Klaudio Record Cleaning Machine Review

Mike Lavigne

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Apr 25, 2010
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i've owned 3 Audiodeske RCM's over a 5 year period and now use the KLAUDIO.

Summary of the comparative sound quality on lps cleaned by ADS and KLA?

the KLA cleaned pressings simply give you another level of vividness and openness....a deeper view into the music. it is more than subtle, but not quite profound. it's something that makes my listening better. this is degrees of good......the Audiodesk does a fine job too.

the KLAUDIO is also built to a very high standard; remarkable for it's price. the Audiodesk appears to be fragile in comparison.
 

Mike Lavigne

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fstanke

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Jun 6, 2014
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the KLA cleaned pressings simply give you another level of vividness and openness....a deeper view into the music. it is more than subtle, but not quite profound. it's something that makes my listening better. .

'Just the sort of info I was seeking. As above, thanks!

Can anyone give a similar answer for UltrasonicRecords V-8 vs. the Klaudio machine wrt sound quality from cleaned LPs (as opposed to ease of use, etc.)?

A little background. The CableCo kindly cleaned a few of my LPs on the Audio Desk Systeme (ADS). The result was above my expectations in the 6 "dimensions" listed below. (They are not a normal-ortho set, but experientially distinct.)

*In each case I would like to know the relative comparisons of the ADS, Klaudio and V-8.*

1) Years ago, a friend who was a recording engineered demo'ed for me a "fine white mesh" that lays over virtually all LPs in comparison to high-quality tape. I had come to think of this as detail on the LP, but now know it was spurious "noise". The noise is quite "white": not particular confined to any audio band. The level of this noise seems to me to correlate with the general modulation level on LP. The ADS substantially reduced this whitish noise.
2) ADS'ed LPs (like Calvin, I do occasionally verb words) exhibit clearer room acoustics. I *think* this is because my ear/brain can more easily distinguish the direct sound front the reverb, and so hears the latter as itself.
3) ADS'ed LPs exhibit better "thereness": even, as it were, listening through my Stax 009s as if they were a window into the venue, instruments and vocalists sound more "spookily" there.
4) ADS'ed LPs allow better discernment of individual instruments in choirs: e.g., a "violin section" becomes a "group of violins".
5) ADS'ed LPs better reveal the "action" of instruments, i.e., how they are actually producing the sound. E.g., you better hear the different flows of air associated with trombones and flutes, or again, the interaction of a vocalist's cords, cavities, tongue, etc. In the latter case, diction is more easily understood.
6) ADS'ed LPs make metallic percussion sound more metallic. This is really a subset of 5), I suppose, but it's so important to me I am artificially separating it out.

I realize that complete answers are not possible, as there are so many variables involved in the operation of these cleaners, but guidance you can offer would be appreciated.
 

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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Ok. Someone a while back posed the question how often do you need to reclean an album previously cleaned on the KLaudio (or AD) machine.

Whether it's living in NY, using a record brush to whisk cat hairs off the LPs, etc., I'm finding that I need to reclean an LP every 10 or 20 playings. Try it on a cleaned LP. You'll find that one rapidly gets used to how the LP sounds-but upon recleaning will be shocked at just how much better the record sounds again. The biggest difference staring the listener in the face? Images are just much more boldly painted on a much quieter background.

I no longer use brushes. When a record comes off the KL or ADS it is static free. They seem to stay that way too. Rather than use a brush which can introduce static, I use a photographers puffer ball to blow any dust, ect that may get on the LP. Since the record is static free, the puff of air blows the offenders away. I learned this technique from Yip at MintLP website. So my records don't get re washed for a long time.
 

Klaudio

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Jul 16, 2013
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Both our silencing box and the disc auto-loader use the Aux power output on the rear of our LP cleaner. We don't have a good estimated price yet for these products, since quite a bit is still being adjusted from the prototypes. Both should be available this summer.

The auto-loader won't fit in our silencing box. The ADS will.

Tim
 

Amado

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately doesn't work for me with three cats. :) cleaning or not, it's still charged and attracts schmootz.

But whatever you do, don't blow the hair off with your breath. The moisture in your mouth will crud the stylus off. Peter Ledermann showed this effect not so elegantly. Or look at Fremer's stylus a while back. :)
Come on Myles,
Those are not cats, they are like mini tigers
:)
 

Grooves

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Feb 29, 2012
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So, I (think) I'm getting close to buying a KLAudio cleaner. I went back over the two main reviews. MF doesn't say how many LP's he cleaned but I too was a bit shocked at how much residue he wiped from the water tank. Does anybody have similar experiences as MF? I could see if all you did was clean dirty 2nd hand LP's you might get that much crud but how about cleaning mostly new LP's? What is the "black" residue MF wipes from the tank and why is it "black" as opposed to say the "grey" residue I find in my Loricraft bottle? Assuming the Loricraft can clean >95% of the dirt atop and inside the grooves why such an apparent difference in the residue?
 

Stump

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Jul 15, 2012
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The more Gunk and Goo I find in my tank the better:). I too buy new or N/M off Discogs and the one point when I decide to buy was after reading about the coating left on the records during pressing process is in your grooves.I have cleaned about 500 records and the Goo is more a grey color.Some people don't see the need to clean new records with other record cleaners because of the cleaning residue left behind.KLaudio takes care of both issues.
Stump
 

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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the coating left on the records during pressing process is in your grooves.I have cleaned about 500 records and the Goo is more a grey color.Some people don't see the need to clean new records with other record cleaners because of the cleaning residue left behind.KLaudio takes care of both issues.Stump

I'm with ya stump ! I pre scrub with Enzo, wipe to dry and KL. After that, I am done with that record....other than listening. ;)
 

Mike Lavigne

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the grey 'gunk' is dirt that has been 'ultra-soniced' over and over as it is suspended in the water. during every cleaning anything in the tank gets stirred up and re-blasted with the 200 watt ultrasonic process. as it gets finer and finer it drops to the bottom of the water tank and eventually it becomes that grey gunk.

this is according to Tim and Peter from KLaudio discovered during their initial design process.

