doing), use the small scoop in the enzyme powder. Place the powder in the empty 4-ounce bottle. Add some of the water from the 16-ounce container up to the “A” mark on the 4-ounce bottle and shake to mix. Apply to the pads of a cleaning brush and lightly scrub the LP as it spins on your RCM. Let it sit for 15-30 seconds and vacuum off.

Using a second brush, apply the premixed cleaning solution to the pad and apply to the LP as above. Let sit for a few seconds and vacuum off. Do not let either solution dry on the LP.

Using a third brush, use the ultra pure water as a final rinse and vacuum off.

I have had lots of experience with different LP cleaning products, including Disc Doctor, Audio Intelligent, and L’Art du Son. The AI solutions are similar to Prelude in that they also use the enzyme solution as a pre-treat prior to cleaning. The AI enzyme come premixed, unlike the Prelude. The enzyme powder formula of Prelude ensures that the enzymes stay viable until they are needed. I really like the AI solutions when I used them, and missed them when Paul sold the business.

That said, The Walker Audio Prelude is the best of the AI, kicked up several notches. Lloyd Walker has hit another one out of the ballpark. After cleaning several LPs that I thought I knew backward and forward, I can report the following: surfaces are dead silent, with no residue what so ever from any of the three steps. There is no static build up, and even well played LPs have that shiny right out of the sleeve look to them.

Focus, detail and transparency are the first three words that come to mind when describing what I am hearing. The inner detail on familiar LPs lets me hear for the first time things that have been there but never fleshed out of the grooves the way it is after using Prelude. At least, that's what MY ears are telling me. The music just leaps out from the utter blackness of the grooves. And, your records are REALLY clean. What else could you expect from one of the true masters of the analog arts? Who better to bring such a great product to the market for LP lovers than the man who builds what I consider to be the finest LP playback product in the world?

Give Lloyd a call and talk to him yourself about Walker Audio Prelude. I have no financial connection to Walker Audio other than the fact that I am a very happy customer and use many of their products in my system.

Kudos to Lloyd, Felicia, and Fred for creating another great Walker Audio product.
slipknot1
ketchup
699 posts
 
Is it just me that thinks that the steaming will only make the vinyl expand, tighten up the grooves, and lock in the dirt, making it even harder to remove? I'm not bashing your steam cleaning idea, but I would at least like a scientific explanation of what is going on.

Also, how do you tell the difference between .005% gunk and 0% gunk? Were you just kidding around?

And the NASA folks... Were they just evaluating the steam cleaning idea by listening (you don't have to be employed by NASA to do that) or did they have some high tech methods to evaluate the effectiveness?

Creml, please explain more! It seems like the less you explain the more it sounds like "crazy talk," to me at least!
crem1
672 posts
 
Ketchup : I have explained the ideas in Listener, Stereophile ( twice -2003&2006 ) & Positive Feedback (2005). I am not selling anything and if you don't prefer the suggestion that's ok. As for "crazy talk " for you that maybe the answer. As for NASA folks, they are SOME of the same that put robots on places far too distant to appreciate with the naked eye but they do. Remember, they sought me out after experimenting with the idea. As for the % of course that is subjective. However, during the past 30 years I have been constantly experimenting with LP cleaning ideas and in my opinion I have probably read just about every published article in english on the subject. Steam has been used as a cleaning method for well over 100+years factories. My idea takes steam from the macro to the micro. I know that it is difficult to grasp but its not really. You just need to spend a couple of weeks reading to understand that steam is a universal cleaner. Using household steaming machines that produce steam at "cool" levels as I have suggested CAREFULLY can bring remarkable results. For you that mat not be the answer. But one issue is certian --no amount of cleaning can take the place of extreme record care or fix manufacturing defects or abuse.

Please see Motic comments above.
maclogan
49 posts
 
I am a chemist. I do know what an enzyme is and how it acts. I also know what a catalyst is beyond the level of high school chemisatry displayed by some respondents above. If there is no chemical specific to an enzyme present on the surface of a record then the enzyme will do nothing. PVC is certainly impoervious to enzyme action, and the plasticizer molecules are probably too embedded in the PVC matrix to be accessible. The only contaminants I can think of that a commercially-available enzyme mixture might attack and break down into smaller, water-soluble washable molecules are residues from fingerprints or food particles accidently dropped on the record. I cannot see how bacterial enzymes specific to mold-release agents (if there are such enzymes) would be available at the price.

So if you haven't touched the surface of your records with your bare hands or dropped food material on it you're wasting your money subjecting your records to enzymatic treatment. You might as well do a pure water wash at this point. Unless I am corrected by the results of independent research that throws up strong possibilities that I haven't considered, I'll continue to regard this method as equivalent to the "demagnetizing" of vinyl records.
clarets2
34 posts
 
What about a "mold" that might grow on a water or damp damaged LP? Might that be a material that could be attacked by such an enzyme?
crem1
672 posts
 
Clarets2: Frankly, I have not found any organic compound that was impervious to a good record cleaning & steaming. My all time favorite cleaner is "Disc Doctor". The H2O used to dilute the cleaner and make steam is critical to the process , that is why I purchase my H2O from Prestone or Peak via a local autoparts store. Read Michael Fremers March /03 Stereophile article outlining the use of the "Hotshot" to clean used records. Mickey likes it ! And remember this ; even if the stuff you clean vinyl with is ,unfortunately, "snakeoil" steaming most likely shall remove its traces before playtime.
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