record cleaning

All the vac ones work superbly well.
Most of the difference is in quietness and aesthetics.

In my opinion some of the records that I've heard cleaned with a Vpi machine sounded overly smooth and a little lifeless. I don't like the effect that these things have in general and believe the Linn philosophy of letting the needle clean the record and then cleaning the stylus is best. Naturally the hi fi companies are always willing to sell us something we don't really need. IMHO if they are so necessary why don't Rega and Linn (to name only two Co's) manufacture or even recommend them ?,Regards ...Big Brother

quote:

Originally posted by ryan_d:
I own a lot of vinyl, of which I bought a lot of second hand. As you may expect some of it is not as clean sounding as i would like. i was thinking of buying a record cleaning machine but have no knowledge of them so was looking for advice. Do they actually work and if so which is the best?

ryan-d,
welcome to the forum.
Go to hi-fi corner and put in a search for Knosti, there is some good info there.
Hope this helps
Chris N

thanks for the responses. Does anyone know if you can hire these machines for a trial or a weekend? I live in liverpool

thanks again.

VPI HW - 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine

Wet vacuum cleaning machine. American and very solidly built. If you want to rejuvinate your older items and any carboot/ charity shop purchases this is ideal.

I can say that this machine is brilliant! It has removed all visible dirt and the record sounds suitably enhanced as a result. Easy to use and remarkably quick. A Pleasure to use.

I bought mine of Les Enstone of Laser vinyl through ebay.

As good as gets when it comes to clean records - all the way from the Isle of Wight.

You can get one of the stockists to clean your records - list

Keith Monks Record Cleaning Machine

Thanks ROTF, i think i may have to take a trip to warrington. or get the credit card out, but thats still smoking after the cdx2 purchase!!!!
Ryan

ROTF,

What sort of liquid do you use? The Keith Monks remarks about diferent alcohols sound highly improbable to me. His ethanol/methanol blend sounds like common or garden IMS (Industrial Methylated Spirit). Speaking with around 50 years experience in the vinyl industry, I would prefer isopropanol. It has lower volatility than the other two, so it won't dry before it can be vacuumed away.

I use a blend of water and isopropanol, together with a tiny trace of wetting agent, and I haven't had any problems with it.

Ken

Ken

I don't have my own Keith Monks RCM (too pricey for me), but I have taken recurds to a Keith Monks agent for cleaning. It was superb. One very noisy copy of Cosmo's Factory is now as good as was new. I agree with your statement about ethanol/methanol - and I'm not sure what was used when I had the Keith Monks treatment, but the elpees that I entrusted to it were just not giving me any musical enjoyment - early Tangerine Dream (e.g Atem) is horrible if the background is noisy. Since the Keith Monks treatment (about 5 years ago), I can really enjoy them.

I did buy and still have a Moth RCM. It is very noisly and I use 1 part isopropanol to 3 parts distilled water. This works, but not as well as the Keith Monks treatment. I've also tried L’Art du Son Professional Audio Record Cleaning Liquid.



I have also had some records cleaned in a local shop, which has sadly closed, using a Loricraft PRC2 Mk4 - again the service was excellent. The shop used L’Art du Son.

All that said, I don't often clean records. The Moth RCM is used rarely. I'm not totally convinced by it. I've always found results are better when it is done professionally. I'm not blaming the machine, it's me.

All the best, Rotf

A friend was telling me the other day, that he's very pleased with his Nitti Gritti machine.



It cleans both sides of the disc simultaneously with a 'wet and dry' operation.

I'd avoid any so-called 'drip-dry' cleaning methods. They can leave gunge in the grooves, creating playback noise.

John.

ROTF,
Many thanks for the information. I'll try to find a Keith Monks agent in the Greater Manchester area.
Ken

Another vote for the VPI 16.5. I got mine a year ago and would not now be parted from it. I cannot believe I lived without one for 20-odd years. I use VPI's own fluid, which is fine.

ken, ROTF gave a link earlier in the thread about dealers who use keith monks machines...doug brady in warrington is one of them. i thnk i may be bumping into you there!!
ryan