Record Cleaning Machines


That's my experience I would like to share, probably the one or the other will benefit:
As a long time VPI 16.5 user, I always thought, the real important thing is the vacuum.
Cleaning fluid needs some time on the record to get into the grooves, helped by scrubbing.
And when 1 wash is not enough, ok, then another one ...

Now I got a Keith Monks RCM and I simply could not believe how much better that one is.
The vacuum with the string, which sucks every grrove is so much better it is hard to describe. No joke, I used records I cleaned* 5x times with my VPI and still had some noise, now it's gone. And, the fluid after the cleaning is DARK.
The improvement in dynamics was not subtle ...
I think, the Keith Monks is rare, really rare and there is another one, which I think is really interesting, it is based on the same system.
The Loricraft.
A excellent choice, too.

Happy listening.

* L'Art du Son
thomasheisig
I am in Australia and it is difficult (and expensive) to buy isopropyl alcohol here and I would like to know if pure ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is interchangeable. Ethanol is both easy to get and very cheap and using it instead would make life much easier.
Add me to the list of Listener57 and Dopogue's positive experience with Paul Frumkin's AIVS. It beats anything else I've tried by a wide margin. I previously considered upgrading my record cleaning machine and now have no intentions of doing so. Even the difficult to clean lead in grooves of used records are now as quiet as the rest of the record. I understand the pure science about leaching of plasticizers from vinyl but liken it to sun exposure. Five minutes of sunshine is not going to burn me nor give me cancer. That's about the time it takes me to clean a record. I judge it to be safe but only time will tell.
Add me too. My order arrived today, and I'm spending the day cleaning & listening. Great stuff, thanks Paul.
Ditto on the AIVS product! I have been using it for about a week. Really good stuff for cleaning used additions to my LP library. I also really like RRL cleaners, but this AIVS's specialty is cleaning those exceptionally dirty specimens.

I am still using a DIY rcm with good results. I can't see how a VPI rcm could be any better than what I have now. When I can purchase a commercial rcm I think I will bypass the VPI and go for a Loricraft.