"love the gunk"!
 
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Roysen

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Aug 6, 2011
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Very nice review, Myles. What we need now is for the record changer to become available to the market and a big brother from Klauduo which cleanes 5-8 records the same time.

I sm standing ready to buy as soon as the record changer is ready. Where can the Klauduo be bought in the US?
 

Grooves

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Feb 29, 2012
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Well, after reading Myles review and the other posts in this thread, I took the plunge. BUT, I have had mixed results, some good and some disappointing.
initially, I cleaned LP's that were previously cleaned on my Loricraft. Yes, I too was quite impressed by what I heard, (or didn't hear) a noticeable reduction in overall background surface noise. A overall decrease in harshness in the HF and distortion in the lower bass, notes, instruments, voices all had an improvement in clarity/transparency. I was able to increase volume w/o suffering from the typical treble harshness. There was a increase in "smoothness". I found some of the biggest improvements on used/older LP's. It definitely made many of these LP's quieter overall. Often, after lowering the arm to play an LP, I have to do a double take thinking I hadn't released the mute button. Used/older LP's as well as new LP's share this effect.
BUT, then I proceeded to clean new LP's I hadn't cleaned yet. Most were quiet but something was missing. They just didn't sound as good as the others. Why? So, I cleaned them again first with my Loricraft and then again with the KLAudio. Things sounded better much like the first group of LP's that had been cleaned with the Loricraft. I totally agree with Curbfeeler, that manually washing/scrubbing first seems to be a must. This is the part I found to be most disappointing. I had a LP that had picked up something fairly large that had stuck to the surface. I decided to see if the KLAuduio could remove it. It failed to remove it yet I easily removed it by hand (fingernail). I specifically bought the KLAudio to replace my need for manual cleaning. I don't see this happening, though I must admit that I need to do a bit more testing in this area before making a final decision, but I'm not too hopeful at this point.
My unit worked flawlessly except for a flickering of one of the lights that illuminates the water window. I thought that this was normal for a while since it seemed cyclic and more prone to flicker during a cleaning cycle. But then it started flickering more and more and even at rest. I turned the unit off for a bit. Upon restart, the light stopped flickering. I thought I was going to have to place a call and see if there was something I could do myself. Are the lights LED's? Can they become loose or are they soldered onto a PCB?
 

Stump

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Jul 15, 2012
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The Audio Desk System (ADS) would have been a better choose for you as the brushes would have taken the gunk off .Don't expect the KLaudio to get off greasy finger print either!(Those little bubbles are for deep cleaning)
As for the flickering light ,send it back as it may have been dropped in transit.
Stump
 

Grooves

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Yeah, maybe, it's hard to tell. Without one to try........ hind sight is 20/20. But there also seemed to be a number of returns for issues. It's a long way back to Deutschland for repair. I figured I'd go with a local business. Time will tell as to how it holds up.
 

Asamel

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Jan 22, 2012
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I have nothing to say but great things about this product. I have had records that I considered defective or damaged beyond repair that sounded great after a good KL cleaning. I wouldn't expect that every record can be saved, sometimes a good hand washing can make a difference.
 

Grooves

Well-Known Member
Feb 29, 2012
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Pacific Northwest
I couldn't go that far. LP's that have obvious issues still do. But what I have found was that those cleaned prior on my Loricraft then on the KLA were in many cases amazing sounding! That I cannot say enough about. Having heard what it CAN do I would have a hard time contemplating not having it. I was just really hoping to be able to make life/listening a bit easier.
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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I couldn't go that far. LP's that have obvious issues still do. But what I have found was that those cleaned prior on my Loricraft then on the KLA were in many cases amazing sounding! That I cannot say enough about. Having heard what it CAN do I would have a hard time contemplating not having it. I was just really hoping to be able to make life/listening a bit easier.

This is an interesting observation. I have a Loricraft and use the 3-step AIVS cleaning solutions PLUS two extra ultra pure water rinses. It takes a long time and is a PINA. I wonder if your results would be the same for two cleaning cycles using any cleaner or if you really need two distinct types of cleaning: one using enzymes that remove the record mold release residue and a second to deep clean through ultrasonic agitation and to completely remove any residual solution. I have read elsewhere that the ultra sonic cleaners do not do as good a job at removing gunk and specifically the mold release residue as do the better multi step solutions plus a point nozzle fluid removal/drying machine like the Loricraft or Monks.

What kind of solutions do you use with your Loricraft and have you tried the KLA for two cycles to see if it is a good as one cycle with the Lori and one cycle with the KLA? You may want to try an all in one single solution on the Lori saving some time followed by the KLA.
 

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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I also own a Loricraft and have done several comparisons of solutions appropriate to its use. With proper technique, proper solutions, and plenty of patience it is capable of doing an excellent job.

I don't know if your above comment is directed primarily at the KLaudio machine but I'd consider not lumping together in this way all machines using cavitation.

The automated Audio Desk Systeme machine uses brush rollers and surfactant supplemented with ultra sonic cleaning and may be capable of removing matter from records that water+cavitation alone cannot.

Owning both the ADS and KL I can tell you that neither effectively remove mold release solvent residue nor oily finger prints. One must pre scrub by hand with an enzymatic solution like audio intelligence pre scrub solution. Once the record has been dried with a micro towel, the machines can be used for final cleaning/rinse and static free dry. Every record I buy whether new or used gets a pre scrub for it's first cleaning.
 

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