Record Cleaning Machines
- Thread starter MylesBAstor
- Start date
you can purchase new 'lips'. the old one's seem to shrink and lose their strength over time.
there is a couple of tricks you can try that will cause the older 'limp' lips to be more effective. over time they will bend away from the contact and allow more water to remain. turn them over and it should get slightly better.
you can find a 'twist-tie' wire and paper fastener, cut it to length, lay it flat and centered behind the 'lip' and push it into place. this will push up the lip and expand it slightly. you may need a bit of vaseline to get it into the slot.
as far as old and crusty Lps; don't judge a book by it's cover. sure; there is apparent damage that cleaning cannot fix. but remember, the stylus does not read the scuffs that are on the tops of the groove walls.....the stylus only cares about what is down in the grooves. there are many dull and scuffed Lps that play fine and quiet. and particularly mono records are almost immune to damage that you can see.....particularly with a mono cartridge.
if you have an RCM that is easy to use you will not tend to avoid 'crusty' Lps and you will find some gems.
AD was set up with two of their machines at Axpona 2013 (probably in case one broke). The demo guy wanted to know if he could clean one of my LPs. I gave him my Miles Davis MoFi LPs to clean. After waiting 5 minutes for it to go through the cycle, he pulls my LP out and it still has wet spots on it. He starts waving my LP around in the air in an attempt to dry it for me. I wasn't impressed. His excuse for why it came out with wet spots was that he didn't lift the LP straight up out of the machine. Is this a common problem?
Also, he told me that they now have a bunch of loaner units so that when your RCM breaks and has to be sent to Germany for repair, they have a loaner unit to send you. What is telling is that this program is necessary. I'm sorry, for $4K I'm not impressed.
I mentioned the former issue issue in my article. Yes, you can accidentally hit the cleaning barrels on the way out if you don't lift the record straight out of the machine. But once it happens, you figure the problem out (it's also mentioned in the instructions if one cares to read them too!) and that's the last time the record ends up with wet smears on the surface.
Interestingly, I think the machine you're talking about at Axpona was the same machine that I had some issues with during the review. That unit's really been around the block a few time, and you know what UPS/Fedex can do to any piece of equipment
My brand new unit has worked perfectly since day one.
I have to say that the fully automatic cleaning feature is especially addictive. Using my VPI is kind of like going back to a preamp without a remote control
This aspect was the last drop. I added it to the lot of nice thinks you wrote in the PF review, imagined you listening to music while I am working hard listening to my VPI17
and took the decision - my AudioDesk RCM will be delivered soon next week.
This aspect was the last drop. I added it to the lot of nice thinks you wrote in the PF review, imagined you listening to music while I am working hard listening to my VPI17
Cool Franscisco, let us know how it works out! Don't think you'll be disappointed.
Lips and Vaseline sounds a little like sex instead of cleaning a record. Add to that paper clips, twist ties, and paper fasteners, and this doesn't sound like a $4K cleaning machine. Or does it?
Not much fun to be found in hifi, mep ...
I have had records that looked bad come out of the Audio Desk shining like new, they looked bad because of various deposits on them. Going hunting at used records stores has gained new relevance because of what this cleaner can do.
As to residual water.
Make certain it really is level.
When you insert the record, the manual says you should rotate it counterclockwise to ensure that the lips are against the record in the correct direction. If not, you risk abrading the lips, which can account for some of the problems.
All of the water is supposed to be dried off by the fan. I have never, literally never, had a record come out with residual water on it.
I don't have any problem with the brushes depositing water as the record is removed, but I have had records get a little spot of damp if I leave the record inside the Audio Desk for a long time (at least an hour) after cleaning.
Otherwise, completely dry and ready to play, from the moment the Audio Desk goes beep-beep-beep after a cycle.
My only experience with this machine was at Axpona 2013 and it was being operated by a guy who was supposed to be a pro. Let's start a list of people on this forum who own this machine and who have had their RCM break and have had to send it back to Germany for repair. So far, I know that Christian, Myles, and Mike are in this group. How many more owners do we have on this forum?
It was new design, most probably the designers will learn from their service experience. And if the sales in US are significant I think that at some point the distributor will have a stock of most needed parts and create a local service facility. I never sent my VPI to the USA when it needed assistance - I just got the parts from the factory.
the Audio Desk Systeme has had lots of running improvements over time. my first unit was from the 2nd run. my refurbed unit was from the 3rd run.
they are now on the 16th run.
poor mans ultrasonic record cleaner
gotta give the guy an "A" for effort:
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/tw...at-once-hurry-2013-04-19-accessories-23704--3
Im waiting for the version that also blow dries for under $1500
gotta give the guy an "A" for effort:
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/tw...at-once-hurry-2013-04-19-accessories-23704--3
Im waiting for the version that also blow dries for under $1500
Below is a quote from the manual of the Throess Phono Enhancer (phono stage) http://www.thoeress.com/en/phono-enhancer/
At the THÖRESS factory we clean records by letting them rotate (at 1 rpm) in the tank of
an industrial grade ultrasonic cleaner filled with demineralized water and a few drops of
concentrated dish cleaning liquid for at least half an hour. For best results it is advisable
to use a cleaner with an integrated heater programmed for 45 degrees Celsius. After this
procedure, the records are vacuumed on a conventional record cleaning machine such as
the Nitty Gritty. The gifted DIY hobbyist will be able to build the device needed for
rotating (up to 3) records through the cleaner bath with the aid of a barbecue motor. Our
cleaning methode will be found far superior to any other conventional cleaning method.
Any residual groove noise still experienced with records treated in this way will be due to
imperfections of the grooves and not to groove dirt. Do not hesitate to email us if you
require more details regarding this cleaning method.
.....................................
At the THÖRESS factory we clean records by letting them rotate (at 1 rpm) in the tank of
an industrial grade ultrasonic cleaner filled with demineralized water and a few drops of
concentrated dish cleaning liquid for at least half an hour. For best results it is advisable
to use a cleaner with an integrated heater programmed for 45 degrees Celsius. After this
procedure, the records are vacuumed on a conventional record cleaning machine such as
the Nitty Gritty. The gifted DIY hobbyist will be able to build the device needed for
rotating (up to 3) records through the cleaner bath with the aid of a barbecue motor. Our
cleaning methode will be found far superior to any other conventional cleaning method.
Any residual groove noise still experienced with records treated in this way will be due to
imperfections of the grooves and not to groove dirt. Do not hesitate to email us if you
require more details regarding this cleaning method.
.....................................
interesting thanks for posting but it doesnt say at what frequency their unit operates at. theres a wide range of ultrasonic cleaners some high freq/high wattage units that will certainly damage vinyl and then theres dwell times, etc.
i looked closely at the autodesk unit at the newport show and i see its compromised in certain ways and i'd only want the ultrasonic benefits, i can dry LPs on a vac cleaner. with the resugence in vinyl im hoping there will be other ultrasonic type LP cleaning machines around the corner to give us yet more and better options and theres always DIY...
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