When Cleaning Records with...

You don't need a record cleaning machine. Some records will never be rid of surface noise, even records that look clean and glossy. If used records were played with a less than quality stylus or with a cartridge that was not properly aligned, the groove wear will not be visible to the naked eye and no amount of cleaning will remove the surface noise created by it.

I cleaned a record the other night (VPI 16.5) and when I played it, I couldn't believe how much better it sounded - never heard it sound that good. After I took a better look, I realized I cleaned it with distilled water instead of record cleaning fluid. I had cleaned the disc with Disc Doctor Miracle Cleaning Fluid probably a week before (last time I played it). I never rinsed with distilled water before but now I do as the improvement was pretty incredible.

Yes, you need a record cleaning machine. You just don't need an expensive one.

I have found that record cleaning is fine to do (does anyone realize that most of one's entire life is cleaning--house, car, self, etc.) however, I found that proper cartridge setup with a good cartridge is far more important for the cleanliness of the final sound event.

The problem I have found with the Disc Doctor cleaning fluid is that it takes a few plays before it sounds good. I have rinsed and rinsed and still have found the record to sound a little dull on the first play. I don't use it anymore because of this. Maybe what Rushton says about it taking a few days for it to clear up works but I usually want to play my record shortly after cleaning. It seems like the DD fluid might be best for really dirty records that need scrubbing to remove the gunk? I prefer the sound and quick use of the Record Research Labs products. I think they go by another name now (Mobile Fidelity) but it is the same stuff. It is a two part process if you have dirty records, but most of the time I just use the quick rinse cleaner and the records usually sound great.