Record Cleaning Machines

[Bill Hart]

I use Audio Intelligent #6 on the Loricraft for touch ups. If I didn't already own the Loricraft, I'd strongly consider an ultrasonic machine...

Thanks, Doc. I'm trying to avoid two machines, wonder if there is some magic brush for those touch ups....

 

[garylkoh]

So call me a convert.

I've always been an "elbow-grease" kinda guy - spending up to 10 minutes cleaning every album. With a new (old) dirty album, I use the Nitty Gritty 1.5. Scrub with water, vacuum dry. Scrub with enzyme, leave it to soak, scrub again. Vacuum dry. Scrub again with distilled water.



It looked pretty damn clean..... and this is the result.

http://genesisloudspeakers.com/downloads/Before.wav

After popping it into the Klaudio.....

http://genesisloudspeakers.com/downloads/After.wav

I can even hear the difference on my computer speakers. I'll still keep the Nitty Gritty and bottles of enzyme/wash for the occasional record that is really too filthy to go straight into the Klaudio, but like Mike Lavigne says - with the Klaudio I really did hear deeper into the music. However, with a gallon of distilled water at $1.19, it's so easy to use that I'll probably end up putting even the filthy ones into the machine and dump the water after.....

Disclaimer: Readers will have to take this with a grain of salt as I got a manufacturer-to-manufacturer accommodation on the price of the machine. Peter said that he wants to visit me next week and I'll have to give him the same discount on a pair of speakers.

By the way..... this album is the Singapore pressing with The Fool on the Hill instead of With a Little Help From My Friends and Baby You're a Rich Man instead of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The censors thought that those two songs were too "drug influenced".

 

[rockitman]

how does it dry Gary ? How many minutes do you set the dryer at ? It does the dry cycle without the use of squeegee's to help remove some of the water correct ?

 

[MylesBAstor]

It doesn't wet like the AD so you can easily dry in 2 min. or less with no drops at all.

 

[Ki Choi]

However, with a gallon of distilled water at $1.19, it's so easy to use that I'll probably end up putting even the filthy ones into the machine and dump the water after.....

Gary,

The Klaudio LP cleaner uses 1/2 gallon of distilled water to fill the reservoir to proper level. I would guess one can clean 100 Half Price Book Store scored LPs before having to dump the water (easily into an empty container using its drain valve and supplied drain hose without having to lug the cleaner to the sink).

Thus to clarify your above statement, you would be using whopping 60 cents each time you'd fill the tank.

Chris:

Don't mean to hijack your question to Gary but...It uses forced air for drying. I have used 3 min to be sure but 2 min drying cycle worked well. There are no contacts to LP from rollers or squeegees during washing and drying.

 

[rockitman]

Thanks Ki. Sounds like a great machine.

 

[garylkoh]

Totally dry! With the VPI and the Nitty Gritty, you sometimes end up with a wet rim - because the vacuum slot cannot overlap the edge of the record otherwise you lose vacuum. With the Klaudio, they are dry enough to take out and place immediately in a sleeve. It's extremely muggy and humid today in Seattle, so I dried for 3mins.

 

[asiufy]

And what does the KL do with the dirt from the LP? The AD has a filter, that keeps the (reusable) water clean. Is there some sort of filtering going on the KL as well?
And for the drying, does the KL suck air, like most machines, or blow air, like the AD?


alexandre

 

[garylkoh]

There's no filter. Just dump the water and refill. You can use tap water or distilled water, so it's cheap to do so without having to bother with keeping filters clean, replacing filters, etc.

The Klaudio is a blower.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

And what does the KL do with the dirt from the LP? The AD has a filter, that keeps the (reusable) water clean. Is there some sort of filtering going on the KL as well?
And for the drying, does the KL suck air, like most machines, or blow air, like the AD?


alexandre

as Gary says above, the Klaudio 'blows', like the AD.

i have a latest production AD sitting right next to the Klaudio and i've been using them together recently. you cannot criticize either machine. i get a drop of water or two once every 15-20 Lps with the AD, but never a drop with the Klaudio. the AD has a filter for the dirty water but also it has some of the cleaning solution (i use a capfull only when i replace the water every 60-70 cleanings). i don't know about any filter on the Klaudio.

also as Gary mentions, the Klaudio does clean slightly deeper and you can hear the difference as simply a lowering of the noisefloor and a small degree more vividness.

 

[MylesBAstor]

I'll have a review up hopefully in a week or two about the Klaudio vs. AD. I've spent a bit of time with both and have found some interesting things.

 

[lakeallen]

I will be very interested, look forward to your views.

 

[Bill Hart]

as Gary says above, the Klaudio 'blows', like the AD.

i have a latest production AD sitting right next to the Klaudio and i've been using them together recently. you cannot criticize either machine. i get a drop of water or two once every 15-20 Lps with the AD, but never a drop with the Klaudio. the AD has a filter for the dirty water but also it has some of the cleaning solution (i use a capfull only when i replace the water every 60-70 cleanings). i don't know about any filter on the Klaudio.

also as Gary mentions, the Klaudio does clean slightly deeper and you can hear the difference as simply a lowering of the noisefloor and a small degree more vividness.

Mike: how often are you replacing the filter and pads on the AD? I cleaned the filter in lab water at 100 records and replaced the distilled water fluid at that time. I'm only up to about 160 or so cleanings on the AD.

 

[hvbias]

Gary thanks a lot for those samples. Pretty funny to hear about the censorship on Pepper as well, since it's such a well known album.

 

[MylesBAstor]

So call me a convert.

I've always been an "elbow-grease" kinda guy - spending up to 10 minutes cleaning every album. With a new (old) dirty album, I use the Nitty Gritty 1.5. Scrub with water, vacuum dry. Scrub with enzyme, leave it to soak, scrub again. Vacuum dry. Scrub again with distilled water.

