@howardlee Sounds similar to my process, and I'm very happy with the results.
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!!
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Hi Theo: The results were good (better than my VPI although I sometimes used them in tandem for used records that needed a deep cleaning) but not great. I did not realize that until I put some of the same albums that I previously cleaned with my AD through my KL audio record cleaner which further reduced tics/pops that the AD did not remove. The disappointment came from the pump which is cheap and fragile. I purchased my second unit with an upgraded pump but that also suffered the same fate. For the price charged and the inability to send the unit for repair, Reiner Glass has some nerve asking for the thousands that I invested in his record cleaning machines. There are a number of threads on this forum re the pump in the AD and none speak favorably about this issue. |
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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