Results from Beta Testers of New Formulas

Dan_ed,

I started out with new Last brushes which are white for applying Paul's cleaning formulas. I first cleaned the records in my usual fashion which, IMO, is very thorough using brushes which were not new. When cleaning with Paul's stuff, I did notice more grunge on the new brushes. Understand, I don't have a lot of this fluid to waste and followed the directions to the letter. The ammount of dirt on these new brushes was not as great as you might believe from reading the above posts but it was noticeable, no doubt. I've understated my findings for fear of appearing as a shill for Paul. Again, I have no affiliation with Paul other than being a voluntary Beta tester, nor will I be entering any business relationship with him. I'd buy this stuff in a heartbeat and use it without fear but I can understand completely the concerns raised by others as far as leeching is concerned.

Unless I make some new discovery while using these fluids I'm going to end my postings to this thread with the following summary:

This stuff is good. It beats anything I've used by a wide margin. There are sonic benefits beyond reduced surface noise. The anti-static properties are a definite benefit. A little bit goes a long way. I've also found that used albums that are marginal in condition (visible scratches, poorly handled, very dirty, but don't look like they would skip) become very listenable. I've yet to clean any of my perfect audiophile pressing that I purchased new. I will do that without hesitation at some point but the excitement of otherwise noisy albums being quieted so much is where I'm concentrating my efforts. Remember, I've only got about one ounce of this stuff to play with.

For full disclosure to this group I offer the following also. I have contacted Paul requesting to buy the concentrate in whatever large quantity he would be willing to sell me. If the price was something I could afford at the time he would sell retail, I will try to buy a gallon of each. That would probably last me the rest of my life. Of course, with that kind of quantity I would be tempted to occassionaly gift a small amount to others along the way for them to try like has been done for me by other kind Audigon members.

If anyone has any questions for me I will be happy to respond to any emails or phone calls. I hope I've not appeared to "go over the top" with my recommendation but the temptation is there to do so. Again, it's that good.

Dan_ed,
So far, I'm not seeing any gunk on my brushes, however I am seeing more "dry fuzz" after a cleaning session on the velvet portion of the vacuum arm tube( VPI 16.5). More stuff is getting sucked out of the vinyl.
This, the lower amount of dust accumulating on the stylus and the shinier surfaces lead me to conclude that records are just "darn cleaner".
I do still have clicks & pops that aren't disappearing with some of the LPs, but some are definitely gone. Background groove noise is reduced, resulting in apparent increased dynamics.
I've got enough left to clean about 3-4 more LPs, so I want to take my time and look for the best candidates...

Sean, welcome back from your vacation. It's always nice when friends return home.
Cheers, Spencer

Hi Sean,
I'm not sure why you addressed that to me. I'm no chemist, so engaging me in a theoretical discussion of surfactant behaviors would waste my time and your brains! Confused here, as usual...

After doing about a dozen discs, the Last brushes I'm using show absolutely no discoloration. Better yet, my styli (two vinyl setups) stay clean as a whistle.

Put me down for a gallon, too, Paul. This stuff is dynamite. Although it's a bit depressing to look at 3,000+ Lps and think what's ahead :-)

TALLYING THE RESULTS & ULTRA-PURE WATER

Hi everyone,

So far, 10 beta testers out of 20 have reported their results. They are: Brashgordon; Thafler; Jeffloistarca; Slipknot1; Lugnut; Nghiep; Jdodmead; Jphii; Sbank; and Dopogue. I think it's fair to say that they have reported very good results with the 2-step process. Thank you, guys, for your testing and for providing us all with your results. I guess at this point, I'm fairly encouraged to open a commercial account here on the 'Gon and make the formulas in the 2-step process commercially available.

I'm thinking that for 'Goners who wish to buy the concentrate and add their own distilled or ultra-pure water, I'll package the formulas in your choice of 4 oz. amber glass or 8 oz. Nalgene containers. Because the concentrate will be formulated to be diluted 7:1, the 4 oz. isn't as ridiculous as it might seem on first blush -- 4 oz. will make 32 oz. (one quart) of ready-to-use formula. Of course, 8 oz., once diluted, will make twice as much -- 64 oz., or a half-gallon.

Bob at AquaFX, a division of Aqua Engineering & Equipment, Inc. (telephone: 407-599-2123 or 877-256-3467), has kindly given me much of his time over the past couple days. He also had his engineering department do an analysis to make sure the ultra-pure water would be safe for vinyl LPs. Their conclusion is that ultra-pure water is only aggressive with LONG TERM contact; it is very safe for short term contact, such as the 1 minute or so the cleaner formula (step #2) is on the vinyl.

Therefore, I have purchased AquaFX's Barracuda unit ... a 4-stage reverse osmosis and deionization unit. Here's the link:

http://www.aquariumwaterfilters.com/RODI/Barracuda.html

I will make available to 'Goners the cleaner formula in a ready-to-use, diluted with ultra-pure water. Ultra-pure water, and the ready-to-use ultra-pure cleaner formula, may be safely stored in plastic containers which are food storage-safe; e.g., PET, LDPE, MDPE, HDPE, and Nalgene. I'll ship the ready-to-use, ultra-pure cleaner formula in 16 oz. and 32 oz. HDPE squirt bottles.

There's no point in making the enzymatic formula with ultra-pure water. The enzymatic contains several complex molecules, and is too much of a "soup" to benefit from ultra-pure water. The concentrated enzymatic should be diluted with distilled water. Thanks to Psychicanimal for suggesting that I look into making the cleaner formula (step #2) with ultra-pure water.

Currently, I'm sidetracked with an appellate brief due in the Michigan Court of Appeals this week. (Now there's an audiophile speaking for you -- my real work is "sidetracking" me). But I hope to be up and running in a week or so, and I'll have pricing information available then, too (I promise it will be affordable). The products will be sold under the "Audio Intelligent" brand name, here on the 'Gon.

This has been a group project of sorts from the beginning, with the beta testers literally having the collective power to veto this project. So if anyone feels that I have not fairly summarized the feedback, or if anyone dissents from the intentions expressed above, please feel free to speak your mind.

Thanks, everyone.

Best regards,
Paul Frumkin
(302) 836-0453