View attachment 11517

It looked pretty damn clean..... and this is the result.

http://genesisloudspeakers.com/downloads/Before.wav

After popping it into the Klaudio.....

http://genesisloudspeakers.com/downloads/After.wav

I can even hear the difference on my computer speakers. I'll still keep the Nitty Gritty and bottles of enzyme/wash for the occasional record that is really too filthy to go straight into the Klaudio, but like Mike Lavigne says - with the Klaudio I really did hear deeper into the music. However, with a gallon of distilled water at $1.19, it's so easy to use that I'll probably end up putting even the filthy ones into the machine and dump the water after.....

Disclaimer: Readers will have to take this with a grain of salt as I got a manufacturer-to-manufacturer accommodation on the price of the machine. Peter said that he wants to visit me next week and I'll have to give him the same discount on a pair of speakers.

By the way..... this album is the Singapore pressing with The Fool on the Hill instead of With a Little Help From My Friends and Baby You're a Rich Man instead of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The censors thought that those two songs were too "drug influenced".

Unlike our Spiro

 

[microstrip]

Klauido users,
Can you elucidate me on two points? 1. What technique is used to dry the LPs after cleaning? 2. What are the machine noise levels during the cleaning and drying phases? I have read 65dBA (washing), 70dBA (drying) but would like to have a subjective view. Thanks.

 

[MylesBAstor]

Klauido users,
Can you elucidate me on two points? 1. What technique is used to dry the LPs after cleaning? 2. What are the machine noise levels during the cleaning and drying phases? I have read 65dBA (washing), 70dBA (drying) but would like to have a subjective view. Thanks..

Blow drying. You have to understand that there's not a lot of water clinging to the LP like with the AD--or for that matter--a conventional RCM. Works like a charm.

Basically there's not a whole lot of difference in noise level between the two machines, just a different frequency. Plus the Klaudio makes a "crackling-like" sound when cleaning that my kitties don't like There's no such noise when cleaning with the AD.

 

[microstrip]

Blow drying. You have to understand that there's not a lot of water clinging to the LP like with the AD--or for that matter--a conventional RCM. Works like a charm.

Basically there's not a whole lot of difference in noise level between the two machines, just a different frequency. Plus the Klaudio makes a "crackling-like" sound when cleaning that my kitties don't like There's no such noise when cleaning with the AD.

Blow drying means evaporation. Doesn't it leave impurity residues on the LP surfaces?

 

[kdbrink]

Hello Everyone
I am new here after being alerted about this thread by another member.

I am an Audio Desk owner. Here is my story:

Issue #1
I purchased the machine from "The Cable Company" about a year ago. My unit was DOA. The red button to activate the cleaning cycle was inoperable. I requested a replacement model to be shipped since they had my credit card info, and I'd send back the defective unit. I was told no replacement could be sent, and that I had to return the unit for service. OK...I sent it back. They replaced the switch.

Issue #2
Every record I cleaned required manual wiping to remove numerous water drops. I tried everything I could think of, I even took the fan covers off to see if that would allow more air volume. No dice. I once again requested a replacement, and again was told that I had to send it back for repair. After a couple of week, they told me that they had fixed it, and it working as like new. When I received it back, they had placed some of those plastic ties, the ones you use to tie off garbage bags, behind the wipers or "lips" to increase contact. I was told that everything was operating as it should. Their remedy had no effect on the drying, I still had to wipe every record.

Issue #3
I once again complained about the non-drying of the unit and once again requested a replacement unit and was told I had to ship it back as they now had a factory authorized remedy. I sent it back and the fix actually seemed to work.

Issue #4
After receiving the unit back from the factory drying fix, I cleaned about 100 LPs, and then the wheels that grip the record and the brush barrels refused to let go at the end of the cycle. Even after numerous attempts to reset the machine, they would not release. I once again requested a replacement. Their response: I could return it again for service or they would "allow" me a trade in value of $2000 for my LEMON unit towards a new "improved" one.

OK...I guess I was desperate because when this thing works it is wonderful, and I was tired of messing with an obviously defective machine. Although I was angry that I couldn't get a replacement under warranty, I ponied up another $2000 for a "new and improved" one. Now I wish I had just sent to old one back for more repair.

The new one worked great...no water spotting and records clean as you can imagine.

Issue #5
After cleaning about 20 LPs, the records wouldn't rotate. I found that the rubber wheel that grips the LP and at the same time drives the cleaning brushes was spinning on its shaft. Now after only two days of use, the new one has to be sent back for repairs.

So now I have $6000 invested in a $4000 machine (I still think the machine should have been replaced under warranty), and it is once again on its way back across the country for more repair.

I contacted Ultrasystem (the US importer) today, and they apologized for my troubles and promised to get this fixed. I'm hoping for the best.

I wish I had known about the KL unit before I agreed to the new AD unit.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Blow drying. You have to understand that there's not a lot of water clinging to the LP like with the AD--or for that matter--a conventional RCM. Works like a charm.

Basically there's not a whole lot of difference in noise level between the two machines, just a different frequency. Plus the Klaudio makes a "crackling-like" sound when cleaning that my kitties don't like There's no such noise when cleaning with the AD.

I agree that the noise levels are about the same.

the AD has the mechanical noise from the gears and brushes during wash, the Klaudio has what sounds like 'pink noise on steroids' slightly louder and with a bit of hissing kind of sound. inside my room I cannot hear either with my door closed. they are almost identical sounding during the blow dry, the last minute of the AD might be slightly louder than the Klaudio, the first part of the AD is slightly quieter than the Klaudio. both drying cycles can be heard from my listening position when I mute the music with my door closed. they both beep at the end. the Klaudio will continue to beep every minute or so until you remove the record.