Degritter ultrasonic record cleaner

Hi y’all, just a few words on what I think is a worthy alternative to the Audio Desk Systeme and KLAudio ultrasonic cleaners.

http://degritter.com/media-kit/

I’ve been a beta tester on the Degritter for the last few weeks, and am happy to offer my opinions and answer any qs for those interested.

I believe official launch is in early May, and at this stage after a couple of quibbles in day to day use, I’m planning to keep my unit, it’s been a pretty good success, and invaluable addition to day to day life as a vinyl addict.

 

Just joined up to this forum ... noticed this thread. I've also been a Degritter beta tester since last Spring and I've been well-impressed.

I started off doing combined cleans with my Loricraft PRS6 (Loricraft for first pass, Degritter second).but increasingly as the beta versions stabilized and became more thorough in terms of cleaning, I tend now to just use the Degritter and am pondering selling off the Loricraft.

Occasionally a record needs two runs but the convenience factor over the Loricraft is massive. (And you often need two or more runs on the Loricraft too). It also seems like a deeper clean.

Hoping for good news in the next week or so on shipping date for production version. On the one hand it's taken probably six months longer than was first promised, on the other hand I've been well impressed by the seriousness of the team's commitment to getting things right, and their responsiveness to tester feedback.

Thanks for joining in with this comment!

Very encouraging. The whole point of the Degritter for me is reducing the work load of cleaning, so a double cleaning with another machine would defeat the purpose. (Again...for me).

 

Well, other than a few intermittent operational quibbles, entirely consistent w beta testing, I fully agree Degritter is a success. I'm v much looking fwds to receiving the final production unit in the next few weeks.

 

What were the operational quibbles?

 

Is it fair to ask the beta testers that question?

 

IB, any issues have been sorted in the final production unit. That's the point of having a beta testing period.

 

I’m hoping that they do ship in February I’ve been saving quite a few vinyl records which I’ve brought recently for the big day, let’s hope the machine is a success for the guys at Degritter

 

Lee, give the company time. It's been fascinating to follow their various messages on design decisions, R&D results early on that has led to best outcomes.

The finished product I'm sure will be a worthy addition to the best RCMs out there. The Degritter guys deserve to succeed. You'll know by now if you read my posts how I favour the underdog/boutique manufacturer, these boys fit right into that.

So hang on, keep yr vinyl on hold.

 

Lee, give the company time. It's been fascinating to follow their various messages on design decisions, R&D results early on that has led to best outcomes.

The finished product I'm sure will be a worthy addition to the best RCMs out there. The Degritter guys deserve to succeed. You'll know by now if you read my posts how I favour the underdog/boutique manufacturer, these boys fit right into that.

So hang on, keep yr vinyl on hold.

I am mate I’m in no rush at all

 

Any thoughts on the Kirmuss Audio cleaner? Only $870 in the USA.

 

Any thoughts on the Kirmuss Audio cleaner? Only $870 in the USA.

Yeah: I wouldn't touch it with a 20 foot pole.

That's entirely a personal assessment. To me it looks like the opposite direction from the Degritter. Where the Degritter is made to be as simple and hands off as possible, not to mention aesthetically pleasing, the Kirmuss looks like way more work. Watching the proprietor demonstrate the process it seems to never end, and for me, especially given how many records I have to clean, it would be adding a significant chore in to my life.

But...we all have our own aims, and the Kirmuss is there for those who want a cheaper solution and don't mind the extra work.

It will be interesting once the Degritter models get in to a lot more hands. I'm curious what the concensus will be in terms of it's cleaning prowess, especially as compared to other USRs.

 

Yeah: I wouldn't touch it with a 20 foot pole.

That's entirely a personal assessment. To me it looks like the opposite direction from the Degritter. Where the Degritter is made to be as simple and hands off as possible, not to mention aesthetically pleasing, the Kirmuss looks like way more work. Watching the proprietor demonstrate the process it seems to never end, and for me, especially given how many records I have to clean, it would be adding a significant chore in to my life.

But...we all have our own aims, and the Kirmuss is there for those who want a cheaper solution and don't mind the extra work.

It will be interesting once the Degritter models get in to a lot more hands. I'm curious what the concensus will be in terms of it's cleaning prowess, especially as compared to other USRs.

 

Absolutely agree.
I started a thread on the Kirmuss about six months when I was tempted by it but concluded it was way too laborious and got an Audiodesksysteme.

 

Any thoughts on the Kirmuss Audio cleaner? Only $870 in the USA.

I've seen the live demo on this machine a few times, it seems to be a cumbersome method and one that I think people would get tired of and in my case would likely gather dust in the corner of the room. Theirs quite a few DIY machines on the market that work similar to this, a friend of mine has one where the records are held on a spindle and submerged into an Ultrasonic tank, they are left to either air dry or wipe off with a micro fibre cloth. I asked him about the system and said it works fine but he hardly uses it due to the time it took to clean the records and the messing around.

In the end I went for the Degritter as I felt it offered the best solution for me, when it arrives I will post my thoughts as I am sure others will.

 

I asked him about the system and said it works fine but he hardly uses it due to the time it took to clean the records and the messing around.

Exactly. That would be me in a week with that thing.

Even my pal who uses a VPI (or is it nitty gritty?) washes his records infrequently IIRC because it's a bit of a hassle.

 

Had an email from Degritter today saying that the new water tanks are successfull and the machine should ship on the 18th February

 

Yes Lee, the news is certainly positive. Who'd have thought a water tank was so tricky to fabricate? Great stuff they've sorted things. All systems go very soon.

 

I got that email too. Bummer that it's still delayed, but hyped that it looks like the delay issues have been resolved. I have confidence in the Degritter team. They seem like smart, straight-shooting guys.

 

COF, potential customers need to cut these guys as much slack as possible. I have a buddy on WBF who paid for a launch product that took well over a year to turn up on his doorstep, and a streaming black box that is not even a newly released product yet is taking several months to materialise.

Ultrasonic cleaners can certainly be thrown together, but to produce a seamlessly operating product takes time and effort. The Degritter team appear really diligent and enthusiastic, and the released product I'm 100% confident will be fully worth the wait. Certainly if efficient and prompt replies to my Qs during the beta testing period are anything to go by.

 

Agreed. Obviously those of us who bought in already are cutting them plenty of slack. I expected delays and like I said, I have confidence in the team and their product.

Though at this point "potential customers" should mean those who come after us, who would be buying actual production units whose technical issues have been solved. It's one thing to get in early on what you know to be essentially a sort of crowd-funding-fingers-crossed situation, hoping a product actually is created. But once the product is finished and becomes a real item for sale, new customers shouldn't necessarily have to be so patient.

 

It will be interesting once the Degritter models get in to a lot more hands. I'm curious what the concensus will be in terms of it's cleaning prowess, especially as compared to other USRs.

Based on the current description of the Degritter, I'll speculate two possible items: a) the effectiveness of its transducers operating at 120kHz and b) how slow is the process of cleaning only one record at a time.

Questions I would have: does it heat its solution? Is there straightforward access to clean the cleaning tank? What are the ingredients of its solution?