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.

 

How much surfactant are you using per tank? I use 1 mL. What I said previously was based on this amount.

1 ml when I was using one wash. If I use the double wash method I think I put in 1.5 ml.

 

Can i ask, how does the Degritter compare with the Audio Desk rcm?

I've been offered an Audio Desk for a decent price, the Degritter would be the rival

Best wishes
gav

 

What I do know is that Audio Desk historically had quality problems with their devices and poor customer service. This aligns with many accounts of problems across various forums, a local friend's own experience, and my local dealer dropping them for the same reason. This dealer moved to KL Audio.

Rumor is the newest generation of Audio Desk units don't have the same reliability issues. Verifying this rumor still seems like a crap shoot to me, though. It might well be true, but I didn't want to find out first hand nor potentially deal with their infamous customer service. It'd be great to have another viable option on the market though, if they've turned things around.

 

What I do know is that Audio Desk historically had quality problems with their devices and poor customer service. This aligns with many accounts of problems across various forums, a local friend's own experience, and my local dealer dropping them for the same reason. This dealer moved to KL Audio.

Rumor is the newest generation of Audio Desk units don't have the same reliability issues. Verifying this rumor still seems like a crap shoot to me, though. It might well be true, but I didn't want to find out first hand nor potentially deal with their infamous customer service. It'd be great to have another viable option on the market though, if they've turned things around.

Audio desk got the same problem in Hong Kong.
Not sure if their new version is more reliable or not.

 

I owned an Audio Desk from the later production runs and it worked flawlessly. The original set definitely had issues but from my experience and what I have read they were fixed and the machines are reliable.

 

I have been using a refurbished ADS and it worked well with the records coming out very clean and sounding very good. But, and at the risk of complicating your choices, I recently acquired a a used but very recent KLaudio and it is a complete joy to use. Battleship build and completely automated cleaning with a choice of cleaning and drying times. I appreciate it is a more expensive machine than the Degritter, and which I don't have any direct experience of, but the ease of use, performance and build quality of the KLaudio are worth the higher cost in my experience.

 

Fwiw, I owned an original design AudioDeskSysteme (ADS) unit that worked without problems for ~5 years before I sold it. Keep in mind that ADS (R Gläss) was the pioneer in vertical single record desktop cleaners and alone in the market place for many years. He took a few arrows as he worked the kinks out of the machine. Having proved the viability of the concept, followers hoping to build a better mousetrap inevitably arrived. Competition is good.

The ADS is not quite the same type of cleaner as the KLaudio or Degritter because it is not primarily or solely an ultrasonic cleaner. ADS is a hybrid that uses rotating brushes plus an ultrasonic transducer plus surfactant to clean a record. Neither KLA or Degritter has brushes and KLA does not allow surfactant. Each has its own specs for ultrasonic cavitation: time, frequency, power, temperature etc, with the end user allowed to control time. Each operates under a single frequency. All three share an internal fan as a design feature.

All three offer some degree of water/solution filtering. The ADS filter is passive - water washes through it without a pump. The 'standard' KLA model does not appear to include a filter. However there is a KLaudio model that does not have an internal reservoir that includes a filter - at first blush their Web site seems lacking information on exactly what is included or the working topology of this model - if there are owners out there, please say more. The Degritter includes a small active filter with a pump that operates during the cleaning cycle. The filter of each model is replaceable; the ADS filter can be cleaned and re-used. None of the companies state the rating of the filter, ie what size particles the filter traps and whether that is an absolute or nominal rating.

The Degritter and the one KLaudio model include a water reservoir separate or separable from the cleaing unit. This is worth noting as it may allow the end user to monitor water cleanliness in terms of dissolved solids and gauge the effectiveness of the unit's filter. Remember, the state of the water will be the state of the water on the record when it is dried; any dirt in the water on the record will be left on the record. The KLaudio unit with internal reservoir has a port that allows (some?) access to clean it. The ADS unit allows removal of its brushes, which can be run through a washing machine to renew them - rinse thoroughly.

None of these desktop units allow for easy access to their internal cleaning tanks which makes them difficult to inspect and clean. The tanks can accumulate dirt/sludge over time and should be washed and flushed out reqularly to the extent possible.

The Audio Desk Systeme and KLaudio units each include a 2 year warranty. I saw no information about warranty on the Degritter Web site. Hopefully their sales person monitoring this thread will tell us.

All these machines are primarily about convenience in cleaning a single record. Each has its own set of features to differentiate itself from its competitors. I'm confident that, when new, each will leave a record cleaner than it was before cleaning. Advances in record cleaning and active use of record cleaners help preserve the world's vinyl library and encourage further adoption of the analog format - that's a good thing!

 

Thank you all, for those well informed replies

 

Has anyone tried lab grade water in their ultrasonic cleaners? I was told this can make a huge difference in the outcome.

https://eki-chem.com/product/15335

https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/9801

 

Has anyone tried lab grade water in their ultrasonic cleaners? I was told this can make a huge difference in the outcome.

https://eki-chem.com/product/15335

https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/9801

What about good old distilled water?

 

Distilled water is what everyone should be using already. The lab grade water is supposed to be a big improvement over that.

 

Some of that is deionized, which is discouraged for use in ultrasonic cleaners.

 

Some of that is deionized, which is discouraged for use in ultrasonic cleaners.

Why is deionized not as good as distilled?

 

Ask Taniel. His Degritter manual says to avoid deionized.

 

OK, mine has not arrived yet so I have not read the manual. This one however is not deionized.

https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/9801

 

Why is deionized not as good as distilled?

It is not unusual for distilled recondensed water to be purer and stored in sterile containers. Deionized is cheaper, taking less time and energy to manufacture and filtered less. Mineral salts are removed (chemical process) but the water is not distilled.

 

It is not unusual for distilled recondensed water to be purer and stored in sterile containers. Deionized is cheaper, taking less time and energy to manufacture and filtered less. Mineral salts are removed (chemical process) but the water is not distilled.

How big would such a difference make to the LP or the cleaner?

 

Has anyone tried lab grade water in their ultrasonic cleaners? I was told this can make a huge difference in the outcome.

https://eki-chem.com/product/15335

https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/9801

I used NERL Reagent Grade lab water for several years with my Loricraft PRC3 horizontal RCM. I bought it in 5gal boxes. "This water meets or exceeds CAP/CLSI specifications for Clinical Laboratory Reagent Water (CLRW) and USP/NF Purified Water. " (link) I have not tried it in my ~3gallon USC.

You can use such water for cleaning records and it should work fine, but it is expensive compared to distilled water. It is nearly impossible to do a same record comparison of cleaning/washing agents - you can never clean the same record twice. But my overall experience finds very little, if any, difference in results between the two types of water and certainly not "a huge difference in the outcome."

You would not need as much water in a single record desktop machine - particularly if using a quality active filter - as you'd use with a horizontal RCM with multiple rinse steps and no water recovery. It might be worth experimenting.

 

How big would such a difference make to the LP or the cleaner?

I never used deionized water with any of my machines, so cannot say. Distilled is cheap and readily available.

 

From Degritter manual, chapter 5:

Deionized water is not recommended, as it is corrosive and has very low conductivity, possibly resulting in harm to the machine.