Audio Desk cleaner.....still available?
I've been looking into this as my VPI 16.5 (from 35 years ago) has failed and I got taken on a "new open box" SOTA cleaner that was a trash heap no longer made (the site I used still says they are available on order....I called SOTA and they are not and you would not want one anyway). The Audio Desk and the Degritter are the likeliest candidates. The Audio Desk is or is not any longer in production/? Upscale Audio seems to have them, at least online. I was looking at a used one, likely the old model, but there are failure reports. I don't know about the new one, or whether it is even buyable. I'd prefer used if functional, but welcome opinions. The Degritter is the other option and it seems Galen Carol has them here in Texas. Info on that would be good too. I'm starting to think record cleaning companies are the audio equivalent of roofing companies. Advice welcome!!
For a coupla hundred bucks you can buy a Vevor 6L USC machine with a simple LP lowering arm on Amazon. It's a good way to try out ultra-sonic cleaning on the cheap. The US frequency is 40kHz, and features no water filtering or drying. For a coupla hundred bucks more you can get the original Humminguru, which does include filtering and drying.
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The Audio Desk USC has a terrible reputation and track record. Prior to the introduction of the Degritter, the real competition to the Audio Desk was the Klaudio, which cleans better and doesn’t break. Mike at The In Groove Record Store (in Phoenix Arizona) has been running his quartet of Klaudio cleaners (that's quite an investment!) twelve hours a day for many years, with no problems. He made a video (posted below) showing his cleaning station in the back room of the store.
https://youtu.be/DoFDf7Ke_zg?si=GjZzv0iqPIzuts6J
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